IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


Ilia 

IM 

m 


||M 

2.2 
2.0 


1.8 


U    ill  1.6 


Photogranhic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


'V 


%> 


'% 


7i  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(71i)  872-4503 


<» 


t^, 


V  MP. 


<? 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions 


Institut  Canadian  de  microroproductions  historiques 


1980 


I 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommag6e 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur6e  et/ou  pellicul^e 


I      I   Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


[~n    Coloured  maps/ 


D 


Cartes  g6ographiques  en  couleur 


□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bieue  ou  noire) 

r~~|   Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reii6  av9c  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reiiure  serr6e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  ia 
distortion  le  long  de  ia  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  Atd  filmAes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppldmentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  it6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mdthode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


D 
D 

n 
n 


D 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagies 

Pages  restored  and/oi-  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  peilicuides 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d6coior6es,  tachet^es  ou  piqu6es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  ddtach^es 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


I      I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 


Qualitd  indgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
^omprend  du  materiel  suppl^mentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seuie  Edition  disponible 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partieilement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  A  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtanir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous 

10X                            14X                             18X                            22X 

26X 

30X 

/ 

12X 

IfX 

20X 

24X 

28X 

32X 

' 

ire 
details 

les  du 
modifier 
ler  une 
filmage 


les 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thank* 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considet'ng  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  Ail 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  app'ies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exempiaire  filmi  fut  reproduit  grice  A  la 
gAnArositA  de: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  AtA  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettetA  de  l'exempiaire  filmA,  et  an 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  filmAs  en  commengant 
par  le  premier  plet  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmAs  en  commengant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ♦•  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
fiim6s  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmi  A  partir 
de  Tangle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n^cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


errata 
to 


I  pelure, 
sn  A 


D 

32X 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

!i 


•""!S».f 


THE  CENTEjNNIAL  NOETHWEST. 


AN  ILLUSTRATED  HISTORY 


OF 


THE  NORTHWEST, 


BEING  A  FULL  AND  COMPLETE  CIVIL,  POLITICAL  AND  MILITAKY  HISTOUY  OF 
THIS  GUEAT  SECTION  OF  THE  UNITED  8TATE8 


FROM  ITS  EARLIEST  SETTLEMENT  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME; 


C0MPRI8INO   A  CENERAI,  AND  CONDENSED  HISTOBY  OP  OniO,  INDIANA,  MICHIOAN,  ILLINOIS, 

WISCONSIN,   MINNESOTA,  IOWA,  ETC.,   INCLUDING  KANSAS  AND 

NEBIIASKA,   TUB  WHOLE  rORMINO 


A  COMPLETE  ENCYCLOPAEDIA  OF  THE  GREAT  NORTHWEST. 


BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  R.  TIITTLE 

Author  Of  "  History  of  Wisconsin,"  "  HlBtory  of  Indiana."  "  History  of  Jllchlgnn,"  "History 
of  Border  Wars,"  "  History  of  Iowa,"  etc.,  etc., 


Rev.  a.  C.  PENNOCK, 

For  over  thirty  years  a  resident  of  the  Northwest. 


SOLD  OKLY  bY  SUDSCRIPTIOX, 


MADISON,   WIS.: 
PUBLISHED  BY  THE  INTER-STATE  BOOK  COMPANY. 


1S76. 


Entered  aceorJlng  to  Act  of  Congrfiss  In  tlie  your  piglitocn  hundred  and  eeventy-slx, 

BY  CHAKLES  K.  TUTTLE, 

In  ilie  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congreiss,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


Madison,  Wis.  ; 
Stereotyped  and  Printed  by 

ATWOOD  &  CVLVER. 


MANUFACTtJBED  BT  '  ' 

Vfx.  J.  Park  &  Co.,  11  Kiso  Si'., 
Madison,  Wis. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


X«  Si'., 


The  Ckxtemnial  History  of  the  Northwest  will  stand  or  fall  by  its  own 
merits,  owing  nothing  save  the  incentive  to  an  early  completion  to 'the  great 
event  of  this  era,  the  exposition  in  Fairmount  Parlv,  which  will  shortly  chal- 
lenge the  attention  of  the  whole  world  to  the  record  of  one  hundred  years  ot 
national  growlli  under  free  institutions.  When  ascending  the  mountains,  it  is 
sometimes  well  to  pause  for  a  moment  to  realize  the  height  that  has  been  at- 
tained ;  so  we  invite  our  fellow  citizens  to  consider  what  has  been  done,  as 
Mell  generally  as  particularly  since  the  year  1770.  Qpo  century  ago  the 
steam  engine  had  not  been  applied  to  traveling;  now  it  is  the  agent  b^  which 
millions  of  our  fellow  citizens  follow  their  evocations  daily,  in  every  part  of 
the  union.  The  Watt  and  Boulton  works  in  London  had  been  established 
nearly  ten  years  for  the  manufacture  of  steam  engines,  but  the  first  idea  of 
making  steam  available  for  traveling  was  due  to  our  countryman,  John  Fitch, 
who. had  ascertained  during  his  captivity  among  Indian  tribes  the  vast  area 
of  this  continent  which  could  be  reached  by  river  navigation,  and  wisely  di- 
vined the  important  influence  that  steam  could  exert  in  developing  our  re 
sources.  The  country  which  stood  upon  the  threshold  of  its  greatness  when 
he  netitioned  congress  for  assistance  to  complete  his  boat  in  1785,  had  then  a 
pr  lation  of  barely  four  millions ;  it  has  now  fully  forty  millions  of  people 
included  under  its  general  government,  enjoying  the  privileges  of  freedom  in 
every  essential,  and  it  follows  almost  inevitably  that  the  nation  in  its 
entirety  has  a  history  at  once  momentous  and  instructive,  which  during 
this  centennial  period  may  be  studied  Avith  advantage.  The  Centennial  North- 
west is  a  contribution  toward  that  great  desideratum,  and  it  deals  in  a  Catho- 
lic spirit  with  all  the  incidents  of  our  development  as  a  great  and  free  people, 
within  the  limits  specified,  from  the  days  when  the  Indian  was  first  dispos- 
sessed of  his  hold  upon  the  hunting  grounds  once  entirely  enjoyed  by  the 
tribes,  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  an  incipient  civilization  to  the  present 
day,  when  steam  travels  our  roads  as  well  as  our  rivers  with  a  completeness 
and  dispatch  of  which  neither  Fitch  nor  Fulton  dreamed,  besides  discharging 
ten  thousand  functions  which  seem  marvelous  even  to  the  accustomed  observer 
in  our  centennial  year.  The  ground  over  which  the  historian  travels  in  llie 
great  northwest  may  be  said  to  be  virgin  soil,  and  in  that  respect  much  fresh- 


ibCiiiB 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


ness  of  tone  has  almost  inevitaWy  fouml  ils  way  into  the  style  of  (he  work; 
but  in  niUlition  to  that  fact  it  is  liopeil  that  the  phenomena  of  social  life  have 
been  observed  anil  recorded  in  the  true  spirit  of  history,  grasping  the  perti- 
nent facts  of  an  era  and  a  state  and  applying  the  principle  therein  contained 
to  the  solution  of  every  i)roblem  that  arose  during  the  expansion  of  the  first 
settlement  into  territorial  organization,  and  eventually  into  (ho  Ihiished 
essence  of  republican  rule,  the  condition  of  a  state  in  the  union. 

The  soil  and  the  climate  of  every  state  in  the  northwest  have  been  present- 
ed to  the  reader  in  their  natural  color?,  as  the  writer  would  "nothing  exten- 
uate, nor  set  down  aught  in  maliCe,"  and  it  would  be  manifestly  unfair  to  say 
one  unwarranted  woid  of  praise  or  the  reverse,  in  a  work  which  it  is  hoped 
will  become  an  authority,  not  only  in  the  region  to  which  it  relates,  but 
among  the  millions  in  the  eastern  and  northern  states  who  either  for  them- 
selves or  for  their  sons  are  scanning  the  aspects  of  this  continent  to  ascertain 
the  localities  best  adapted  for  their  future  home.  Tlicre  are  some  men  so 
blessed  by  nature  with  herculean  frames  and  nervous  force  that  hardly  any 
climatic  changes  affect  them,  and  there  are  others  to  whom  the  ver}'  8iii^'''lest 
ineteorolf)gical  changes  are  important;  but  to  all  men  it  is  important  that  they 
should  know  something  of  tlie  soil  and  fertility  of  tlie  states  in  which  they 
are  likelj'  ti-  take  up  their  abode.  Tliis  work  has  aimed  at  precision  in  all 
such  particulars,  and  the  reader  will  find  the  information  conveyed  so  system- 
atized, as  that  it  will  be  convenient  for  reference.  The  productions  of  a  neigh- 
borhood may  seem  to  be  unimportant  matters  to  other  classes  than  those  en- 
gaged in  agriculture;  but  a  second  thought  will  convince  the  reasoning  man, 
that  the  manufacturer  and  the  merchant,  the  handicraftsman,  and  the  lawyer, 
with  all  the  other  representatives  of  the  several  industries  which  mcks  up  the 
sum  total  of  society  are  as  deeply  interested  in  all  such  matters  as  the  farmer 
who  is  the  immediate  factor  in  procuring  his  and  their  subsistence  froni  the 
earth.  Where  the  agriculturist  flourislies  society  may  generally  bo  found 
thriving  and  well  employed,  and  where  the  primal  labor  of  the  husbandman 
fails  of  its  reward,  there  can  hardly  be  Ibund  anywhere  an  enduring  prosper- 
ity for  a  people. 

Various  industries  are  on  the  other  hand  just  as  important  to  the  tiller  of 
the  earth  as  his  own.  The  teeming  soil  will  give  him  its  riches  in  vain,  if 
when  his  harvests  have  been  gathered  in,  there  are  no  markets  near  at  hand  to 
accej)!  his  produce  at  fair  valuation;  because  the  mere  cost  of  transport  to 
distant  centers  of  population,  in  ordinary  seasons,  will  absorb  nearly  or  quite 
nil  the  j)rotit  which  might  properly  have  been  reaped  by  his  industry.  It  is 
hoped  and  believed  that  many  vast  cities  will  arise,  where  scattered  hamlets 
are  now  planted,  to  become  great  depots  of  manufacturing  energy  for  the  more 
complete  supply  of  \merican  wants  by  American  skilled  labor  and  ingenui- 
ty, in  locations  where  the  fertile  prairies  are  only  waiting  for  a  population 
willing  to  be  fed,  and  where  the  finest  water  powers  to  be  found  in  the  world 
are  only  running  to  waste  for  want  of  energy  rightly  applied  to  turn  them  to 
fit  uses.  This  work  will  contribute  its  mite  toward  bringing  the  right  men  !'< 
the  right  place  for  their  own  sakes  and  for  the  continuous  growth  of  the 
union.    The  farmer  is  deeply  interested  in  other  fields  of  labor  than  his  own. 


Introductory. 


because  liis  stiilwart  sons  nncl  lovely  daughters  will  not  all  continue  in  his 
wiilk  of  life.  VVithiu  twenty  years  there  have  been  so  many  and  such  vast 
improvnients  in  agricultural  implements,  machinery  and  processes  that  one- 
third  of  the  labor,  once  necessary  for  our  present  average  of  production  has 
been  liberated,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  inventive  skill  and  mechanical  Inge- 
nuity  of  the  next  twenty  years  will  be  just  as  marked  in  their  results,  so  thatot 
necessity  the  young  farmer  will  turn  his  attention  to  some  one  of  the  many 
pursuits  for  which  hi-s  education  and  his  talents  lit  him  to  help  build  up  the 
wealth  which  is  being  diilused  through  all  ranks.  Tlie  enormous  value  oi 
Die  machinery  and  implements  now  in  use  upon  tlie  farms  in  this  union 
amounting  to  a  total  of  !f300,()00,000,  will  show  at  the  first  glance  an  outlet 
for  superabundant  energy,  whicli  must  go  on  increasing  every  year  as  every 
avocation  e.\cept  that  of  the  lawyer,  the  legislator,  and  divine,  comes  to 
to  be  more  and  more  aided  by  the  skill  of  the  machinist.  'War,  manufactures, 
and  even  the  arts  are  becoming  arenas  for  tlie  wondrous  talents  of  inventors, 
and  every  day  widens  the  range  within  whicli  science  creates  new  industries 
and  extends  the  old  activities,  to  increase  tlie  happiness  of  mankind.  With 
advancing  skill  will  be  found  generally  associated  better  rewards  lor  labor 
and  an  always  multiplying  capacity  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  such  productions 
as  were  once  only  otlered  to  the  few ;  consequently  there  reel  be  no  fear  that 
the  mechanical  aids  which  come  to  the  service  of  tlie  former  will  diminish  the 
pay  of  his  assistants,  as  indeed,  experienc;  shows  ihiit  while  t'a(!  increase  o 
mechanism  has  been  so  marked  as  to  reduce  tli  ■  nniiiber  of  men  enijiloyed  by 
just  one-third  within  twenty  yeius,  the  wages  fund  employed  in  that  branch  ()f 
industry  have  almost  doubled  within  the  same  term.  History  must  deal  with 
all  such  facts  and  allot  them  place  as  factors  of  human  advaiicement;  and  in 
some  degree  it  is  hoped  that  the  Centennial  NortliAvest  will  be  found  to  havo 
adequately  appreciated  the  .situation.  The  important  bearing  of  the  gre-at  cen- 
tennial  exposition  upon  our  future  as  a  people  has  been  treated  brieliy  from 
a  purely  national  t'tand  point,  and  such  information  has  been  embodied  un- 
der that  head  as  cannot  fail  to  interest  all  readers. 

It  has  not  been  attempted  in  dealing  with  an  area  of  territoiy  so  vast  as 
the  Great  Northwest,  involving  the  history  of  nine  states — Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  AVisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  Nebraska  —  to 
deal  exhaustively  with  one  item,  or  one  city;  but  wherever  there  arose  in 
dealing  with  one  or  more  cilies  a  (juesiion  of  general  interest,  or  where  cities 
were  in  an  especial  sense  metropolitan,  it  has  been  thought  advisable  to  give 
especial  prominence  to  the  subject  or  the  city  in  siuii  a  niaiinir  as  would  pre- 
vent the  reduplication  of  details.  Incidents,  such  as  are  found  very  interest- 
ing  in  the  lucubrati<ms  of  novelists,  are  not  good  history;  the  mythical  apple 
that  ]Mr.  W.  Tell  did  not  shoot  from  his  son's  head  has  very  materially  af- 
fected the  demand  for  the  marvelous;  but  wherever  Truth  stranger  than  Fic- 
tion has  presented  itself  to  be  annotated,  the  writer  had  striven  todiscriininato 
between  the  germinal  well  attested  fact  and  its  fabulous  surroundings.  Tlie 
mysteries  and  wonders  of  real  life  are  so  many  and  various  that  it  is  not  requi- 
site to  draw  upon  pure  imagination  to  make  an  interest  for  the  pages  which  ad- 
equately narrate  the  movements  of  mankind.    Could  the  essayist  depict  the 


r 


Tuttlk's  Cextes'xial  Northwest. 


stnigjflps  tlirrviisrli  uhich  Bigclow  came  to  the  rcali/.alion  nf  his  several  Im- 
1  rovements  of  the  U)()ni,  thn^ugh  whieli  Whitney  iittained  liia  eminenee,  or 
by  virtue  of  wliieli  Goodyear  perfected  tlie  process  of  vulcaiiizatioii,  he  would 
present  a  storj'  as  full  of  human  interest  ns  any  romarco,  and  far  more  satis- 
factory  than  the  maunderings  of  llosicrucian  dreamers.  The  multiplication 
of  the  means  whereby  life  in  health  can  be  maintained  is  lei^itimate  history, 
and  cverytliing  tending  in  that  direction  is  (>f  interest  to  that  class  for  which 
books  are  written.  The  means  by  which  institutions  are  compacted,  and  the 
views  of  one  generation  crystallized  into  laws  for  the  next,  canno'  fail  to  at- 
tract  the  notice  of  reformers,  Avlio  are  prudential  enough  to  see,  that  by  the 
cultivation  of  an  enlightened  public  opinion,  in  a  land  where  the  i)re.s8  and 
tlie  school  have  fn.'C  scope,  every  incrustation  of  error  will  be  tlirown  aside 
in  due  course,  as  the  convalescent  casts  away  his  crutches  and  plasters,  after 
the  purpose  which  they  were  originally  meant  to  serve  has  been  attained. 
The  various  institutions  of  the  several  states  of  the  great  nortliwest  will  bo 
found,  not  treated  w  ith  wearisome  detail,  but  touched  lightly  in  a'l  such  par- 
ticulars as  distinguish  tiiem  from  their  surroundings.  Schools  and  the  sys- 
terns  by  which  they  are  sustained  and  administered,  the  cases  in  which  they 
fail,  the  bcnctits  that  sjjring  from  their  operation,  the  consequences  arising 
from  their  neglect,  and  the  means  which  may  tend  towards  their  more  com. 
plete  success  in  tlie  future  of  the  union  have  been  narrated  and  discussed  with 
the  deep  earnestness  which  arises  from  a  lifetime  of  etlbrt  in  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation. There  is  no  question  which  more  immediately  concerns  America  to- 
day than  that  which  arises  upon  this  issue,  considering  that  we  are  largely 
precluded  from  resorting  to  compulsion  such  as  has  been  found  so  beneficial 
among  the  semi-despotic  governments  of  Europe.  The  extent  to  which  the 
education  of  every  child  becomes  the  duty  as  well  as  the  interest  of  civil  gov- 
ernment  and  of  society  generally  cannot  be  overrated,  and  the  mere  money 
cost  of  administering  our  laws  will  be  largely  reduced  by  a  more  liberal  rec- 
ognition of  our  duty  in  that  particular.  The  advantages  whicli  must  result 
from  the  wider  diffusion  of  mental  culture  cannot  be  adeqinitely  stated  in  a 
cursory  preface,  but  some  attempts  have  been  made  to  grapple  with  that  sub- 
ject in  the  text. 

The  relative  strengths  of  the  several  forms  of  government  is  a  question 
so  complex  that  it  might  well  be  allowed  to  rest  untouched  at  such  a  time  as 
the  present,  but  so  much  has  been  said  at  various  time.s  as  to  the  executive 
weakness  (  f  Uepublican  institutions,  the  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  for  the  people,  that  it  is  necessary  to  inquire  what  other  nation  in  the 
■world  could  have  solved  the  slavery  problem  so  effectively'  in  a  space  of  time 
so  brief?  The  ukase  ot  the  Czar  of  all  the  lUissias,  announced  to  the  world, 
rather  than  to  the  serfs  themselves,  their  liberation,  and  social  growth  has 
hardly  yet  realized  the  change  which  the  law  assumed  to  have  operated  in- 
stantly. In  America  the  man  who  was  a  slave  is  free,  with  all  the  respousi. 
bilities  of  free  labor  upon  his  shoulders,  entitled  to  be  a  witness  In  court,  and 
a  voter  at  elections,  to  procure  an  education  for  liis  children,  and  to  enjoy 
such  civil  rights  as  were  once  supposed  to  be  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the 
white  race.     The    revolution    is   stupendous,  and  the  successive  steps  by 


iNTnoDucronr. 


which  Iho  gicnt  rcsull  hns  been  nttulned  will  bo  foiiiul,  gliinccd  nl  nithcr  lliiin 
described,  but  still  touched  in  the  pages  of  thia  book.  It  is  true  tliat  the  gov- 
cinmcnt  of  this  country  is  not  cnpiibie  of  arbitrary  strength,  becausu  it  oper- 
ntcs  in  society  ns  volition  rules  in  the  individual;  but  the  popular  judgment 
onco  convinced,  and  its  feeling  aroused  to  action  exerts  through  the  Hovereign 
form  a  power  against  which  it  is  useless  to  struggle,  and  before  which  every 
wrong  must  succumb.  The  grand  features  of  a  free  press  in  the  union  could 
have  no  better  illustration  than  is  supplied  by  the  fact  that  there  is  no  censor- 
ship  but  public  opinion,  n  power  which  can  and  must  be  moulded  by  the 
press  itself.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  some  portions  of  the  journalistic  litera- 
ture of  this  country  are  partisan  to  a  reprehensible  degree,  but  that  is  an  in- 
evitable concomitant  of  our  social  growth  under  party  government,  the  phase 
of  life  through  which  the  nation  is  passing,  toward  the  next  evolution,  possi- 
ble only  in  the  midst  of  an  enlightened  people,  the  rule  of  the  wisest  and 
best,  expressing  the  highest  thought  of  the  community.  The  growth  of  the 
newspaper  press  will  be  found  traced  by  successive  instances  in  the  north- 
west, from  the  petty  sheet  devoted  almost  entirely  to  advertiicments,  to  the  in- 
fluential daily  that  wields  a  power  which  can  be  felt  throughout  the  union; 
and  arising  from  the  taste  thus  formed  and  nurtured,  the  magazine  literature 
of  the  day  is  graphically  reviewed,  as  a  yet  more  hopeful  feature  in  press  de- 
velopment, toward  which  as  well  by  patronage  ns  by  labor,  this  section  of  the 
union  has  not  failed  to  contribute  its  quota.  The  church  as  a  means  of  pro- 
gressive  effort  has  not  been  lost  sight  of  in  this  history,  because  it  hns  been 
found  in  every  community  in  which  the  materials  for  a  sketch  have  been 
collected,  that  the  first  and  best  steps  toward  social  and  intellectual  organiza- 
tion, have  been  in  connection  with  the  place  of  worship  and  the  Sabbath 
school,  leading  up  to  a  spiritual  excellence  and  ojsthetic  culture,  which  will 
in  the  future  rule  the  councils  of  the  people.  The  value  of  secular  training 
is  not  questioned,  the  conquests  from  nature,  which  from  the  curious  experi- 
ments with  the  Leyden  jars  and  the  Voltaic  pile,  were  by  the  practical  energy 
of  an  American  newspaper  man  —  Franklin  —  turned  to  such  channels  as  that 
Faraday,  an  English  bookbinder,  carrying  on  the  chain  by  which  natural 
phenomena  were  surveyed,  obtained  the  rotation  of  the  needle  round  a  mag- 
netized  wire,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  modern  Telegraphy  —  which  again 
is  largely  due  to  the  activity  of  American  intellect — will  not  admit  of  doubt; 
and  few  will  be  prepared  to  deny  that  electricity  is  to  become  every  year  more 
potent  in  aiding  the  progress  of  mankind  by  such  works  as  electroplating, 
clectrotyping  and  electro-dynamic  machines,  which  may  eventuully  supersede 
steam  itself;  but  above  and  beyond  the  uttermost  triumph  of  science  and  art, 
the  race  has  a  necessity  for  spiritual  culture,  which  the  church  in  its  varied 
forms  must  help  immensely  toward  realization;  hence  the  little  meeting 
house  of  logs  in  the  backwoods  settlement  has  been  recognized  as  an  agent 
with  which  civilization  cannot  afford  to  dispense,  and  the  successive  steps, 
by  which  the  edifice  has  gone  on  to  ever-improving  forms  and  grander  dimen- 
sions, liave  been  observed  with  the  interest  properly  belonging  to  the  highest 
essential  in  our  lives. 

Science,  as  well  abstract  as  applied,  has  been  treated  with  the  reverence 


i 


1 


8 


TcTTLR's  CEh'TESS'lAL  NOtiTllWEST. 


wliich  belonjiH  to  Hip  daily  rovolaflon  nnil  use  d'  tln'  lusvs  — (ir  moilcs  of  nc- 
lioii  —  by  wliiili  Odil  is  Hccn  in  nutiii'c,  ami,  lU'iesf^arily,  fvcry  CDllcfiu  ami 
iiniveisily  wliicli  tends  to  iiiakc  mcnwiniT  as  to  tlu'  ininiKlcTH  of  proj^i'css 
which  have  been  ^(anding  at  the  i)ortals  of  history  during  unnumbcrt'd  cen- 
turies have  not  been  liijhtly  considered.  Tlie  day  cannot  be  distant  when  not 
one  form  of  industry  alone,  (>ucl;  as  agricnllnrc,  liiit  wlicn  every  branch  of 
labor  will  have  its  Technological  Institute  ii:  every  town,  where  the  meclianlc, 
resting  from  daily  toil  for  a  time,  may  relVesli  his  soul  in  siieculatlon  in  such 
national  establishmentH,  commamling,  witiinut  lost,  the  I'liUist  denu)iistrati(»ii 
of  the  means  by  which  now  mechanisms  w'uk.  Tlio  cost  of  all  the  models 
uecessary,  and  of  all  '.he  scientiHc  skill  retiii.red  to  work  such  .i  system  of 
technical  instraction,  fur  the  people  at  large,  woultl  be  but  as  the  dust  in  the 
b«I".nce  compaied  with  the  results  of  more  intelligent  action  in  our  work- 
shops,  and  stimula'ed  inventive  skill  upcui  our  national  wealth.  The  jour- 
neys of  tlie  elder  Steplienson  to  Newcastle-upon-Tyne  to  see  such  models  of 
machinery  ns  were  in  his  day  available,  the  speculations  of  Watt,  the  optician, 
with  Ne\vc(unen's  model  of  a  steam  engine,  the  experiments  of  the  French 
weaver  Jacquard  ui)on  the  loom,  n(>  less  than  llie  movements  of  our  own  in- 
ventors in  a  thousand  various  directions,  explain  the  means  b}'  which  the 
million-fold  harvest  would  be  reaped  from  such  wise  jil mting.  Art  instruc- 
tion, as  well  asscientitic  training,  is  an  essential  in  building  up  the  greatness 
of  a  people.  Man  has  more  facets  to  his  well  cultured  brain  than  all  the  tiny 
l)lanes  of  the  best  work  of  the  lapidary  upon  the  precious  stone,  and  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  beaiilifui  in  sight  and  sound  is  one  of  tlic  man}'  powers  which 
must  be  used  for  his  adequate  development.  ]\Ien  who  have  studied  the  Chi- 
naman in  his  hithitdt  cannot  fail  to  see  that  his  arrested  growth  in  thought 
and  in  government  is  largely  due  to  the  want  of  universality  in  his  system  of 
culture.  The  schooling  wliich  could  allow  the  art  of  printing,  once  discov- 
ered, to  slumber  unimproved  for  hundreds  of  years,  which  could  permit  a 
nation  to  remain  untaught  as  to  tlie  rules  of  perspective  in  painting,  and  as 
to  the  combination  of  sounds  in  music,  should  be  a  perpetual  warning  to 
ever}'  community  iigainst  tlie  neglect  of  taste  as  a  merns  of  development,  a 
branch  of  culture  which  we,  as  a  i>eople,  have  until  of  late  yeais  been  in- 
clined to  hold  too  cheaply.  The  Historian  owes  it  to  himself,  no  less  than  to 
his  subject,  to  mak(!  his  contributions  to  literature  a  means  of  arousing  at- 
tention to  all  such  dangers,  and  to  assist  in  evoking  public  spirit  from  the 
vast  deep  of  thoughtlessness  and  inattention  in  which  too  many  ojiportuni- 
ties  have  found  their  grave  "  unwept,  unlicnored  and  unsung." 

The  Nortliwest  will  be  sei'U  to  liave  done  its  fair  projiortion  in  all  such 
works  as  have  yet  been  accomplished,  and  some  items  in  its  liistory  tending 
in  these  several  directions,  will  be  found  duly  clu'oniclcd  in  their  proper  rela- 
tion lO  contemporary  events.  Columbus,  the  capital,  and  Cincinnati,  the  me- 
tropolis, of  Ohio,  will  find  their  own  deeds  and  records  standing  in  their 
proper  position,  surrounded  by  the  industrial  prowess  and  social  advanceinen' 
of  llie  state  which  tliey  represent.  Indianaiiolis,  the  wondrous  city  which, 
i-ince  the  year  1810,  has  won  an  approach  to  empire  such  as  no  city  vei' 
achieved  in  any  other  quarter  of  the  globe  in  a  century,  will  find  that  her  ;ii- 


'^•,. 


IsrnODVCTORY. 


9 


(liistrliil  cntorpiiocs,  licr  niilnm-.lM,  litr  limber  and  her  oxj)orts  have  been  nolcil 
with  nil  iipiJicchitivc  !i  inil  aa  an  iiullcalioii  of  the  wealth  niul  power  whicli 
the  lutiiio  liohls  ill  trii-t  lor  Iiuliaim.  Hi.rinf,'tklil,  the  hoinc  ol"  Abraham  I-iii- 
coin  anil  his  l)iirial  place,  the  ca|iilal  of  Illinoisi,  anil  C'lilcttgo,  ihe  nicliopollH 
of  the  Great  Northwest,  have  been  depieled  with  no  f'riulgin;^  pencil,  al- 
thoMj;h  the  jireatness  of  the  last  named  city,  its  niislbriu  i  and  its  heroic 
clVorts  in  combating  disaster,  would  task  tiie  resoiircea  ot  ..n-  ablest  writer 
that  lh(!  world  has  ever  seen.  .Michigan  lias  been  sketch'  I  irom  the  earliest 
dayn  of  a  French  trailinj;  post  and  fort  at  Detroit  >  the  mI  (di'oirt  of  the 
state  at  this  hour,  and  while  the  beauty  of  the  metropolis  has  lucn  reeo;;. 
nlzed.  Ml'  other  cities  of  that  state  have  been  described  in  the  order  of  their 
importance.  Madison,  lh(!  handson.c  ca]>ital  of  Wiscoi.  lin,  and  Jlilwaukee, 
its  commercial  center,  conimandinir  the  vast  chain  of  lukes  and  the  river 
commerce  of  the  union,  demanded  a  notice  of  son\e  lenL'th,but  th(^  other  cen- 
ters of  industry  in  tin'  state  have  been  set  forih  in  their  true  colors,  as  thriv- 
ing  homes  of  large  detachmeids  of  the  great  Army  of  Progress  which,  by  the 
magic  of  well  applied  energy,  is  gradually,  but  not  slowl}-,  concpiering  wooil- 
huid,  river  and  prairie,  for  Ihe  best  purposes  of  mankinil,  preparing  a  way 
tiirough  the  wilderness  for  the  millions  coming  and  to  coni''  fron\  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe  and  Asia  to  builu  up  new  sections  of  tlio  cmiure  which  the 
United  States  have  established  in  the  name  of  (Jod  and  our  race.  81.  Paul, 
which  has  advanced,  with  the  *tatp  of  Minnesota  which  it  represents,  by 
steady  strides  from  a  log  chapel,  in  18139,  to  tlie  vast  and  pojiulous  dimensions 
of  to  day,  deserved  and  has  received  full  credit  for  the  prosperity  which  it 
lias  largely  I'.ssisled  to  produce  and  dill'use  over  a  tract  of  country  which,  for 
many  years  to  come,  must  go  on  increasing  in  all  th(!  respects  which  render 
life  enjoyable  \\\wn  this  footstool.  Iowa  came  with  her  hands  full  of  great 
cities  which  cliallenged  admiration,  and  there  has  been  an  attempt  to  annotate 
her  claims,  but  who  couKl  render  justice  to  Des  Moines,  Davenport,  Dubuipie, 
Jlurlington,  Keokuk  and  Council  IJlull's  within  brief  limits,  wlien  every  city 
might  have  filled  a  volume  with  the  incidents  of  early  settlement,  the  strug- 
gles for  the  soil,  and  the  mineral  wealth  which  slumbered  in  the  rocks,  the 
edorls  which  have  made  education  a  possibility,  and  tiie  iron  roads  which 
unite  every  settlement  in  bonds  of  commerce  willi  the  wide  world.  Kansas 
had  a  peculiar  history,  having  been  for  some  years  the  baltle-groimd  upon 
which  was  fought  out  in  miniature  the  great  struggle  which  eventually  burst 
the  shackles  of  the  slave,  and  its  soil  and  situation  had  claims  upon  special 
notice  because  of  the  manifold  charms  which  base  alread}-  commanded  a 
poiuilation  of  over  si.v  hundred  thousand  sou's  in  the  brief  time  wiiich  has 
elapsed  since  peace  has  reigned  in  the  state.  There  has  been  an  effort  to  do 
j\istice  briefly  to  the  chums  of  KiUisas,  but  the  subject  requires  a  work  spe- 
cially devoted  to  that  purpose,  and  the  vast  quantity  of  material  gathered  for 
this  precis  has  been  further  elaborated  in  a  separate  publication.  Topeka, 
Leavenworth,  Lawrence,  and  the  other  cities  famous  in  history,  have  been  de- 
scribed from  actual  observation  with  some  approach  to  detail,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  the  result  will  be  accepted  as  an  approximation.  Nebraska,  youngest  of 
"  the  sisters  nine,"  has  yet  much  to  be  said,  if  mtt  for  her  achievements,  then 


10 


Tvttle's  Centennial  Northwest.' 


for  Ler  possibilities  in  a  briglit  anil  prosperous  future,  to  which,  with  a  full  aud 
earnest  admiration  of  their  present  glory,  the  author  looks  for  the  complete 
development  of  Lincoln,  Omaha  and  Nebraska  City  vnth  the  state  which 
they  worthily  represent. 

CnARLES  R.  TUTTLE. 
Madison,  Wis.,  March,  1876. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SOIL  AND  SUKFACE. 

Topography- Minerals- Climate -Soil  and  Production- Ohio   and   In. 

-  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

SOIL  AKU  SURFACK. 

T.^Dography- Minerals- Climate -Soil  and  Production -Michigan,        29 

CHAPTER  III. 

SOIL  ANIJ  SURFACE. 

Topography-Minerals-Soil  and  Production -Illinois,      -  .  40 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SOIL  AND  SUKFACE. 

Topography  -  Minerals  -  Soil  and  Production  -  Climate  -  Wisnonsin,      45 

CHAPTER  V. 

SOIL  AND  SURFACE. 

Topography  -  Minerals  -  Climate  -  Soil  and  Production  -  Iowa,   -  55 

CHAPTER  VI. 

SOIL  AND  (SURFACE. 

Topography-Climate-Minerals-Soil  and  Production -Kansas,  Cr, 

CHARTER  VII. 

SOIL  AND  SURFACF,. 

Topography-Climate-Minerals-Soil  and  Production -Nebraska,        91 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

H.XPLORATION   AND  SETTLEMENT. 

S..no'''%1*'"/^  "^  "'*"  ^""''wost- Expeditions  of  Marquette  .nd  I  x 

'  '  '  •  -  ub 

CHAP'J'ER  IX. 

THE   FRANCO-BRITISH   COLONIAL  CONFLICT 

French  Claims  to  all  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio-En-lish  Cl-iims  to 

P"  s?ss]on^-Th7w.;.'^rr  '/f  ??"•>?  P^'n*;^*'^  PrCecVihei^cSed 

'  ■  -  "  -  -  lOi 


19 


TuTTLE's   CEyTESNIAL  NoUTHWEST. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   FRAXCO-nUlTISII   COLONIAL  CONFLICT. 

French  and  Englisli  Colonics  Prupaiing  for  Wiir  —  Tlie  Contest  —  The  Fall 


of  Canada ■ 
pears, 


•  Taking  Possession  of  the  Western  Outposts  —  Pontiiic  Aii- 
Ii5 


CHAPTER  xr. 

BOUUEn   WAHb. 

A  Review  of  the  Western  Outposts  in  1759 —  Condition  of  the  Indian  Tribes — 
Sketch  of  Pontiac — History  of  tlie  Puatiac  War — Sketch  of  the  Fall  of 
the  Nine  Western  Outposts,  .....  119 

CHAPTER  XII. 

FllENCII   ILLINOIS. 

The  Illinois  Country  Ceded  to  Great  Britain  —  Johnson's  Disastrous  Expedi- 
tion—  Sketch  of  the  Illinois  Country  —  Last  of  the  French,      -        -     180 

ClfAPTER  XIII. 

THE   nEVOLUTION   IN   THE  NORTHWEST. 

Settlements  in  the  Ohi(»  Valley — Dunviiore's  War  —  Indian  Bonier  Wars  — 
Affairs  in  the  Lake  Region  —  The  Expedition  of  Geo.  Rogers  Clark,    144 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

CLARK'S   EXPEDITION. 

Sketch  of  the  Celebrated  Expedition  of  Gen.  Geo.  Rogers  Clark -Capture  of 
Vincennes,  Kaskaskia  and  Other  Posts — The  Alcniorable  Contest  between 
Clark  and  Ilainillon  at  Vincennes,         .....     155 

CHAPTER  XV. 

BRITISH,   INDIAN8  AND  AMERICANS.. 

The  Struggle  for_the  Northwest  between  English,  Indians  and  Americans, 

-The  Ordinance  of 
-    170 


continued - 
1787, 


-The  Americans  Trimiii)hant  —  Peace- 


From  1512  to  185G, 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CRONOLOOT   01'    THE   NORTHWEST. 


183 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

TERRITORIAL  HISTORIES  —  OHIO. 

First  Settlement  in  Ohio  —  Cession  of  Virginia  and  Connecticut — Progress 
of  Settlements  —  Dayton  —  Cleveland  —  The  Territory  of  the  Northwest  — 
The  Town  of  ^Manchester  Laid  Out  —  Second  Grade  of  Government  —  Ohio 
admitted  as  a  State  —  Introductory,        .....    lyj. 

CH.VPTER  XVIII. 

TRRITORIAL   HISTORIES  —  INDIANA. 

AVm.  Henry  Harrison  —  Land  Ollice  —  Indian  Troubles 


Prophet  —  Indian    Complication  —  The 
toriiil  Affairs  —  Legislation, 


Tecumseh  an<I  the 
Battle   of   Tippecanoe  —  Terri- 

-    203 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

TERRITORIAL   HISTORIES  —  MICHIOAN. 

Tccumseh's  War  —  Organization  f  the  Michigan  Territory  —  Gov.  Hull  ap- 
pointed—  Hull  Invades  Canada  —  The  Jiritish  and  the  Americans  con- 
tending for  Detroit —  Hull's  Inglorious  Surrender,     .  .  .    218 


4 


Contj!:n:.-s. 


13 


CHAPTER  XX. 

TERRITOniAL  IIIST0KIE8  —  MICHIGAN 

iiuj,n,ssoi  lue  A eiutuiy  —  btatcGovenimcut Organized,  227 
CHAPTER  XXI. 

TKBniTOIlIAT.    niBTOUIES  — ILLINOI'5 

tLof!a  im  ^;,r^W.E"SHsl.   Virginia-Territorial    Government 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

TEllRITOUIAI,  IJISTOUIES  —  ^VISCONSIN 

Wisconsin  under  Frencl.,  English  and  American  Rule -Organization  of 
the  lerrit.^na  Government -Aelniinistrution  of  Dod-e  Kia£  nnfl 
Doty -Organization  of  the  State  Government,  °^'.  ■^'^""a^'ge  and 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  ULACK    HAWK   WAR. 

Sketch  of  Black  Hawk  and  Keokuk -Causes  that  led  to  the  War-Historv 
ot  the  Conte.st-The  Bravery  .,f  Black  Hawk -His  Fall  Arresm,^ 
Imprisonment-Incidents  of  the  Liberation,       -  '         '"'   25J 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

TERRITORIAL  HISTORIES  -  IOWA   AND  MINNESOTA,  28G 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

TERRITORIAI,   HISTORIES  —  K\NS\S 

^'"■^^!n^'"'r'7^*"'-  K'^",l^''-Ti>e  Kansas-Xebraska  Act -Territorial  Con 

ii'Sa       ^^'^"«''^-«'=^^^''y    Agitation -Kansas    made    r  State -Av 

"  ■ 292 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

ST.\TE    HISTOniES  — INDIANA. 

Administration   of  the   Governors  of  TiKli.mo    f..,>,„    t       .1         t       . 
ThomasA.Hendrick.-K,°ISi;rem    ^.ft^t^^ 
fairs -Progress  of  the  Stale,  Historical  and  Statistical,  /^'"  a^oj 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

STATE   HISTORIES- MICHIGAN 

^^'' iS  w;!"1v  J^ /i;!!"^!''!!!""  - ^'^^''^•^  "f  "'^  "  Toledo  War  "  -  Michigan 

1112 


iu  tlie  War  for  the  Union, 

CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

ST.VTE   HISTORIES  — WISCONSIN  — MINNESOTA -IOWA,      -  'JOT 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE   STATE  OK  OHIO. 

Poin,lation-Mau«factures-Comme,cc-R,ulroads-Educalion,cte.,  3:J4 

CHAPTER  X.XX. 

THE    SIATE   01.'   IM)I\\\. 

Population  -  Manul^icturcs- Commerce  -  Railroads  -  Educalion  _  Govern. 


y:J9 


14 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

TUE    STATE    OP    MICHIGAN. 

Populatiou  —  Manufactures  —  Commerce  —  Railroads  — Education  —  Govern- 


ment, 


342 


CHAPTER  XXXTI. 

THE   STATE  OF   ILLINOIS. 

Population  —  Manufactures—  Railroads  —  Commerce-- Governnuut  —Edu- 


cation—  Charities, 


y45 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  STATE   OV   WISCOKSIN. 

Population  —  IManufactures  —  Railroads  —  Commerce  —  Government-  Edu 


cation, 


848 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

THE  VTE  OF   MINNESOTA. 

Population  —  Manufactures  —  Railroads  —  Commerce  —  Government  —  Edu- 
cation, etc.,  ........    853 

'  CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE   STATE   OF   IOWA. 

Population  —  Manufactures  —  Education  —  Railroads  —  Governmeut,  etc.,  355 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE   STATE  OF   KANSAS. 

Population  —  Manufactures  —  Education  —  Government  —  Charitirs,  etc.,  359 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

THE   STATE  OF  NEIIUASKA. 

Population  —  Manufactures  —  Education  —  Commerce  —  Railroads  —  Govern- 
ment, .........    302 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

rUI\Cll'AL  CITIES   OF  OHIO. 

Columbus —  Cincinnati  —  Cleveland  —  Dayton — Toledo- Sandusky — Sprinsr- 
field,  etc., 304 

CHAFrER  XXXIX. 

VniNCIl'AL  CITIES   OF   INDIANA. 

Indianapolis  —  Evansville  —  Fort  AViiyne  —  New  Albany  —  3Iadison  —  La 
Fayetle  —  Terre  Haute, 387 

CHAPTER  XL. 

riUNCirAL  CITIES   OF   ILLINOIS. 

Spriiiglleld  — Chicago  —  Quincy — Peoria  — Galena,         -  -  •    429 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

rniNCIFAL  CITIES  OF  MICHIGAN. 

Lansing  — Detroit  —  Grand  Rapids  —  Adrian  —  Saginaw  —  IJa^'  City  —  Jiick- 
son,       .........  4y<j 


Contents. 


u 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

rniNCIPAL  CITIKS  OP  WISCONSIN. 

Madisoa  -  Milwaukee  -  Racine  -Fond  du  Lac-Oshkosh  -  Janesville,    611 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

„  PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  MINNESOTA. 

St.  Paul  — Minneapolis  — Winona, g^g 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

PHINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  IOWA. 

Des  Moines— Davenport-Dubuque-Builington-Keokuk,       . 

CHAPTER   XLV. 

PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  KANSAS. 

Topeka—  Leavenworth— Lawrence  — Atchison  — WyandoUe, 

CHAPTER   XLVI. 

PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  NEBRASKA. 

Lincoln  — Omaha— Nebraska  Citj',      .  .  .  .  _ 

CHAPl'ER  XLVII. 

CITY  OF  ST.  LOms  AND  KANSAS  CITY.  MO., 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

{Appenditory.) 

THE   SIOUX  MASSACRE. 

Terrible  Outbreak  and  Massacre  by  the  Sioux  Indians  in  Minnesota  in 

^®^^' -  601 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

FAIRMOUX.'  EXPOSITION  — THE  CHEAT  CENTENNIAL, 


550 


581 


693 


505 


CHAPTER  L. 

BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 


613 


640 


m^^M 


I 


16 


Tvttle's  Centesnial  Northwest. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


I'ortynitn. 


II   I    I 


1.  Abmliam  Linc(>ln,    - 

2.  UlyssL's  S.  Grant, 

3.  Anhiir  8t.  Cliiir, 

4.  KoVit.  McCk'llaiul, 

5.  Lewis  Cass, 

0.  Ebeii  B.  Ward, 

7.  (4f().  K.  Clark,  - 

8.  Sclmylcr  Colfax,       - 

9.  Thos.  A.  Ileiulricks, 

10.  O.  P.  .Alorton,   - 

11.  G.  N.  Fitch,      - 

12.  M.  C.  K(!rr, 

13.  S.  K.  Wolfe,      - 

14.  ]).  1).  Pratt,       - 

15.  T.  J.  (Jarsnii,     - 

16.  J.  P.  C.  Shanks, 

17.  M.  C.  Hunter,  - 

18.  J.  N.  Tvner,      - 
1».  J.  E.  McDonald, 

20.  11.  S.  Lane, 

21.  G.  T.  Orth, 

22.  G.  W.  :sroars,    - 

23.  1{.  T.  Brown,     - 

24.  J.  A.  Comingor, 

25.  W.  B.  Fletcher, 
2(5.  C.  E.  Wrisrht, 
27.  A.  C.  Dod-ie,     - 
28   G.  W.  .AlcCrary, 
29.  C.  C.  Carpenter, 


Illinois. 


Michiiran. 


Indiana. 


-    Iowa. 


80.  AV.  AV.  Belknap, 
ai.  n.  N.  Coolev, 
ii2.  (\.  C.  ]{.  Mitchell,  - 
'i'.\.  G.  AV.  Jones,  - 
34.  Chas.  Ne;rus,  - 
;!5.  S.  J.  Kirkwood, 
30.  Jas.  Grant, 

37.  E.  B.  L.  Grunt, 

38.  Jas.  AV.  Grimes, 
3!>.  M.  Donohue,    - 

40.  J.  I.  Case, 

41.  J.  U.  Doolittle, 

42.  I'hiletus  Sawyer,      - 

43.  II.  Ludington, 

44.  I.  A.  Laphani, 

45.  AV.  E.  Smith,    - 
40.  David  Atwood, 

47.  Chas.  G.  AVilliams,  - 
48   David  Noirsle, 

49.  Alex.  Mitchell, 

50.  L.  B.  Villas,      - 

51.  L.  C.  Draper,    - 

52.  Silas  Garber,    - 

53.  A.  Brunson, 

54.  J.  M.  Ileum,     - 

55.  Thos.  A.  Osborn,  - 
50.  John  A.  llalderman. 
57.  C.  K.  Davis, 


Iowa. 


Wisconsin. 


Nebraska. 
Wisconsin. 

Kansas. 

it 

Minnesota. 


yicivs,  etc. 


\      I 


CEXTEXNI.\L. 

58.  E.xliibilion  Building. 

59.  Ilortieullural  Kail. 

00.  Machinery  Kali. 

01.  Acrieultural  Hall. 

02.  Alemorial  Hall. 

03.  Ladies  Pavilion. 


KANS.\9    SCENES. 

04.  Montgomery's  Heroic  Defense. 

05.  Shocking  Massacre  of  Spaniards. 
CO.  The  Kescue  of  Branson. 

07.  Escape  of  Gov.  Keeder. 

08.  Raid  on  Lawrence. 


Iowa. 


Wisconsin. 


Nebraska. 
Wisconsiu. 

Kansas. 

it 

Minnesota. 


Defense. 
|)f  Spaniards. 
m. 
pr. 


li  ^ 


Iphiudblphia    U.S.AMCBIOA  ><!=< 


><i=<    MAY1(r"mOVBMBRi1(ri87e. 


i 


i 


i 


TUTTLE'S  CENTENNIAL  NORTHWEST. 


CHAPTER  I. 


SOIL  AND  SURFACE. 

Topography— Mluerals  —  Climato  —  Soil  and  Productious— Ohio  and  In- 
diana. 


•-J~y 


m>2 


7s 


S- 


The  surface,  soil,  climate  and  productions  of  tlie  Great  North- 
west are  matters  that  properly  solicit  attention  in  the  first  chapter 
of  this  work ;  for,  to  these  phases  of  history  more  than  to  any- 
thing else  is  the  prosperity  of  a  country  indebted.  The  soil  of 
the  vast  tract  of  territory  lying  between  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
and  Missouri  rivers,  in  points  of  extent  and  fertility,  has  no 
equal  — nothing  that  will  compare  with  it  on  the  earth.  The 
beauty  of  its  scenery  and  the  value  and  extent  of  its  productions 
challenge  any  other  equal  portion  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  the 
challenge  will  forever  stand  without  an  answer.  The  same  re- 
mark  applies  with  equal  force  and  propriety  to  the  climate  of  the 
Xorthwest.  The  general  temperature,  the  length  and  quality  of 
the  winters,  the  healthfulness  and  mildness  of  the  summers,  are 
alike  favorable  to  agricultural  and  animal  growth  and  develop- 
ment. No  where  in  the  world  are  the  various  branches  of  agri- 
culture more  profitably  pursued ;  nowhere  on  the  earth  has  a 
more  intelligent  or  energetic  class  of  men  been  developed. 

The  numerous  rivers,  great  and  small,  seem  to  have  been  out- 
lined by  the  Almighty  with  a  view  to  the  jn'omotion  of  com- 
merce and  manufacturing.  The  giant  forests,  the  inexhaustable 
mineral  deposits  of  coal,  iron,  lead,  silver,  etc.,  the  boundless 
prairies,  and  the  rolling  woodlands,  all  combine  in  presenting  a 

2 


18 


TuTTLK's   CKXTKyNIA  KoiiTIlWEST. 


scene  in   nature  without  iin  equal    for  richness,    marvellous   in 
beauty,  inspiring  to  mankind.     In  directing  attention  to  the  prin- 
.cipal  features  in  the  topograpliy  of  the  Northwest,  we  shall,  for 
the  most  part,  present  them  by  states. 


OHIO. 

The  great  state  of  Ohio  has  au  urea  of  39,96-4  square  miles. 
The  state  is  situated  between  38°  32'  and  42"  N.  latitude,  and  be- 
tween 80°  30'  and  84"  40'  W.  longitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Michigan  aaul  lake  Erie,  on  the  east  by  Pennsylvania 
and  West  Virginia,  on  the  south  by  West  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky, and  on  the  west  by  Indiana.  Its  extreme  length  from 
north  to  south  is  about  200  miles,  and  its  width  about  195  miles. 

A  level  country,  elevated  about  1,000  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  occupies  the  center  of  the  state,  while  the  north  central 
part  of  the  state  is  crossed  by  a  ridge  of  hills  which  divide  the 
waters  that  flow  into  lake  Erie  from  those  that  flow  into  the  Ohio 
river.  A  second  slope  interrupts  the  Ohio  slope  in  the  south 
central  part  of  the  state,  and  from  this  ridge  the  lower  part  of  the 
state  is  a  fine  rugged  country,  which  rises  into  a  range  of  bold 
hills  along  the  Ohio  river.  There  are  some  prairie  lands  in  the 
center  and  northwest,  and  in  the  latter  portion  is  a  large  tract  of 
great  fertility,  called  the  Black  Swamp,  a  considerable  pau  of 
•which  is  heavily  timbered.  Much  of  the  country  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  lake  Erie  is  marshy. 

As  already  mentioned,  lake  Erie  forms  the  greater  part  of  the 
northern  boundary,  and  receives  the  waters  of  the  Maumee,  San- 
dusky, Huron  and  Cuyahoga.  With  the  exception  of  the  Mau- 
mee, which  has  its  source  in  Indiana,  all  these  streams  rise  in  and 
flow  through  this  state.  The  principal  towns  on  the  lake  are 
Cleveland  and  Sandusky.  Sandusky  Bay  extends,  for  about 
twenty  miles,  inland.  The  lake  shore  abounds  with  many  good 
harbors,  but  the  Maumee  is  the  only  river  susce])tible  of  naviga- 
tion that  flows  into  the  lake  from  Ohio. 

But  we  must  not  fail  to  speak  of  the  great  Ohio  river  which 
forms  all  the  southern  and  a  large  portion  of  the  eastern  boundary 
of  the  state.     This  river  touches  Ohio  for  a  distance  of  470  miles, 


Soil  and  Suhface. 


W 


and  is  navigable  for  large  steamers  the  whole  of  the  distance. 
This  river  serves  the  eornmcree  of  the  state  in  a  remarkable  de- 
gree, drawing  to  i*a  current  most  of  the  commodities  of  the  state 
for  transportation. 

The  principal  tributaries  of  the  Ohio  arc  the  Muskingum, 
Scioto,  Little  Miami  and  Miami  rivers.  These  vary  in  length 
from  11  0  to  200  miles.  The  first  mentioned  is  navigable  for  a 
distance  of  70  miles,  by  means  of  dams  and  locks;  the  others 
are  not  navigable  at  all. 

Kclley's  Island,  and  other  fc,maller  islands  in  the  southwestern 
portion  of  Lake  Erie  belong  to  Ohio.  These  produce  a  fine  qual- 
ity of  grajjcs. 

The  principal  minerals  of  the  state  are  coal  and  iron.  However, 
lime  and  marble  are  found  and  worked  in  large  quantities.  Salt 
springs  arc  numerous  and  valuable.  Coal  and  iron  are  deposited 
in  inexhaustible  quantities,  and  the  annual  trade  in  these  com- 
modities in  Ohio,  amounts  to  millions  of  dollars. 

The  climate  of  Ohio  is  remarkably  agreeable  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  state  ;  snow  does  not  remain  on  the  ground  lor'"-  at  a 
time,  but  the  climate  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  state  is  more 
rigorous,  and  is  similar  to  the  climate  of  other  portions  of  the  lake 
region.  Damaging  droughts  have  occurred  in  Ohio,  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  crops,  but  happily  these  are  not  frequent. 

The  soil  is  extremely  fertile,  and  there  is  but  very  little  land 
that  cannot  be  brought  under  profitable  cultivation.  The  charac- 
ter of  the  soil  has  attracted  within  the  borders  of  the  state  a  fine 
population,  and  enterprises,  commercial,  manufacturing  and  finan- 
cial, have  sprung  up  which  have  become  the  wonder  of  the  nation. 
All  these  owe  their  greatness  to  the  value  and  fertility  of  the  soil. 
Ohio  is  said  to  have  grown  more  rapidly  than  any  other  state  in 
the  Union. 

Sixty  years  ago,  a  vast  forest  covered  almost  the  entire  country 
between  the  Virginia  line  and  Lake  Erie.  Now  the  same  area  is 
occupied  by  one  of  the  most  important  states  of  the  Union,  possess- 
ing a  population  of  nearly  3,000,000  souls,  and  ranking  amongst 
the  first  members  of  the  confederacy  in  her  wealth  and  resources. 
Wine  raising  is  now  a  very  important  interest  along  the  Ohio 
Eiver. 


wmm 


20 


Tuti'lk's  Centennial  NourinyEST. 


There  were  about  15,000,000  acres  of  improved  land  in  the 
state  in  the  year  1870,  and,  for  that  year,  the  agricultural  statis- 
tics of  the  state  are  given  authoritivcly  as  follows  : 


20,400,729 

02,443,34(5 

24.417,700 

1,080,410 

853,723 

223,700 

10,274,  OO.') 

110.740 

011,040 

15,518,085 

1,444.523 

1,784.047 

800, 208 

15,943,110 

18,723,377 

38,783,007 

20,520,108 

3,502,714 

10,202,a')8 

3,794,f<00 

155, 535 

1,777,100 

704,004 

22,057 

5.052,028 

1,720,113 

1,521,421 


Bushels  of  wheat. 

it 

Iniliiin  corn,    - 

II 

oats, 

<> 

barley, 

<i 

rye,  - 

It 

buckwheat, 

(1 

Irish  potatoes, 

w 

sweet  potatoes. 

II 

flax  seed,  - 

II 

apples. 

II 

peaches,    - 

Tons  of 

hay. 

It 

clover  hay,    - 

Pounds  of  tobacco. 

•1 

flax, 

41 

butter,  - 

■  1 

cheese. 

II 

maple  sugar,   • 

'     II 

wool, 

II 

grapes. 

Gallons 

of  wine, 

11 

sorghum  molasses, 

Number  of  horses, 

II 

mules. 

II 

sheep, 

11 

swine, 

11 

cattle, 

The  commerce  and  manufacturing  of  Ohio  are  immense,  yet  it 
is  principally  local,  that  is  to  say,  the  state  has  no  foreign  com- 
merce. The  lake  and  river  commerce  is  estimated  at  $150,000,000 
annually.  This  of  course  is  principally  river  commerce.  The 
number  of  steamers  entering  and  clearing  from  Cincinnati  is  about 
4,000  each  way  annually. 

The  manufactures  of  the  state  are  no  longer  in  their  infancy. 
In  1860,  Ohio  had  10,710  manufacturing  establishments.  These 
establishments  employed  a  capital  of  $58,000,000,  and  81,200 
hands,  consuming  raw  material  worth  $70,000,000,  and  yielding 
an  annual  product  of  $125,000,000.     These  figures  place  Ohio  in 


Soil  and  Surface. 


91 


1(1  ill  the 
ral  stutis- 


the  third  phicc  among  the  states  of  the  Union  in  commercial  and 
manufacturing  importance. 


20,400,720 
02,  -143, 340 
24,417,700 
1,080,410 
853,723 
223,700 
10,274,00.-) 
110.740 
011,040 
15,618,083 
1,444,523 
1,784,047 
800, 208 
15,043,110 
18.723,377 
88,783,007 
20,520,108 
3,S02,71i 
10,202,858 
3,704,800 
155, 535 
1,777,100 
704,004 
22,057 
5,052,028 
1,720,113 
1,521,421 

[isc,  yet  it 
ign  com- 
,000,000 

ICC.  Tho 
is  about 

infancy. 
These 
ll  81,200 
yielding 
Ohio  ia 


INDIANA. 

.  The  state  of  Indiana  has  an  area  of  33,800  square  miles,  and  is 
situated  between  37°  50'  and  41°  50'  N.  latitude,  and  between 
84°  51'  and  88"  W.  longitude.  It  is  bounded  on  tho  north  by 
Michigan  and  Lake  Michigan,  on  the  cast  by  Ohio  and  Kentucky, 
on  the  south  by  Kcntuck}',  and  on  the  west  by  Illinois.  It  has 
a  length  from  north  to  south  of  about  280  miles,  and  a  width  from 
east  to  west  of  about  144  miles. 

There  is  nothing  remarkable  in  the  topography  of  the  state. 
The  Ohio  river,  which  runs  along  the  southern  border  of  the  state, 
is  bordered  by  a  range  of  hills,  and,  in  addition  to  this  there  is  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  southern  part  of  the  state  that  is 
rugged.  A  low  range  enters  the  state  from  Kentucky  and  crosses 
the  southern  half  of  the  state  in  a  northwestern  direction.  Where 
the  White  and  Wabash  rivers  pass  through  this  range  there  is  a 
series  of  rapids,  and  the  rapids  of  the  Ohio  river  are  ]»roduced  by 
the  same  cause.  North  of  the  White  river  the  country  is  rolling, 
or  level.  The  western  counties  arc  for  the  most  part  continuous 
prairies,  while  in  the  northwest  there  are  extensive  swamp  lands. 
Lake  Michigan  washes  a  large  stretch  of  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  state,  Michigan  City  being  the  principal  town  on  the  Ir.ke 
shore.  Tho  Ohio  river  is  important  to  Indiana,  in  the  same  sense 
that  it  is  to  Ohio,  washing,  as  it  docs,  the  entire  southern  bound- 
ary of  the  state.  The  Wabash  rises  in  the  western  part  of  the 
state  of  Ohio,  and  enters  Indiana  near  the  center  of  the  eastern 
boundary.  It  then  Hows  northwest  to  Huntington,  where  it 
bends  to  the  southwest  and  flows  in  that  direction  across  the 
state  to  the  Illinois  boru  r,  below  Terre  Ilaute.  It  then  forms 
the  boundary  between  I  idiana  and  Illinois  for  about  100  miles, 
and  empties  into  the  Ohio  river  .it  the  southwestern  extremity  of 
the  former  state.  It  is  550  miles  long,  n^.d  is  navigable  for  300 
miles,  for  steamboats,  at  high  water.  The  White  river  is  the 
principal  branch  of  the  Wabash.  It  is  formed  by  two  branches, 
called   the  East  Fork  and   the  West   Fork.     The  West  Fork, 


23 


Tuttle's  Centenxial  NoitriiwEST. 


■wliicli  may  be  rcgar.led  as  the  main  stream,  rises  in  tlio  eastern 
part  of  tlie  state,  and  is  oOO  miles  long.  It  flows  through  the 
central  part  of  Indiana,  and  is  navigable,  at  high  water,  for  200 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  White  river.  The  East  Fork  is 
250  miles  long,  and  is  navigable  for  flat-boats.  The  two  branches 
luiite  near  Kinderhook,  in  Daviess  county.  The  main  stream  is 
about  40  or  uO  miles  long.  The  general  course  of  the  White 
river  and  its  branches  is  southwest.  The  Wabash  is  obstructed 
at  low  water  by  a  ledge  of  rocks  just  above  the  mouth  of  the 
White  river.  The  Maumee  and  its  branches  drain  the  northeast- 
ern counties,  and  the  Kankakee,  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Illi- 
nois, flows  through  the  northwest.  The  upper  St.  Josephs  of 
Michigan  flows  for  thirty  miles  through  this  state,  in  the  extreme 
northern  part.  The  Tippecanoe  and  Mississinewa,  flowing  into 
the  Wabash,  the  White  Water  and  Blue  river  flowing  into  the 
Ohio,  and  the  Flat  Rock  flowing  into  the  W^hite  river,  are  the 
other  streams  of  importance. 

The  mineral  resources  of  Indiana  are  prominent  among  the 
great  attractions  of  the  state.  Coal,  the  most  valuable  of  all 
minerals,  exists  in  the  state  in  great  abundance.  The  measures, 
says  Prof.  E.  T.  Cox,  cover  an  area  of  about  six  thousand  Ave 
hundred  square  miles,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state,  and 
extend  from  Warren  county,  on  the  north,  to  the  Ohio  river,  on 
the  south,  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  The 
following  counties  lie  within  its  area  :  Warren,  Fountain,  Parke, 
Vermillion,  Vigo,  Cla}',  Sullivan,  Greene,  Knox,  Daviess,  Martin, 
Gibson,  Pike,  Dubois,  Vandcrburg,  Warrick,  Spencer,  Perry,  and 
a  small  part  of  Crawford,  Monroe,  Putnam  and  Montgomery. 
The  coal  is  all  bituminous,  but  is  divisible  into  three  well  marked 
varieties .  caking  coal,  noncaking  coal,  or  block  coal,  and  cannel 
coal. 

The  total  depth  of  the  seams  or  measures  is  from  si.x  hundred  to 
eight  hundred  feet,  with  twelve  to  fourteen  distinct  seams  of  coal, 
though  they  are  not  all  to  be  found  throughout  the  entiio  area  of 
the  field.  The  seams  range  from  one  foot  to  eleven  feet  in  thick- 
nes.s,  and  the  field  ma}'',  from  the  character  of  the  co:"ii,  be  divided 
from  north  to  south  into  two  zones ;  the  western  contains  the 
seams  of  caking  coal,  and  the  eastern  the  noncakiiig  or  block  coal. 


Hill 


Soil  and  Surface. 


28 


There  are  from  three  to  four  workable  scams  of  caking  coal, 
ranging  from  three  and  a  half  to  eleven  feet  in  thickness.  At 
most  of  the  localities,  when  these  are  being  worked,  the  coal  is 
mined  by  adits  driven  in  on  the  face  of  the  ridges,  and  the  deepest 
shafts  in  the  state  are  less  than  three  hundred  feet;  the  average 
depth  to  win  coal  being  not  over  seventy-five  feet.  The  analyses 
of  samples  of  caking  coal  from  different  counties  iare  here  inserted, 
and  will  serve  to  indicate  its  value. 

The  five  feet  scam  at  "Washington,  Daviess  county,  is  as  fol- 
lows :  Specific  gravity,  1,294  ;  one  cubic  foot  weighs  80.87  lbs. 

QqJjq  ,  .  Ci  Kr,  )  ^'niinnn<j  ((i)  212'  F. 

Volatile  matter  - 


<5^-50]  Fixed  Carbon 


35.50 


j  Ash,  white 
I  Gas  - 


100.00 


5.50 
CO.OO 

4.50 
30.00 

100.00 


This  is  a  briglit  black  coal.,  makes  a  very  fair  quality  of  coke, 
and  yields  four  cubic  feet  of  gas  per  pound,  with  an  illuminating 
power  equal  to  fifteen  standard  candles.  The  live  feet  seam  in 
Sullivan  county  is  as  follows:  Specific  gravity,  1,228  ;  one  cubic 


foot  weighs  70.75  lbs. 
.Cok3       .... 

Volatile  matter  - 


<o  r,n  i  Moisture  @ 
.~.ou.  Fixed  Carbo 


47.50 


_  212^  F. 
i  Fixed  Carbon  . 
(  Ash.  white    . 

]  Gas    - 


100.00 


2.85 

51.10 

.80 

45.25 

100.00 


This  is  a  glos..sy,  jet  black  coal,  makes  a  good  coke  and  contains 
a  very  large  percentage  of  pure  illuminating  gas.  One  pound  of 
coal  yields  -1:.22  cubic  feet  of  gas,  witli  a  candle  power  equal  to 
fifteen  standard  sperm  candles.  The  average  calculated  calorific 
power  of  the  caking  coals  is  7745  heat  units ;  carbon  being  equal 
to  8080.  Both  in  the  northern  and  southern  portions  of  the  field, 
the  caking  coals  present  similar  good  qualities,  and  will  be  a  great 
source  of  private  and  public  wealth. 

The  eastern  zone  of  the  coal  measures  has  an  area  of  more  than 
four  hundred  and  fifty  square  miles.  It  is  here  that  we  find  the 
celebrated  ifoc/t  coaZ,  a  fossil  fuel  which  is  used  in  the  raw  state 
for  making  pig  Iron.  In  fact  this  coal,  from  its  physical  structure 
and  freedom  from  impurities,  is  peculiarly  suited  to  metallurgical 
purposes.     It  has  a  laminated  structure  with  carbonaceous  matter, 


:•?>-  -  ^^"^ 


wmmmmmm 


i' 

24 


TuTTLE's  CeNTEXKIAL  NoRTinVEST. 


like  charcoal,  between  the  lamina,  slatj  cleavage  and  rings  under 
the  hammer.  It  is  free  burning,  makes  an  open  fire,  and  with- 
out caking,  swelling,  scaffolding  in  the  furnace  or  changing  form, 
burns  like  hickory  wood  until  it  is  consumed  to  a  white  ash  and 
leaves  no  clinkers.  It  is  likewise  valuable  for  generating  steam 
and  for  household  uses.  Many  of  the  principal  railway  lines  in 
the  state  are  using  it  in  preference  to  any  other  coal,  as  it  does  not 
burn  out  the  .ireboxes  and  gives  as  little  trouble  as  wood. 

There  are  as  many  as  eight  distinct  seams  of  block  coal  in  this 
zone,  three  of  which  are  workable,  having  an  average  thickness  of 
four  feet.  In  some  places  this  coal  is  mined  by  adits,  but  gener- 
ally from  shafts,  forty  to  eighty  feet  deep.  The  seams  are  crossed 
by  cleavage  lines  and  the  coal  is  usually  rained  without  powder, 
and  m.ay  be  taken  out  in  blocKs  weighing  a  ton  or  more.  When 
entries  or  rooms  are  driven  angling  across  the  cleavage  lines,  the 
v;aMs  of  the  mine  present  a  zigzag,  notched  ppearance,  resemb- 
ling a  Virginia  v  orm  fence. 

In  1871  there  were  about  twenty-four  block  coal  mines  in  oper- 
ation, and  about  fifteen  hundred  tons  were  mined  daily,  Now 
there  are  more  than  fifty  mines  in  operation,  and  the  amount 
mined  daily  will  reach  nearly  five  thousand  tons,  and  the  demand 
is  increasing  faster  than  the  facilities  for  raising  it.  Miners  are 
paid  from  one  dollar  to  one  dollar  and  twenty  cents  per  ton, 
and  the  coal  sell's,  on  the  ears  at  the  mines,  for  two  dollars  and 
.seventy-five  cents  per  ton  of  two  thousand  pounds.  The  usual 
estimate,  to  cover  all  expenses  for  running  a  mine,  is  fifty  cents 
per  ton,  which  leaves  a  net  profit  of  from  one  dolha'  to  one  dol- 
lar and  twenty-five  cents  per  ton.  Coal  l.mds  sell  at  from  fifty 
dolla.'s  to  five  hundred  dollars  pcraere,  according  to  location  and 
the  extent  of  the  investigations  that  have  been  made  to  prove 
the  quality  and*  quantity.  The  following  analysis  will  serve  to 
indicate  the  quality  of  the  block  coal : 

Glay  County,  Star  Mine,  Planet  Furnace. 

Asl),  wliitc,  ...... 

Carbon,  ...... 

Hydrogen,  ...... 

Nitrogen,  ...... 

Oygen,  ...... 

Sulphur,  '.•.... 


No.  1. 

No.  8. 

2.74 

1.68 

81. 00 

83.08 

4.39 

4.10 

1.G7 

l.«7 

8.8« 

8.17 

.73 

.70 

100.00 

100.00 

Soil  and  Surface. 


25 


iprs  under 
and  with- 
^ing  form, 
;e  ash  and 
iing  steam 
ly  lines  in 
t  does  not 
od. 

?al  in  this 
licknessof 
but  gener- 
ire  crossed 
it  powder, 
e.  When 
3  lines,  the 
!C,  resemb- 

63  in  oper- 

ily.     Now 

le  amount 

ic  demand 

liners  arc 

per  ton, 

Hars  and 

riie  usual 

ifty  cents 

one  dol- 

rom  fifty 

ation  and 

to  prove 

serve  to 


No.  8. 
1.68 

83.68 

4.10 

1.67 

8.17 

.70 

100.00 


Calculated  calorific  power  equal  to  8,283  heat  units. 

These  examples  show  a  fair  average  qualitj'  of  the  block  coal 
used  in  the  blast  furnaces  of  Indiana  for  making  Bessemer  pig. 
The  quality  is  alike  good,  both  in  the  northern  and  southern  parts 
of  the  field.  Nine  blast  furnaces  in  Indiana,  and  others  at  Cir- 
ondelet,  near  St.  Louis,  are  using  the  raw  block  coal  for  smelting 
iron  ores,  and  it  gives  universal  satisfaction. 

The  Brazil  blast  furnace  is  sixty-one  feet  high,  fourteen  foot 
across  the  boshes,  and  has  a  closed  top.  It  is  using  tlie  Missouri 
specular  hematite  and  rod  hematite  iron  ores.  With  three  parts  of 
the  former  and  one  part  of  the  latter,  the  make  is  forty  tons  of  two 
thousand  two  hundred  and  sixtj'^-eight  jiounds  per  day,  and  with 
equal  parts  of  each  the  make  is  thirty-live  to  thirty-six  tons  per 
day.  Four  thousand  pounds  of  block  coal  arc  used  to  the  ton 
of  iron.  The  IMissouri  ores  now  cost,  on  an  average,  twelve  dol- 
lars per  ton  at  the  furnace,  being  an  advance  over  the  year  1874 
of  more  than  three  dollars  per  ton.  One  and  a  half  tons  of  the 
specular  ore  will  produce  a  ton  of  pig  iron  ;  of  the  red  hematite  it 
requires  a  little  more  than  this  quantity  to  make  a  ton  of  pig. 

This  certainly  speaks  highly  for  the  block  coal,  as  well  as  of 
the  superior  advantages  offered  in  Indiana  for  the  manufacture  of 
iron  and  Bessemer  steel  rails.  The  cost  of  labor  to  make  a  ton 
of  pig  iron  at  the  furnace  iu  Indiana  is  about  three  dollars  and 
fifty  cents. 

The  great  Indiana  coal  field  is  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  by  raih'oad,  from  Chicago,  Illinois,  or  Michigan  City,  ia 
this  state,  from  which  ports  the  Lake  Superior  specular  and  red 
hematite  ores  are  landed  from  vessels  that  arc  able  to  run  in  a 
direct  course  from  the  ore  banks.  Lake  Superior  ore  is  similar  in 
quality  to  that  from  the  Iron  Mountain  in  Missouri,  and  is  as  well 
adapted  for  making  Bessemer  pig.  From  the  Iron  Mountain 
to  tlie  block  coal  field,  the  distance  is  two  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  by  railroad.  There  are  five  railroads  running  from  the  coal 
field  to  St.  Louis,  and  three  to  Chicago,  and  two  to  Michigan  City. 

Any  careful  thinking  business  man  can  easily  observe  the  ad- 
vantages of  this  immense  coal  field  to  the  future  pro-sperity  of  In- 
diana. From  it  untold  wealth  will  flow  into  private  and  public 
trci'suries.     To-day  it  lies  comparatively  dormant,  awaiting  only 


mmmm 


26 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


'■'  y 


the  combined  efforts  of  capital  and  labor  to  make  it  the  centre  of 
activity  and  the  fountain  of  material  prosperity. 

But  we  must  not  forget  the  cannel  coal.  One  of  the  finest 
seams  of  this  coal  to  be  found  in  the  countiy  is  to  be  seen  in 
Daviess  county,  Indiana.  Here  we  have  a  coal  five  feet  thick,  of 
which  the  upper  three  and  a  half  feet  is  cannel,  and  the  lower  one 
and  a  half  feet  is  a  beautiful  jet  black  caking  coal.  Tlie  two 
qualities  are  united,  and  show  no  intervening  clay  or  shale,  so 
that  in  mining,  fragments  of  the  caking  coal  are  often  fouud  ad- 
hering to  the  cannel.  There  is  no  gradual  change  from  one  to 
the  other,  or  blending  of  the  varieties  where  united,  but  the 
change  is  sudden  and  the  character  of  the  cannot  coal  is  homo- 
geneous from  top  to  bottom. 

The  cannel  coal  makes  a  delightful  fire  in  open  grates,  and 


does  not  pop  and  throw  off  scales  into  th€ 


open  grf 
as  is  usually  the 


room, 
case  with  this  variety  of  coal.      The  following  is  Prof.  Cox's 


an- 


alysis of  this  coal :  Specific  gravity,  1,229  ;  one  cubic  foot  weighs 
76.87  lbs. 


Coke, 
Volatile  matter, 


48.00 
52.00 


Ash,  white, 
Fixed  Carbon, 
j  Moisture  @  212°  F., 


(  Gas, 


6.00 
42.00 

3.50 
48.50 


100.00 


100.00 

— — . 

71.10 

7. 05 

COO 

1.45 

12.74 

1.00 

100.00 

Ultimate  analysis  of  the  same  coal : 

Carbon,      ...... 

Asli,     ...... 

lI;(lro(;cn,  .  .  .  .  , 

Nitrogen,        ..... 

Oxyiron,     ...... 

Sulphur,         ..... 


From  the  above  analysis  it  will  be  seen  that  this  coal  is  admi- 
rably adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  illuminating  gfu'5,  both  from 
the  quantity  it  yields  and  its  high  illuminating  power.  One  ton 
of  two  thousand  pounds  of  this  cannel  coal  yields  ten  thousand, 
four  hundred  feet  of  gas,  while  the  best  Yo-ughiogheny  coal  used 
at  the  Indianapolis  gas  works,  yields  but  eight  thousand,  six 
hundred  and  eighty  cubic  feet.  This  gas  has  an  illuminating 
power  of  25.2  candles,  while  the  Youghiogheny  coal  gas  has  an 
illuminating  power  of  seventeen  candles. 


Soil  and  Sudface. 


27 


Cannel  coal  is  also  found  in  great  abundance  in  Perry,  Greene, 
Parke  and  Fountain  counties,  where  its  commercial  value  lias 
already  been  attested. 

There  are  numerous  deposits  of  bog  iron  ore  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  state,  and  clay  iron  stones  and  impure  carbonates  and 
brown  oxides  are  found  scattered  over  the  vicinity  of  the  coal 
fields.  At  some  localities  the  beds  are  quite  thick,  and  of  con- 
siderable commercial  value.  Investigation  is  already  showing 
that  Indiana  contains  valuable  ore  beds,  that  will,  at  no  distant 
day,  contribute  largely  to  lier  importance. 

Indiana  also  contains  immense  and  inexhaustible  quantities  of 
building  stone,  sufficient  for  all  future  purposes,  of  the  very  best 
quality.  Numerous  quarries  arc  already  open  and  in  successful 
operation.  There  is  an  abundance  of  excellent  lime  in  the  state. 
This  is  gaining  a  wide  reputation  and  largely  adding  to  the  state 
commerce. 

The  climate  is  mild  as  a  general  rule,  but  liable  to  sudden  and 
severe  changes.  The  summers  are  warm,  but  the  winters,  *hough 
severe,  are  short,  and  except  in  the  most  northern  counties  deep 
snows  are  not  usual. 

The  soil  of  Indiana  is  uniformly  very  good.  Corn  is  the  great 
staple  of  the  state ;  many  farmers  have  become  wealthy  in  rais- 
ing it.  It  is  easily  cultivated,  and  almost  every  farmer  has  from 
forty  to  one  hundred  ai.d  fifty  acres.  Tw  persons  can  prepare 
the  ground,  plant  and  attend  to  and  gather  from  forty  to  fifty 
acres,  and  the  product  is  generally  from  thirty  to  seventy  bushels 
an  acre,  averaging,  perhaps,  forty  or  forty-five.  Good  land,  with 
the  proper  preparation  and  care,  will,  in  a  good  season,  produce 
from  seventy  to  ninety  bushels  to  the  acre.  Corn,  in  former 
days,  say  from  1840  to  1850,  usually  sold  at  from  ten  to  thirty 
cents  a  bushel.  Millions  and  millions  of  bushels  have  been  used 
at  the  former  price  to  fatten  bogs  in  the  interior;  but  in  this 
respect  things  have  undergone  a  change  —  a  change  in  favor  of 
the  farmer.  The  cultivation  of  corn  is  admirably  adapted  to  the 
soil  and  climate  of  the  state,. and  to  the  customs  of  the  farmers. 
The  soil  is  very  rich,  loamy,  and  with  proper  cultivation  the  cora 
does  not  often  suffer  either  from  cold,  rains  or  drouth. 
The  commercial  and  manufacturing  interests  of  Indiana  have 


!*«• 


■)  ,1. 


I      1 

'      I     iff 


M 


1 


>!il 


28 


TuTTLifs  Centennial  Nortiiwlst. 


not  been  neglected,  nor  arc  they  lagging.  Commerce  in  tlic  pro- 
duction of  the  soil,  for  many  years  absorbed  the  attention  of 
traders  and  speculatoi-s ;  but  no  sooner  had  the  prosperity  of 
trade  created  a  demand  for  a  general  development  of  the  agricul- 
tural resources  of  the  state,  than  a  special  interest  was  directed 
to  manufacturing.  This  was  manifested  as  early  as  18-iO,  and, 
from  that  year  down  to  the  present,  a  general  prosperity  has  at- 
tended almost  every  nuinufaciuring  establishment  in  the  state. 
It  is  said  that  the  largest  carriage  factory  in  the  whole  world, 
to-day,  is  located  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  at  the  flourishinrf  city 
of  South  Bend.  This  is  the  greatest  evidence  of  the  enterprise 
of  Indiana  manufactures,  when  taken  in  consideration  with  the 
celebrated  carriage  factories  of  Connecticut,  many  of  whi''i  have 
supplied,  to  a  great  extent,  the  markets  of  the  old  worla.  Fol- 
lowing are  some  statistical  observations. 

Manvfacturing  Statislics. 


Soil  and  Subface.  \ 


29 


!  in  the  pro- 
attention  of 
rosperity   o£ 
the  agricul- 
rt\is  directed 
,s  18i0,  and, 
)erity  has  at- 
in  the  slate, 
whole  -world, 
urishin,^  city 
,he  enterprise 
;ion  with  the 
f  whi-'i  have 
worla.    Fol- 


0. 

1850. 

5,323 

4,393 

t  •  •  •  • 

.... 

•  • 

■  ■  •  ■ 

,295 

1, 5(i3 

733 

14,440 

13,748 

093 

,12U7, 7.50, 403 
1,335!  3,728,844 
L597ilO,3(i<J,700 
',40918,725,423 


CHAPTEE    II. 
SOIL  AND  SURFACE. 

icontinuftl.) 
Topography  —  Minerals  —  Climate  —  Soil  and  Prncluctious. 

MICniGxiN. 

The  state  of  Michigan  has  an  area  of  56,451  square  miles,  and 
is  situated  between  41"  40'  and  47''  30'  N.  latitude,  and  82°  12' 
and  90°  30'  W.  longitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Canada 
and  lake  Superior;  on  the  cast  by  the  river  Ste.  Marie,  lake 
Huron,  the  lake  and  river  St.  Clair,  the  Detroit  river  and  lake 
Erie,  which  separate  it  from  Canada,  on  the  soutli  by  Oliio,  Indi- 
ana and  Wisconsin,  and  on  the  west  by  Wisconsin  and  lake  Mich- 
igan. 

Lakes  Michigan  and  Huron,  and  the  Straits  of  ^lackinaw,  divide 
the  state  into  two  unequal  peninsulas.  The  northern  peninsula 
is  about  320  miles  long  from  southeast  to  nortliwest,  with  an  ex- 
treme width  of  130  miles.  The  southern  peninsula  is  about  283 
miles  long,  from  north  to  south,  and  210  miles  wide  in  its  broadest 
part.  "The  southern  peninsula  of  Michigan,  so  interesting  in  its 
agricultural  and  economical  aspects,  is  rather  tame  in  its  topo- 
graphical features,  as  there  is  no  considerable  elevation  (compared 
with  the  country  immediately  around  it)  within  its  whole  extent, 
though  the  ridge  which  divides  the  waters  flowing  into  lakes 
Hur  a  and  Erie  from  those  flowing  into  lake  Michigan,  is  300 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  lakes,  and  about  1,000  feet  above  the 
sea.  The  country,  however,  may  be  generally  characterized  as  a 
va.st  undulating  plain,  seldom  becoming  rough  or  broken.  There 
are  occasional  conical  elevations  of  from  150  to  200  feet  in  heischt, 
but  generally  much  less.  The  shoi'es  of  lake  Iluron  are  often 
steep,  forming  blufls ;  while  those  of  lake  Michigan  are  coasted 
by  shifting  sandhills  of  from  100  to  200  feet  in  height.  In  th3 
southern  part  are  those  natural  parks,  thinly  scattered  over  with 


I 


30 


Tuttle's  Centennial  NoitrmvEsr. 


trees,  called  in  the  parlance  of  the  country,  '  oak  openings  ; '  and 
in  the  southwest  are  rich  prairie  lands.  Tlic  northern  peninsula 
exhibits  a  striking  contrast,  both  in  soil  and  surface,  to  the 
southern.  While  the  latter  is  level  or  moderately  undulating, 
and  luxuriantly  fertile,  the  former  is  picturesque,  rugged,  and 
even  mountainous,  with  streams  abounding  in  rapids  and  water- 
falls—  rich  in  minerals,  but  rigorous  in  climate,  and  sterile  in 
soil.  The  Wisconsin  or  Porcupine  Mountains,  which  form  the 
watershed  bctv^'ecn  lakes  Michigan  and  superior,  are  much  nearer 
the  latter  than  the  former,  and  attain  an  elevation  of  about  2,000 
feet  in  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  peninsula.  The  eastern 
part  of  tliis  division  of  the  state  is  undulating  and  picturesque, 
but  the  central  is  hilly,  and  composed  of  table  land.  The  shores 
of  lake  Superior  are  composed  of  a  sandstone  rock,  which,  in 
many  places,  is  worn  by  the  action  of  the  wind  and  waves  into 
fancied  resenablances  of  casles,  etc.,  forming  the  celebrated  Pic- 
tured Ptocks ;  while  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  are  comj)ose(l 
of  a  limestone  rock.  The  streams  on  the  northern  slope  of 
the  Porcupine  Mountains  liave  a  rapid  descent,  and  abound 
in  picturesque  falls  and  rapids.  The  northern  peninsula  is 
jjrimitive,  and  the  southern  secondary;  but. primitive  rocks  are 
scattered  over  the  plains  of  the  latter,  of  more  than  one  hundred, 
tons  weight,  most  abundant  on  the  borders  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
on  the  flanks  of  valleys,  and  where  traces  of  recent  floods  are 
apparent."  * 

Lake  Superior  washes  the  northern  shore  of  the  state.  Lake 
Michigan  the  western,  and  Lakes  Huron  and  Erie  the  eastern. 
Detroit,  between  Lakes  Eric  and  St.  Clair,  and  Grand  Haven, 
on  Lake  Michigan,  are  the  principal  ports  of  the  state.  The 
principal  baj-s  are  Saginaw  and  Thunder  bays  on  Lake  Huron, 
Tequamenon  and  Kewechaw  bays  on  Lake  Superior,  and 
Green,  Little  and  Grand  Traverse  bays,  and  the  Great  and 
Little  bays  des  Noquets,  on  Lake  Michigan.  A  number  of 
small  lakes  lie  in  the  state.  They  possess  no  commercial 
value,  but  form  a  beautiful  feature  of  the  landscape.  The 
rivers  of  the  state  are  nearly  all  small.     The  Detroit  and  Ste- 

*Lippincott'8  Gazetteer,  p.  1180. 


..iiiill 


Soil  a^^d  Surface. 


31 


nings  ; '  and 
•n  peninsula 
face,  to  the 
undulating, 
rugged,  and 
,s  and  water- 
nd  sterile  in 
L;h  form  the 
much  nearer 
about  2,000 
The  eastern 
picturesque, 
The  shores 
k,  which,  in 
1  waves  into 
ilob  rated  Pic- 
ire  composed 
crn   slope  of 
and   abound 
peninsula   is 
e  rocks  are 
ne  hundred 
jlrcat  Lakes, 
t  floods  are 

state,  Lake 
Ithe  eastern. 

ind  Haven, 
tate.     The 

ike  Huron, 

|)erior,  and 
Great  and 

I  number  of 

commercial 

ipe.      The 

It  and  Ste- 


Marie  have  been  noticed.  Those  of  the  southern  peninsula  empty 
into  lakes  Michigan,  Huron  and  Eric.  Those  flowing  into  lake 
Michigan  are  the  St.  Joseph's,  Kalamazoo,  Grand,  Mn.skcgon  and 
Manistee.  The  Au  Sable  and  Saginaw  flow  into  lake  Huron ;  the 
latter  through  Saginaw  Bay,  and  the  Huron  and  Raisin  into  lake 
Erie.  The  rivers  of  the  northern  peninsula  are  fine  mill  streams, 
but- arc  unfit  for  navigation  by  reason  of  rocks  and  rapids.  The 
principal  are  the  Mcnomonce,  Montreal  and  the  Ontonagon.  The 
first  flows  into  Green  Bay,  and  the  others  into  lake  Superior."* 
A  group  of  islands,  forming  Manitou  county,  lies  in  the  northern 
part  of  lake  Michigan. 

The  climate  of  the  state  is  not  as  severe  as  other  portions  of 
North  America  in  the  same  latitude,  being  greatly  tempered  by 
the  lake  breezes. 

The  existence  of  iron  in  the  upper  peninsular  has  long  been 
known.  The  Indians,  at  an  early  day,  gave  information  to  the 
white  traders  which  led  to  investigations;  but  it  was  not  until  a 
comparatively  recent  period  that  operations  on  an  extended  scale 
commenced.  The  first  company  organized  for  the  purpose  was 
called  the  Jackson  Iron  Company.  This  company  was  organized 
in  18-i5.  It  is  still  in  existence,  and  its  mine  has  yielded  the 
largest  amount  of  iron  of  any  in  the  district  save  one  —  the  Lake 
Superior  mine  only  jirodueing  a  larger  amount. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Jackson  Iron  Company,  one  of 
the  corporators  visited  the  lake  Superior  country,  and,  guided  by 
the  Indians,  discovered  and  located  what  are  now  known  as  the 
Jackson  and  Cleveland  mines.  On  his  return  home  he  brought  a 
specimen  of  the  ore,  a  portion  of  which  he  sent  to  Pittsburg,  and 
another  portion  to  Coldwater,  in  this  state,  for  the  purpose  of  hav- 
ing its  quality  tested.  At  the  former  place  it  was  pronounced 
utterly  worthless,  but  at  the  latter  a  more  favorable  report  was 
made.  In  1846  the  first  opening  was  made  in  the  Jacksoa  mine. 
The  year  following  a  forge  was  put  in  operation,  in  which  the  first 
ore  taken  out  of  the  Jackson  mine  was  manufactured  into  blooms. 
Hon.  E.  B.  "Ward  purchased  the  first  blooms  manufactured  by 
this  company,  and  used  the  iron  in  constructing  the  waiking-beam 


*  "  The  Great  Republic,"  p.  900. 


I'  :•• 


!r  Hi 


!         I 


:i;i!iii  i 


,;  1;   i 

yiifi 

32 


Tutti.es  Ckxtessial  XoilTinVEST. 


ot  the  stcnmcr  Ocean.  Otlici-  forges  followed  soon  after,  and,  in 
1853,  three  or  four  tons  of  iron  were  shipped  to  the  World's  Fair 
at  New  York.  Owing  to  the  dinficultics  of  shipping,  tliere  was 
little  done  until  1850,  when  regular  shipments  commenced. 

The  Cleveland  mine  was  opened  about  the  same  time.  Tho 
!^^arquettc  mine  was  next  opened,  and  made  its  fir.st  shijiment  in 
18G8.  Oilier  mines  were  opened  from  time  to  time,  as  the  atten- 
tion of  capitalists  was  attracted  to  the  region. 

Notwithstanding  the  unfavorable  report  made  by  the  Pittsburg 
parties  who  tested  the  ore  first  shipped  to  them,  lake  Superior 
iron  is  now  acknowledged  to  be  the  best  in  the  world.  Its  strength 
per  square  inch,  in  pounds,  has  bu'cn  found  to  be  no  less  than 
80,582.  Tiie  nearest  approach  to  this  is  in  tho  best  llussia  iron, 
the  strength  of  which  is  7G,0G9  j)ounds;  whilst  the  best  Swedish 
iron  shows  a  sf.rength  of  only  58,18-1.  The  common  English  and 
American  iron  bears  a  test  of  about  30,000  pounds. 

Lake  Superior  iron  has  been  practically  tested  in  every  possi- 
ble use  to  which  iron  can  be  put,  and  the  universal  testimony  is 
that  it  is  the  best  in  existence,  both  as  regards  strength  and  ease 
of  manipulation. 

The  mines  thus  far  developed  are  mainly  in  the  county  of 
Marquette.  They  are  generally  found  in  hills  which  arc  from 
400  to  COO  feet  in  height.  These  hills  are  in  a  range  of  about 
six  miles  wide  and  one  hundred  miles  in  length.  They  extend 
from  lake  Fairbanks  to  Keweenaw  bay.  In  Menominee  county 
there  is  another  range  of  hills,  equally  rich'  in  this  ore,  but  they 
are  at  present  undeveloped.  This  range  crops  out  at  Bayfield, 
and  at  several  other  points  large  deposits  of  magnetic  ores  are 
found,  which  prove  to  be  almost  pure  native  iron.  Five  diifcrcnt 
varieties  of  ores  have  been  found.  The  most  valuable  is  the 
specular  hematite,  which  yields  about  60  to  75  per  cent,  of  metal- 
lic iron.  The  second  in  importance  is  the  soft  hematite,  which 
3'iclds  about  50  per  cent,  in  the  furnace,  and  has  the  advantage  of 
being  more  easily  reduced  than  any  other  ore  of  the  district. 
The  magnetic  ore  is  found  west  of  the  other  ores  of  the  district. 
The  Michigan,  Washington,  Edwards  and  Champion  mines  pro- 
duce this  ore  almost  exclusively.  The  flag  ore  is  slaty  or  shistosc 
silicious  hematite,  containing  a  les,^  per  centage  of  metallic  iron 


)ftcr,  aiKl,  in 
^VorUVs  Fair 
\s-,  tlierc  \vu9 
cnecd. 

!  timo.  The 
shipment  in 
as  the  atten- 

the  Pittsburg 
alec  Superior 
I.  Its  strength 

no  less  than 
t  llussia  iron, 

best  Swedish 
II  English  and 


PHILADELPHIA    U.  S.  AMEHIC/I    ><x:>e 


>'=o<    MAYKT'^'NOVIMBBUiriBTe. 


^*r</^^$\,'-»'~ 


iiaT{?T>^'iPiftwffaa2,  MaisiiiiaiiffBaM  -'O^e^^  ] 


n  every  possi- 
1  testimony  is 
n"th  and  ease 

a 

|the  county  of 
ich  are   from 
ugo  of  about 
They  extend 
linee  county 
re,  but  they 
at  Bayfield, 
luetic  ores  are 
<''ive  diilerent 
able  is  the 
nt,  of  metal- 
atite,  which 
id  vantage  of 
the  district, 
the  district, 
mines  pro- 
or  shistose 
lictallic  iron 


MRgaiHTWy^^IIMSlMf  MSSI«IIli8gffIIB>iia--=P^^C^-^ 


:l  I ' 


mm 


PHILADELPHIA    V.  S.  AMEBIM   ><3:-< 


:x     


><3=<    MAY1(r"'!'N0VEMBEIUCr"1876. 


— >^>$^$<>;-  f^Mgiaiai^La^a^aaMiJILgMlIl^ 


)VEMBERlCrM876. 


Soil  awd  Surface. 


88 


/BMBERICTMSTB. 


:^^4i 


^x;^— 


than  tlic  ores  .above  named,  and  i:^  rather  more  difTKMilt  to  reduce. 
It  is  often  inngnetic  and  sometimes  handed  with  dull  red  or  white 
quartz.  The  iron  is  coUl  short,  wliich  is  said  to  bo  one  of  tlio 
best  quahties  (jf  tl lis  ore.  Tho  other  ores  of  the  district  are  red 
short.  This  ore  is  believed  to  be  the  most  abundant  in  the 
district.  At  .several  i)oints  in  the  district,  and  .accompanying  tho 
IhiL^  ore,  is  found  a  silicious  iron  ore,  which  contains  a  variable 
amount  of  oxide  of  manganese.  This  is  of  great  value  as  a  mix- 
ture. 

There  are  forty  mines  now  in  the  district,  wliich  have  produced 
since  their  opening,  up  to  and  including  the  year  1872,  an  aver- 
age of  over  130,184  tons.  Tho  aggregate  yield,  in  tons,  from 
1856  to  1872  inclusive,  is  5,007,373.  The  v.alue  of  this  3-ield  has 
been  $4-1,373.833.  There  are  fifteen  furnaces  in  the  district,  which 
have  produced  since  their  establishment  an  average  of  over 
23,858  tons.  Their  aggregate  production  since  1858,  when  tho 
first  was  started,  up  to  and  including  1872,  is  357,880  tons, 

Michigan  ranks  as  the  second  state  in  the  nnion  in  the  produc- 
tion of  iron,  Pennsylvania  QT\]y  leading  her.  The  magnitude  of 
her  iron  interest  is  seen  in  the  fact  that,  in  1872,  she  furnished 
about  one-thirteenth  of  the  entire  product  of  the  world.  But, 
great  as  it  is,  it  is  yet  in  its  infancy.  Mountains  of  solid  ore,  cov- 
ering many  square  miles,  exist  within  her  limits;  and,  thousands 
of  years  hence,  when  this  continent  shall  contain  a  population 
greater  than  now  exists  in  the  world,  the  iron  mines  of  Michigan 
will  still  continue  to  pour  out  their  rich  treasures  iu  inexhausti- 
ble abundance. 

The  principal  copper  mines  in  Michigan  .are  in  the  counties  of 
Keweenaw,  Houghton  and  Ontonagon.  The  existence  of  copper 
in  the  upper  peninsula  was  known  to  the  Indians  long  before 
the  white  man  had  penetrated  the  depths  of  our  forests  ;  and  the 
early  white  settlers  Were  informed  of  its  existence  many  years 
ago.  But  no  active  measures  were  taken  to  ascertain  the  extent 
of  the  deposits,  or  to  reap  any  benefit  from  their  rich  stores,  until 
the  year  1845.  At  that  time  the  fever  of  copper  s[)eculation 
broke  out,  and  had  a  most  disastrous  run  for  several  years. 
Numerous  companies  were  organized,  and  speculations  in  copper 
stocks  were  indulged  in  to  an  enormous  extent.  The  Cliff  mine 
8. 


««n 


!  i:  ™' 


I 


!   i 


illi 


'II 


3A 


TuTTLEfs  Centennial  Noutiiwest. 


was  the  first  one  developed.  Three  years  were  spent  in  de- 
veloping it,  with  very  discouraging  results  ;  but  at  the  end  of 
that  time,  and  just  at  the  moment  of  success,  the  mine  changed 
hands.  In  the  hands  of  the  new  owners  it  proved  to  be  exceed- 
ingly rich  in  both  copper  and  silver.  This  mine  is  situated  in 
Keweenaw  county,  just  back  of  Eagle  Harbor.  In  18-i8  the 
Minnesota  mine  was  discovered.  Several  years  were  spent  in 
tliis  mine  with  very  little  show  of  success.  In  1855  the  Pewabic 
mine  was  opened,  ^^he  first  four  years  the  sum  of  $230,813  was 
expended,  and  $153,168  worth  of  copper  was  produced.  Other 
mines  were  worked  with  similar  results,  some  even  more  di.sas- 
trously.  Several  causes  conspired  to  produce  these  results.  The 
St  Mary's  canal  was  not  yet  built,  and  al)  supplies  had  to  be 
packed  around  the  falls.  They  were  then  carried  in  boats  along 
the  shores  for  hundreds  of  miles.  When  the  mining  re":ion  was 
reached  everything  had  to  be  packed  on  the  backs  of  beasts  or 
of  men  to  the  mines.  Again,  the  want  of  practical  experience  in 
those  who  worked  the  mines  k  '  to  much  loss,  great  embarrass- 
ments, and  final  abandonment  of  enterprises  that  witli  practical 
skill  and  good  judgment  might  have  been  successfully  carried 
out.  The  want  of  scientific  exploration  and' examination  of  these 
regions  was  also  a  serious  drawback.  With  the  completion  of 
the  canal  all  this  was  changed,  and  copper  mining  received  a  new 
impetus.  Goods  could  be  transported  more  cheaply,  and  the  pro- 
duct of  the  minQS  could  be  readily  transported  to  market.  Scien- 
tific explorations  followed,  and  capital  and  .^killed  labor  were 
brought  into  requisition.  The  finances  were  managed  with  more 
care,  and  the  mines  weru  v/o/ked  with  greater  judgment.  The 
result  has  been  a  rich  reward  for  the  enterprise  and  cai)ital  inves- 
ted, and  the  production  of  copper  has  come  to  be  c  he  of  the  great 
industries  of  the  northwest. 

The  ore  mined  is  of  the  richest  quality,  yielding  about  eighty 
per  cen^  of  ingot  copper.  Many  times  vast  masses  of  pure  native 
copper,  weighing  many  tons,  liave  been  taken  out.  Smelting 
works  have  been  established  at  Detroit,  Cleveland,  Pittsburg  and 
Portage  Lake.  Twenty- five  mines  are  now  in  successful  opera- 
tion, giving  cmplo3'mcnt  to  over  seven  thousand  men.  Tiio  num- 
ber of  tons  produced  from   1845  to  1872,  inclusive,  is  175,756. 


■-''«s 


Soil  axd  Suuface. 


pent  in  de- 
;  tbe  end  of 
line  changed 
J  be  excced- 
i  situated  in 
In  1848  the 
ere  spent  in 
the  rcwabic 
$230,813  was 
uced.     Other 
more  disas- 
results.     The 
33  had  to  be 
n  boats  along 
ng  region  was 
:s  o£  beasts  or 
experience  in 
3at  embarrass- 
with  practical 
ssfully  carried 
bation  of  tliese 
completion  o£ 
iccivcd  a  new 
,  and  the  pro- 
rket.     Scien- 
•d  labor  were 
:cd  with  more 
gmerit.     The 
iapital  inves- 
of  the  great 

labovit  eighty 
£  pure  native 
t.     Smelting 
ittsburg  and 
cssful  opera- 
Tlie  nu ni- 
ls 175,756. 


The  valne  of  the  copper  produced  in  that  time  i?  estimated  at 
$76,560,720. 

The  richness  of  the  copper  mines  of  the  upper  peninsula  is  not 
surpassed  in  the  world.  It  is  already  one  of  the  most  important 
industries  in  the  northwest,  and  further  scientilic  research  will  un- 
doubtedly lead  to  still  more  important  results,  and  materially  in- 
crease the  wealth  and  commerce  of  the  state. 

The  first  attempt  to  develop  the  saline  resources  of  the  state 
was  made  by  the  late  Dr.  Douglas  Houghton,  then  state  geologist, 
under  the  authority  of  the  legislature.  An  appropriation  of 
$3,000  was  made  for  this  purpose,  and  operatiors  were  commenced 
in  June,  1838.  A  spot  was  selected  on  the  Tittabawassee  river, 
ten  miles  above  the  site  of  the  present  village  of  Midland.  Two 
thousand  dollars  of  this  appropriation  were  expended  before  the 
depth  of  100  feet  was  reached,  and  those  engaged  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  work  began  to  look  upon  the  enterprise  as  hoj^elcss. 
Work  was  continued,  however,  unt'l  a  depth  of  140  feet  was 
reached,  when  it  was  abandoned.  Dr.  Houghton  never  lost  faith 
in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  enterprise,  having  the  fullest  confi- 
dence in  the  existence  of  rich  and  extensive  saline  deposits  under- 
lying a  large  area  of  the  surface  of  Michigan.  After  this  failure 
the  matter  rested  for  a  time.  Occasionally  wells  were  sunk  in 
various  parts  of  the  slate,  but  with  poor  success,  until  1860,  when 
the  fa'st  paying  well  was  su.ik  in  the  Saginaw  valley.  Before  the 
close  of  that  year  4,000  barrels  were  shipped.  Since  that  time 
numerous  paying  wells  have  been  sunk,  the  manufacturing  pro- 
cess has  been  improved  so  as  to  materially  reduce  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction, and  to-day  stdt  is  one  of  the  staple  prod  'ctions  of  the 
state.  The  principal  salt  region,  as  far  as  developed,  is  in  the 
Saginaw  valley.  The  wells  arc  usually  sunk  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  saw  mills,  in  order  to  be  able  to  utili^ic  the  exhaust  steam  or 
the  refuse  of  the  mills,  in  the  manufacture  of  the  salt.  This  re- 
duces the  expeni5e  of  manufacture  to  a  minimum,  and  produces 
large  returns  in  proportion  to  the  capital  invested  and  the  labor 
involved.  . 

A  little  over  twelve  years  have  elapsed  since  the  first  ship- 
ments were  made  from  this  state  ;  but  in  that  time  over  six  mil- 
lions of  barrels  have  been  manufactured. 


ill 


II'' 
ill 


86 


TuTTLifs  Centennial  Northwest. 


At  the  close  of  the  year  1872  there  were  sixty  salt  manufac- 
turing firms  in  the  stale,  with  a  capital  of  $3,500,000  invested. 
These  f  .ms  give  employment  to  about  1,000  men,  in  the  manu- 
facture of  salt  and  the  business  incident  thereto.     Their  manu 
facturing  capacity  is  about  1,158,000  barrels  per  annum. 

The  following  shows  the  districts,  and  the  character  and  capa^ 
city  of  the  works,  .is  arranged  by  the  state  salt  inspector ; 

District  No.  1,  East  Saginaw,  has  4  salt  companies,  with  10 
kettles,  1  steam  and  2  pan  blocks.     Capacity,  140,000  barrels. 

District  jSTo.  2,  South  Saginaw,  10  firms,  with  10  kettLo  and  3 
steam  blocks.     Capacity,  135,000  barrels. 

District  No.  3,  Saginaw  City,  8  firms,  with  o  kettles,  7  steam 
and  1  pan  block.     Capacity,  150,000  barrels. 

District  No.  4,  Carrolton,  6  firms,  with  12  kettles,  2  steam  and 
1  pan  block.     Capacity,  175,000  barrels. 

District  No.  5,  Zihvaukee,  6  firms,  with  3  kettles,  4  steam  and 
8  pan  blocks,  and  2,770  solar  salt  covers.  Capacity,  150,000 
barrels. 

District  No.  G,  Portsmouth,  Bay  City  and  Salzburg,  9  firms, 
■with  6  kettles  and  8  st-cam  blocks.     Capacity,  175.000  barrels. 

District  No.  7,  Bay,  ""Janks  and  Kawkawlin,  13  firms,  with  4 
kettles,  7  steam  and  5  pan  blocks,  and  521  solar  salt  covers. 

District  No.  8,  Huron  county,  3  firms,  one  at  Port  Austin,  one 
at  Cascville,  and  one  at  "White  Hock.  They  have  2  kettles,  1 
steam  and  2.  pan  blocks,  and  50  solar  salt  covers.  Capacity, 
50,000-barrcls. 

District  No.  9,  Mount  Clemens,  1  firm,  with  1  steam  block. 
Capacity,  8,000  barrels. 

At  St.  Clair  a  well  waj  sunk  several  3'cars  since.     Good  brin-" 
"was  obtained,  and  a  salt  block  erected,  from  wiiich  a  ju'ime  qu; 
ily  of  salt  was  manufactured ;  but  the  manufacture  was  soon 
abandoned,  owing,  it  is  said,  to  the  high  price  of  fuel. 

The  manufacture  of  salt  has  also  commenced  in  East  Tnwas, 
and  a  new  inspection  district  is  about  to  bo  erected. 

The  quality  of  ^lichigan  saU  is  vaisurpasscu,  an]  {•:  rapnilv 
taking  the  place  cf  all  others  in  the  markets  of  tht;  west,  'i  ao 
following  chemical  aaialysis  will  show  its  character  :  Chloride  of 
s^'dium,  97.288 ;  chloride  of  calcium,  0.229  ;  chloride  of  magne- 


Soil  and  Surface. 


87 


It  manufac- 

0  invested. 

1  the  manu- 
lieir  manu 
n. 

r  and  capt> 

or: 

2s,  with  10 

barrels. 

sttLo  and  3 

cs,  7  steam 

!  steam  and 

t  steam  and 
ty,  150,000 

rg,  9  firms, 

barrcld. 

ms,  with  -i 

lOvers. 

[Vustin,  one 

kettles,  1 

Capacity, 

lam  block. 

ood  briiT" 
Irime  qu; 

Iwas  scon 

|ist  Taw  as, 

-5  rapiJlv 

lest.     '3.  ao 

iiluride  of 

If  ma.irne- 


siura,  0.340;  sulphate  of  lime,  0.697;  moisture,  1.300;  insoluble 
matter,  0.0-46.     Total,  100.000. 

The  refuse  from  the  manufactories  is  now  being  utilized.  It 
produces  aniline,  one  of  the  best  known  bases  of  color,  and  bro- 
mo-chloralum,  an  e.xcellenL  'bsinfectant 

The  discovery  of  gypsum  in  Michigan  dates  a.s  far  back  as  the 
time  when  Gen.  Cass  was  governor  of  the  territory.  Nothing  was 
done  in  thn  way  of  developing  the  beds  until  1840,  when  the  first 
plaster  mill  was  erected  at  Grand  Rapids.  Two  years  before  this. 
Dr.  Douglas  Houghton  visited  the  Grand  Rapids  beds,  and  made 
a  report  which  led  to  their  development.  The  stratum  of  gypsum 
at  this  place  is  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness,  and 
covers  an  area  of  about  1,000  acres.  The  man.ufactu'e  of  plaster 
at  Grand  Rapids  aggj'cgates  about  40,000  tons  of  land  plaster,  and 
about  60,000  barrels  of  stucco  per  annum.  About  $500,000  is 
invested  in  the  business,  giving  employment  to  about  three  hun- 
dred men.  It  is  an  excellent  fertilizer,  and  finds  a  ready  market 
among  the  farmers  of  this  state  and  of  Indiana. 

Plaster  is  also  found  at  Alabaster,  Iosco  county,  and  in  the 
unper  peninsula.      The  mines    at  Alabaster  were  only  opened 

K  ut  six  or  seven  years  ago.  They  are  located  close  to  the 
':..  /^r's  edge,  on  an  excellent  harbor,  and  the  facilities  for  mining 
,nd  -.hipping  are  excellent.  The  plaster  is  taken  from  the  mities 
to  the  dock  over  a  tramway,  whc;^  it  is  dumpf  d  from  the  cars  into 
the  vessel.  A  chemical  analysis  ol  the  gyr.'Sum  found  in  Michi- 
gan presents  the  following  result :  Sulp!:v./ic  acid,  48  ;  lime,  32  ; 
water,  20.     Total,  100. 

This  business  is  destined  to  assume  great  magnitude,  as  the 
country  settles  up  and  the  agricultural  resources  are  developed. 
Its  value  as  a  fertilizer  is  rapidly  becoming  known  and  appreci- 
f.tod,  and  the  demand  increases  fiom  year  to  3'oar. 

Geologists  have  long  since  demonstrated  the  fact  that  an  im- 
mense coal  basin  underlies  the  whole  central  portion  of  the  state. 
Prof.  J.  "W.  Foster  estimates  the  coal  field  of  Michigan  to  be  about 
one  hundred  feet  in  thickness,  and  to  cover  an  area  of  five  thous- 
and square  miles.  Mines  have  thus  far  been  opened  at  Jackson, 
at  Corunna,  Shiawassee  county,  and  at  AVilliamston,  in  the  county 
of  Ingham.     The  first  operations  in  this  lino  commenced  in  1858, 


wnamm 


'^atSmffmaMiakiimmiK, 


l.'l  - 


t  'in 


m  ! 


!!  i !  


I  'I'iill 


89 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Nortuwest. 


at  Jackson,  and  tliis  mine  Las  been  regularly  worked  since  that 
time.  The  coal  is  bituminous,  and  is  strongly  impregnated  with 
sulphur,  which  renders  it  unpopular  for  domestic  use.  In  many 
branches  of  manufacture,  however,  it  is  well  adapted  and  largely 
employed.  The  coal  improves  in  quality  as  the  shaft  descends 
through  the  •  'Ttum. 

At  .Corunuc  ^  operations  have  been  carried  on  for  about 

ten  years.  The  ^^  ty  of  the  coal  is  similar  to  that  at  Ja.^kdon. 
A  vein  containing  a  very  superior  quality  of  coal  has  recently 
been  opened,  which  bids  fair  to  prove  of  great  importance.  A 
railroad  track  has  been  laid  directly  to  the  mine,  thus  all'ording 
the  best  facilities  for  shipment. 

The  coal  found  at  Williamston  is  much  superior  in  quality  to 
that  of  either  of  the  above  mines,  and  resembles,  more  nearly  than 
any  other  in  the  state,  the  celebrated  block  coal  of  Indiana.  Very 
little  has  heretofore  been  done  at  this  mine,  owing  to  a  lack  of 
railroad  facilities.  But  this  difficulty  has  recently  been  overcome, 
and  mining  is  carried  on  vigorously. 

There  are  many  other  minerals  in  the  state  besides  those  enu- 
merated above,  some  of  which  ai'c  destined  to  be  developed  and 
add  greatly  to  the  wealth  of  Michigan.  Silver  and  gold  are 
known  to  exist  in  the  upper  peninsula.  The  former,  in  no  n- 
considerable  quantities,  has  been  found  in  the  copper  mines.  Lead 
and  plumbago  are  also  known  to  exist  in  that  region.  The  Indi- 
ans supplied  themselves  with  bullets  from  mines  at  Lake  Superior, 
but  could  never  be  induced  to  reveal  the  locality  from  which  they 
obtained  it.  Mines  have  already  been  opened,  but  never  worked 
to  any  great  extent.  It  is  safe  to  predict,  however,  that  at  no 
distant  day  profitable  mines  will  be  opened,  and  thus  anothe; 
branch  (ff  mining  industry  will  be  added  to  the  other  resources  oi 
the  state. 

The  business  of  manufacturing  grindstones  has  assumed  con- 
siderable magnitude  of  late,  the  Huron  gritstones  being  unrivaled 
in  the  market. 

Marble,  of  great  variety  and  superior  quality,  is  also  found  in 
the  Marquette  iron  region.  Yellow  and  red  ochre  and  manganese 
beds  are  found  in  the  St  Mary's  Peninsula,  where  coloriu"-  ma- 
terial can  be  mined  in  unlimited  quantities. 


Soil  and  Surface. 


89 


lI  since  that 
jnatcd  with 
,  In  many 
and  largely 
ft  descends 

n  for  abont 
lit  Ja.'il-irfon. 
as  recentlv 
)rtancc.  A 
IS  alTording 

1  quality  to 
nearly  than 
iana.  Very 
to  a  lack  of 
a  overcome, 

5  those  enu- 
eloped  and 
d  gold  are 
r,  in  no  n- 
nes.    Lead 

The  Indi- 
|c  Superior, 

Inch  they 
I'cr  worked 
that  at  no 
Is  anothe." 
tsourccs  oi 

imed  con- 
lunrivalcd 

found  in 


Jaiigancse 
Iring  mii- 


Bailding  stone  of  a  very  superior  quality  is  found  in  various 
localities,  equal  in  beauty  and  durability  to  the  free  stone  of  New 
England. 

Material  for  quick  limes  and  hydraulic  limes  is  also  found  in 
unlimited  quantities.  Clays  of  every  variety  for  brick  making 
are  found  in  tlie  greatest  abundance.  White  and  lemon  colored 
bricks,  so  popular  for  building  fronts,  arc  made  in  many  localities. 
Yast  quantities  of  peat  are  found  in  many  places,  which,  in  future 
years,  will  prove  of  immense  value. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  region  on  this  continent  of  the  same 
area,  possesses  so  much  valuable  timber  as  Michigan.  Not  less 
than  20,000,000  acres,  or  one-half  the  area  of  the  state,  was  origi- 
nally cov^ercd  with  pine.  What  arc  here  mentioned  as  pine  lands 
must  not  bo  understood  as  being  covered  exclusively  with  that 
timber.  Along  the  margins  of  the  streams  the  pine  forests  are 
very  dense  ;  but  away  from  the  streams  it  is  generally  liberally 
interspersed  with  various  hard  w^oods.  The  superior  quality  of 
the  pine  thus  interspersed  wnth  the  hard  timber  ampl}'-  compen- 
sates for  the  lack  of  quantity. 

The  principal  lumber  region,  thus  far  developed,  is  the  valley 
of  the  Saginaw  river,  and  along  its  tributary  streams,  extending 
to  the  upper  Muskegon,  thence  to  lake  Michigan.  The  region 
around  Tlumdcr  Bay  also  contains  a  large  area  of  pine  timber,  and 
the  Au  Sable  and  the  Manistee  rivers  penetrate  an  immense  pine 
region.  On  all  these  streams  lumbering  operations  are  extensive- 
ly carried  on,  but" the  principal  sources  of  supply  are  at  present  the 
Saginaw  valley  on.  the  east,  and  on  the  Muskegon  river  on  the 
west 

Before  railroads  penetrated  the  pine  forests  of  the  interior,  lum- 
bering operations  were  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  immedi- 
ate vicinity  of  streams.  The  logs  were  cut  in  the  winter,  and 
hauled  on  the  snow  to  the  streams,  and  floated  to  the  mills  on  the 
current  formed  by  the  spring  freshets.  With  the  advent  of  rail- 
roads, immense  tracts  of  valuable  pine,  heretofore  inaccessible, 
have  been  brought  into  the  market.  Mills  spring  up  along  the 
tracks  of  the  railroads  as  they  are  laid  through  the  forests,  flour- 
ishing villages  ajtpear  as  if  by  magic,  the  forests  are  cleared  and 
brought  under  cultivation,  thus  giving  employment  to  thousands 


II 11 


i 


40 


TuTTLifs  Centknxial  Xohtiiwest. 


Mliilll  I 


1 


of  men,  homes  and  productive  farms  to  tlie  hardy  pioneers,  and 
abundant  and  remunerative  employment  to  the  raih'oads  in  trans- 
porting lumber  and  supplies.  The  principal  roads  that  have  thus 
penetrated  tiie  piuo  forests  of  the  interior  are  the  Jackson,  Lan- 
sing and  Saginaw,  the  Flint  and  Pere  Marquette,  and  Grand  Ilap- 
ids  and  Indiana  railroads. 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  about  7,000,000  acres  of  pine  lands 
in  the  Lower  Peninsula  that  are  yet  untouched.  It  is  true  that 
sum  of  this  is  interspersed  with  hard  wood  timber  ;  but  that  is  com- 
pensated for  by  the  fact  that  the  pine  is  of  better  quality  and  the 
lands  better  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  agriculture  than  those 
covered  exclusively  v,?ith  pine.  In  the  Upper  Peninsula  it  is  es- 
timated that  there  are  at  least  10,000,000  acres  of  pine  as  yet  un- 
touched, which  will  produce,  probably,  7,000,000,000  feet  of  lum- 
ber. 

It  may  be  well  in  this  connection  to  correct  a  mistake  that  pre- 
vails to  a  great  extent  in  reference  to  tlic adaptation  of  jiine lands 
to  the  purposes  o'  agriculture.  No  better  farming  lands  exist 
than  those  which  have  produced  a  mixed  growth  of  pine  and 
hard  wood  timber ;  and  even  the  land  that  has  been  covered  ex- 
clusively with  pine  is  very  rich  and  productive  vinder  proper 
care  and  management. 

The  quality  of  Michigan  pine  is  unsurpassed  for  the  purposes 
of  lumber.  It  is  principally  white  pine,  of  which  there  are  several 
varieties.  Norway  pine  grows  abundantly  in  some  localities,  but 
the  proportion  is  small  compared  with  the  more  valuable  white 
pines.  On  the  best  pine  lands,  the  quantitj-  of  hard  wood  often 
exceeds  that  of  pine.  In  many  parts  of  the  state  walnut  and  cherry 
grow  in  abundance,  and  are  largely  used  l.^y  the  furniture  makers 
of  the  state  and  of  the  east.  Oak  grows  abundantly  in  many  lo- 
calities, and  the  trade  in  that  timber  for  ship  building  purposes  is 
of  late  years  assuming  magnificent  proportions.  Aside  from  that 
used  in  ship-yards  along  our  own  shores,  vast  quantities  are  an- 
nually shipped  to  Montreal,  Quebec,  BuiTalo  and  Cleveland.  In 
the  interior,  where  the  heavy  ship-timber  cannot  be  transported 
to  the  streams,  the  oak  is  manufactured  into  staves  which  are 
shipped  mainly  to  Europe  and  the  West  Indies. 

It  may  be  proper  in  thi.«?  connection  to  correct  an  erroneous  im- 


Soil  and  Surface. 


41 


ionccrs,  and 
ads  in  trans- 
at  have  tlius 
ickson,  Lan- 
Grand  Ilap- 

)f  pine  lands 
D  is  true  that 
t  that  is  com- 
ility  and  the 
I  tlian  those 
isula  it  is  es- 
ic  as  yet  un- 
£cet  o£  lum- 

ake  that  pre- 

of  pine  lands 

;  lands  exist 

of  pine  and 

covered  ex- 

nder  proper 

lie  purposes 
are  several 
Icalities,  but 
luable  white 
I  wood  often 
,  and  cherry 
ire  makers 
many  lo- 
purposes  is 
from  that 
ties  are  an- 
leland.  In 
jransported 
I  which  are 

lncou3  im- 


pression that  has  gone  abroad,  backed  by  apparently  high  authori- 
ty, in  reference  to  the  variety  of  oak  timber  that  is  shipped  from 
this  state  fi  ■■  nurposes  of  ship-building.  Eeference  is  had  to  the 
popular  belief  that  the  variet}'  known  as  "live  oak"  grows  abun- 
dantly in  the  forests  of  Michigan.  The  fact  is  live  oak  does  not 
grow  in  this  state  at  all  That  variety  in  only  found  in  the  south- 
ern states,  and  is  known  to  botanists  as  queixus  vivens.  The  va- 
riety which  forms  the  bulk  of  the  shipments  from  Miohigari  is 
quercus  alha,  popularly  known  as  white  oak.  It  is  highly  esteemed 
for  ship-building,  and  is  only  exceeded  in  value  for  that  p  irpose 
by  the  live  oak  of  the  south. 

The  following  will  serve  to  give  some  idea  of  the  magnitide  of 
the  lumber  anl  timber  trade  of  Michigan  : 

In  the  year  1872  the  aggregate  of  pine  luiuber  cut  by  the  mills 
of  the  state  was  2,253,011,000  feet.  Of  this  amount,  the 
mills  of  the  Saginaw  valley  cut  837,798,48-1  feet.  The  Muskegon 
lake  mills  cut 316,031,400  feet;  the  Huron  shore  mills  175,500,- 
000 ;  Manistee  mills,  161,900.000  ;  Grand  Haven  mills,  150,000,- 
000;  Menominee  mills,  136,113,360;  Flint  and  Pere  Marquette 
Railway  mills,  114,234,554;  White  Lake  mills,  85,302,347 ;  De- 
troit and  St.  Clair  River  mills,  80,000,000  ;  Jackson,  Lansing  and 
Saginaw  Railway  mills,  68,216,009;  Saugatuck  mills,  50,000,000; 
Ludington  mills,  47,912,846;  other  mills,  30,000,000. 

Of  shingles  it  is  estimated  thab  not  less  than  400,000,000  were 
produced  the  same  year.     Of  lath  about  300,000,000. 

The  shipments  of  staves  for  the  same  year  were  as  follow*^  Sagi- 
naw river,  8,663,200;  Detroit,  2,102,000;  Port  Huron,  1,536,900  ; 
Lexington,  204,000 ;  New  Baltimore,  184,000, 

About  $20,000,000  are  invested  in  the  production  of  pine  lum- 
ber, giving  cmploj'ment  to  nearly  twenty  thousand  persons.  This 
estimate  does  not  include  the  enormous  amount  of  money  invested 
in  pine  lands,  nor  the  men  employed  in  the  transportation  of  the 

lumber  to  market,  or  those  employed  in  the  lumber  camps  in  the 
woods. 

In  addition  to  the  pine  timber  of  the  state,  as  before  intimated, 
the  hard  wood  forests  are  immense  and  valuable.  Tiiese,  espe- 
cially in  the  northern  portion  of  the  Lower  Peninsula,  have 
scarcely  been  touched.     The  quality  of  that  kind  of  timber  in  the 


I  iijii 


ii^iii 


42 


TuTTLEfs  Centennial  KonrinvEST. 


forests  of  Michigan  is  unrivalled  ;  ami  it  is  safe  to  predict  that  but 
a  few  years  will  elapse  before  the  product  from  this  source  will 
equal  in  value  the  present  trafTic  in  pine. 


CHAPTER  III. 
SOIL  AND  SURFACE. 

(contituteil.) 


Topography  —  Minerals  —  Climate  —  Soil  and  Productions. 

.   ILLINOIS. 

The  area  of  the  great  state  of  Illinois  is  55,410  square  miles, 
.and  is  situated  between  37°  and  42°  30'  N.  latitude,  and  between 
87"  and  91'  W.  longitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
state  of  Wisconsin  ;  on  the  east  by  Lake  ^Michigan  and  the  state 
of  Indiana ;  on  the  south  by  the  state  of  Kentucky,  and  on  the 
west  by  Missouri  and  Iowa  and  the  Mississippi.  A  portion  of  the 
eastern  boundary  is  washed  by  the  "Wabash.  In  the  southern  por- 
tion of  the  state  there  is  a  hilly  region,  as  also  in  the  northwest, 
but  as  a  general  rule  the  surface  is  level,  being  for  the  most  part 
one  boundless,  undulating  prairie,  covered  with  a  luxuriant  vege- 
tation. "The  great  landscape  feature  of  Illinois  is  its  prairies, 
which  are  seen  in  almost  every  section  of  the  state.  The  want  of 
variet}'',  which  is  ordinarily  essential  to  landscape  attraction,  is 
-nore  than  compensated  for  in  the  prairie  scenery,  as  in  that  of  the 
boundless  ocean,  by  the  impressive  qualities  of  immensity  and 
power.  Far  as  the  most  searching  eye  can  reach,  the  great  unva- 
rying plain  rolls  on  ;  its  sublime  grandeur* softened  but  not  weak- 
ened by  the  occasional  groups  of  trees  in  its  midst,  or  by  the  for- 
ests on  its  verge,  or  by  the  countless  flowers  everywhere  upon  its 
surface.  The  prairies  abound  in  game.  The  prairie  duck,  some- 
times but  improperly  called  grouse,  are  most  abundant  in  Septem- 
ber and  Octobt  •,  when  large  numbers  are  annually  taken.  Per- 
haps the  most  striking  picture  of  the  prairie  country  is  to  be  found 
on  Grand  Prairie.     Its  gently  undulating  plains,  profusely  decked 


Soil  and  Surface. 


48 


rcdict  tliat  but 
lis  source  will 


luctions. 


)  square  miles, 
e,  and  between 
!  north  by  the 
n  and  the  state 
y,  and  on  the 
portion  of  the 
southern  por- 
,hc  northwest, 
the  most  part 
^^xuriant  vege- 
|3  its  prairies, 
The  want  of 
attraction,  is 
in  that  of  the 
iimensity  and 
ic  great  unva- 
)ut  not  wcak- 
r  by  the  for- 
lere  upon  its 
duck,  some- 
;  in  Septem- 
aken.     Per- 
to  be  found 
iisely  decked 


with  flowers  of  every  Ime,  and  skirted  on  all  sides  by  woodland 
copse,  roll  on  through  many  long  miles  from  Jackson  county, 
northeast  to  Iroquois  county,  with  a  width  varying  from  one  to  a 
dozen  or  more  miles.  The  uniform  level  of  the  jirairio  region  is 
supposed  to  result  from  the  deposit  of  waters  by  which  the  land 
was  ages  ago  covered.  The  soil  is  entirely  free  from  stones,  and  is 
extremely  fertile.  The  most  notable  characteristic  of  the  prairies, 
their  destitution  of  vegetation,  cxcep'''  g  iii  the  multitude  of  rank 
grasses  and  flowers,  will  gradually  disappear,  since  nothing  pre- 
vents the  growth  of  the  trees  but  the  continual  fires  which  sweep 
over  the  plains.  These  }>revented,  a  fine  growth  of  timber  soon 
springs  up  ;  and  as  the  woodlands  are  thus  assisted  in  encroaching 
upon  and  occupying  the  plains,  settlements,  and  habitations  will 
follow,  until  the  praine  tracts  are  overrun  with  cities  and  towns. 
Of  the  thirty-five  and  a  half  millions  of  acres  embraced  within  the 
state,  but  thirteen  millions,  or  littk*  more  than  one-third,  were 
improved  in  18G0,  showing  that  despite  her  wonderful  progress  in 
population  and  production,  she  is  yet  only  in  her  infancy.  Ex- 
cepting the  specialty  of  the  prairie,  the  most  interesting  landscape 
scenery  of  this  state  is  that  of  the  bold,  acclivitous  river  shores  of 
the  Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  and  the  Illinois  rivers."  *  Lake  Michi- 
gan forms  the  northern  part  of  the  eastern  boundary.  Chicago, 
the  principal  city,  is  situated  near  the  southern  end  of  the  lake, 
and  possesses  a  very  large  lake  trade.  The  other  towns  'on  Lake 
Michigan  are  :  Otsego,  Waukegan,  Rockland,  and  Evanston.  The 
^Mississippi  river  forhis  the  western  boundary  of  this  state,  and 
receives  the  waters  of  the  Rock,  Illinois,  and  Kaskaskia  rivers, 
besides  those  of  several  smaller  streams.  The  important  places 
on  the  Mississippi,  beginning  on  the  north,  are  Galena,  Rock 
Island,  Oquawka,  Quiney,  Alton,  East  St.  Louis,  and  Thebes. 
The  Ohio  river  forms  the  southern  boundary,  and  empties  into 
the  Mississippi,  at  the  extreme  southern  end  of  the  state.  The 
city  of  Cairo  is  situated  at  the  confluence  of  these  two  rivers,  and 
is  an  important  place.  The  Illinois  river  is  the  largest  ir  the 
state.  It  is  formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  Des  Plaines  and 
Kankakee,  which  unite  at  Dresden,  in  Grundy  county,  southwest 

*  AppletoQ'9  Ilaml-Book  of  American  Travel.  -    ,- 


V 


■  't.  ■' 


I 


i  ! 


ii:!  .  !;ii:5:. 

■■.!t 


44 


Tvttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


of  Lake  Michigan.  It  flows  across  the  state  in  a  southwestern 
direction,  and  empties  into  the  ^Mississippi  about  20  miles  from 
Alton.  It  is  about  320  miles  long,  and  has  been  rendered  navi- 
gable at  all  seasons,  to  Ottawa,  280  rtiilcs  from  the  Mississijipi. 
Peoria,  200  miles  from  its  ^loutli,  is  the  most  important  town  on 
the  river.  The  Fo.v  and  Sangamon  rivers  are  its  principal 
branches.  The  former  rises  in  Wisconsin,  and  is  200  miles  long. 
It  is  a  fine  mill  stream  ;  the  latter  rises  in  the  east-central  part  of 
the  state,  and  flows  west  into  the  Illinois.  It  is  200  miles  long, 
and  is  navigable  at  high  water  for  small  steamers.  The  Ilock 
river  rises  in  Fond  du  Lac  county,  in  Wisconsin,  about  10  miles 
south  of  Lake  Winnebago,  and  flows  southward  into  Illinois,  near 
the  centre  of  the  northern  part  of  the  state.  It  then  turns  to  the 
southwest  and  flows  across  the  state  into  the  Mississippi,  at  Eock 
Island  City.  It  is  330  miles  long,  and  though  interrupted  in  sev- 
eral places  by  rapids,  could  be  rendered  navigable  at  a  small  ex- 
pense ;  steamet's  have  ascended  it  to  Jefferson,  Wisconsin,  225 
miles.  It  flows  through  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  fertile  por- 
tions of  Illinois.  The  Kaskaslcia  river  rises  in  Champaign  county, 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  centre  of  the  state,  and  flows  southwest 
into  the  Mississippi  a  few  miles  below  the  town  of  Kaskaskia. 
It  is  300  miles  long,  and  is  navigable  for  steamers  for  a  considera- 
ble distance.  The  Vermillion,  Embarrass,  and  Little  Wabash 
rivers,  small  streams,  flow  into  the  Wabash  from  this  state.  Sev- 
eral small  lakes  lie  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state."* 

"There  are  extensive  deposits  of  kad  in  the  extreme  northwest- 
ern part  of  this  state,  and  extending  into  Wi.consin  and  Iowa. 
The  principal  mines  lie  in  the  vicinity  of  Galena.  Copper  exists  in 
large  quantities  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state.  Bituminous 
coal  abounds.  Iron  is  also  found  in  abundance  in  the  north,  and 
to  a  limited  extent  in  the  south,  and  it  is  said  that  silver  has  been 
discovered  in  St.  Clair  county.  There  are  a  number  of  salt 
springs  in  the  state,  and  a  variety  of  medicinal  springs.  The 
other  minerals  are  zinc,  lime,  marble,  freestone,  gypsum,  and 
quartz  crystals.  The  climate  is  not  very  severe,  but  is  subject  to 
sudden  changes.  Deep  snows  are  not  of  general  occurrence,  but 
occasionally  take  place,  and  at  long  intervsls  the  I'ivers  are  frozen 


over. 


*"  The  Great  Tlcpublic." 


Soil  and  Siui'ACh: 


46 


a  poutliwcstorn 
i  20  miles  from 
I  reiulereil  navi- 
the  Mississippi, 
oortant  town  on 
0   its   principal 
200  miles  long, 
t-central  part  of 
200  miles  long, 
!rs.     The  Hock 
about  10  miles 
to  Illinois,  near 
icn  turns  to  the 
issippi,  at  llock 
irrupted  in  sev- 
c  at  a  small  ex- 
Wisconsin,  225 
and  fertile  por- 
mpaign  county, 
ows  southwest 
of  Kaskaskia. 
a  considera- 
jittle  Wabagh 
is  state.     Scv- 

me  northwest- 
sin  and  Iowa. 
pper  exists  in 
Bituminous 
he  north,  and 
Ivcr  has  been 
mbcr  of  salt 
jprings.  The 
■ypsum,  and 
is  subject  to 
urrence,  but 
rs  are  frozen 


CnAPTER   lY. 
SOIL  AND  SURFACE. 

(,contlnueil.) 

Topography — Climate  —  Minerals  —  Soil  and  Productions. 

WISCONSIN. 

The  state  of  Wisconsin  has  an  area  of  53,924  square  miles, 
and  is  situated  between  42°  30'  and  46"  55'  N.  latitude,  and  be- 
tween 87°  and  92°  50'  "W.  longitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  Michigan,  Lake  Superior  and  ^Minnesota;  on  the  east  by  Lake 
Michigan;  on  the  south  by  Illinois,  and  on  the  west  by  Iowa 
and  Minnesota.  Its  extreme  length,  from  north  to  south,  is  about 
285  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth,  from  east  to  west,  about  255 
miles. 

Concerning  the  topograph}',  minerals,  soil  aud  climate,  and 
productions  of  Wisconsin,  I  condense  from  my  hist,ory  of  that 
state  already  published,  the  following  sketch  : 

There  are  no  mountains  in  Wisconsin.  The  whole  suiface 
may,  with  a  few  unimportant  exceptions,  be  regarded  as  a  vast 
plain,  broken  only  by  the  cliffs  fringing  the  streams  and  lakas. 
This  plain  has  an  elevation  of  from  six  hundred  to  fifteen  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  ocean.  The  highest  lands  arc  located  along 
the  headwaters  of  the  tributaries  of  lake  Superior,  which,  near 
the  sources  of  the  Montreal  riverj  are  about  eighteen  hundred 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  From  this  important  watershed, 
the  land  slopes  continuously  toward  the  lake,  as  also  toward  the 
south,  to  the  lower  Wisconsin  river.  From  the  latter  point,  there 
is  another  slope,  still  to  the  south,  drained  by  the  waters  of  Rock 
river  and  its  tributary  streams. 

The  waters  of  the  Wisconsin  and  Fox  rivers  approach  and 
mingle  at  Portage  City.  Near  this'  point  they  are  connected  by  a 
canal,  .from  which  there  is  a  descent  of  a  hundred  and  ninety-five 
feet  to  Green  Bay,  and  a  hundred  and  seventy-one  feet  to  the 
Mississippi  at  Prairie  du  Chien. 


n 


1 


46 


Tl'TTLtfs  CeSTKSSIAL  NonTIIWEST. 


li!' 


iij  ; 


In  tlic  southwestern  ]>art  of  tlio  state  there  nro  minu>roiia 
moduds,  some  of  thi'tn  of  considcniblc  proportion.^.  Anion;.';  tlio 
hitter  arc  the  IMue,  seventeen  luuidred  and  twenty-nine  feet 
above  the  sea;  the  Platte,  twelve  hundred  and  eighty-one  feet 
above  the  sea;  and  the  Sinsincwa  Mounds,  eleven  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  feet  above  the  sea.  These  elevation.s  formerly  served 
as. guide.s  to  the  adventurer,  marking  certain  well  known  points, 
which  accounts  for  their  frequent  mention  in  the  early  annals  of 
the  territory.  There  is  also  a  class  of  ancient  f  ••thworks  still 
visible  in  Wi.sconsin,  containing  many  peculiarit: . ,.  Th^y  have 
been  made  to  rejircsont  quadrupeds,  birds,  reptiles,  and  even  the 
human  form,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  well  known  Blue  Mounds, 
there  is  a  specimen  of  tliesc  earthworks,  representing  a  man.  It 
is  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long,  with  a  body  over  thirty  feet 
wide,  and  a  well  shaped  head.  Its  elevation  is  six  feet  above 
the  surrounding  prairie.  The  mound  at  Prairicvillc  is  a  very 
faithful  and  interesting  rejjresentation  of  a  turtle.  The  body  is 
nearly  sixty  feet  in  lengtli,  and  the  ."hapc  of  the  head  is  still  well 
preserved.  Not  far  from  the  Four  Lakes,  there  arc  over  a  hun- 
dred small  mounds  of  various  shapes  and  dimensions;  and,  in 
the  same  neighborhood,  fragments  of  ancient  pottery,  of  a  very 
rude  kind,  have  been  found.  A  well  formed  mound  near  Cass- 
villc  rci)resents  the  mastadon ;  which  has  given  rise  to  many 
speculative  opinions,  among  which  is  that  very  reasonable  one, 
that  the  ancients  who  built  these  earthworks  were  contemporaries 
with  that  huge  animal.  This  theory  is  strengthened  by  the  jircs- 
ence  of  mastodon  bones  in  these  mounds.  But  we  will  return, 
for  the  present;  to  notice  more  particularly  the  surface  of  the 
country. 

The  southeastern  portion  of  the  state  is  broken  by  ravines  bor- 
dering the  streams ;  but  these  are  depressed  only  a  little  below 
the  surrounding  level.  The  prairies  arc  destitute  of  trees  or 
shrubs,  and  are  richly  covered  with  grass,  interspersed  Vvith  beau- 
tiful flowers  of.,all  shades  and  colors.  The  oak  openings  are  also 
a  remarkable  feature  of  this  portion  of  the  state,  as  also  the  tracts 
of  woodland  which  border  the  streams,  and  the  natural  meadows. 
As  one  proceeds  north  to  the  Fox  and  Wi.sconsin  rivers  and 
Green  Bay,  the  timber  increases  in  quantity  and  value,  and  the 


T. 


Soil  axd  Surface. 


47 


arc   mimerona 

IS.     Among  tlio 

vciity-iiinc  feet 

ciglity-onc  foot 

n   huiHlred  and 

formerly  served 

known  points, 

early  annals  of 

•"thworks  still 

....     Tl'  ^y  have 

3,  and  even  tlic 

Blue  ^founds, 

ting  a  man.     It 

over  thirty  feet 

six  feet  above 

cville  is  a  very 

'.     The  body  is 

ead  is  still  well 

xre  over  a  hun- 

nsions;  and,  in 

Lcry,  of  a  very 

md  near  Cass- 

risc  to  many 

casonable  one, 

outcniporaries 

d  by  the  prcs- 

.•e  will  return, 

urface  of  the 

ravines  bor- 

|a  little  below 

of  trees  or 

\d  Vv'itli  beau- 

ings  are  also 

llso  the  tracts 

|al  meadows. 

rivers  and 

lue,  and  the 


soil  changes  gradually  fl'om  the  vegetable  mould  of  the  prairie 
to  the  sandy  loam.  The  surface  of  the  country  becomes  com- 
paratively uneven,  changing  from  forest  to  rolling  prairie,  from 
prairies  to  swamps,  and  from  swamps  to  extensive  marshes.  And 
still  nortli,  in  the  vicinity  of  lake  Superic^r,  it  partakes  somewhat 
of  a  rugged  mountainous  appearance. 

In  the  geological  structure,  there  is  nothing  remarkable,  beyond 
that  met  with  in  the  surrounding  states.  Limestone  underlies  a 
great  portion  of  the  southern  ])art  of  the  state.  In  tlie  mineral 
dijitricts  we  encounter  the  clill  limestone,  and  in  otl;  i'  parts  the 
blue.*  The  nortliern  part  seems  to  be  composed  of  primitive 
rocks,  for  the  most  part  of  granite,  slate  and  sandstone.  Com- 
mencing a  little  south  of  the  Wisconsin  river,  and  along  the 
Mississii)pi  as  far  back  as  the  falls  of  its  tributaries,  sandstone, 
with  layers  of  limestone  above  and  below,  is  the  principal  rock, 
and  forms  the  clilFs  on  tlie  ^Mississippi  below  St.  Anthony's  Falls 
for  over  thirty  mdes.  The  streams  in  this  region  are  considerably 
obstructed  by  changing  beds  of  sand.  "  From  Lake  Michigan, 
westward  to  the  other  sections  named,  is  a  limestone  region,  in 
man}'  parts  well  timbered,  while  in  others  a  considerable  portion 
is  prairie.  Underlying  the  blue  limestone  is  a  brown  sandstone, 
which  crops  out  on  the  sides  of  the  hills ;  but  no  lead  has  ever 
been  found  in  it.  A  section  through  Blue  Mounds  would  give 
the  following  result,  descending  vertically :  hornstone,  410  feet ; 
magnesian  lime,  or  lead-bearing  rock,  IGl)  feet;  saccharoid  sand 
stone,  40  feet ;  sandstone,  3  feet ;  lower  limestone  (at  the  level  of 
the  "Wisconsin),  100  feet.  The  elevations  of  different  parts  of  the 
southern  section  of  the  state  are  given  by  Chancellor  Lathrop:  at 
Blue  Mounds,  1,170 ;  head  waters  of  the  Rock  river,  31G  ;  egress 
of  the  same  river  from  the  state,  1,280  ;  and  portage  between  the 
Fox  and  the  Wisconsin  rivers  at  223  above  the  level  of  lake 
Michigan  and  the  Wisconsin  river.f 

The  minerals  of  Wisconsin  constitute  one  of  its  most  dis- 
tinguishing features.  A  portion  of  the  celebrated  lead  region, 
extending  from  Illinois  and  Iowa,  is  included  in  the  southwest 
part  of  Wisconsin.  The  whole  region  occupies  an  extent  of  near- 
ly 2,880  square  miles,  about  three-fourths  of  which  is  in  Wiscoa- 
*  Lippiucott's  Pronouucing  Gazetteer.  f  11^''^- 


i'^^W' 


I  > 


m 


if 


I 


i!i:i 


Fi  m  i 


III 


48 


TuTTLifs  CentennllL  Nortiiwest. 


sin.  And  \vc  may  add,  that  the  portion  of  this  valuable  mineral 
region  included  in  Wisconsin  is  as  rich  and  remunerative  as  that 
in  the  other  states.  The  lead  is  mixed  with  copper  and  zinc,  the 
latter  in  brgo  quantities,  together  with  some  silver.  Copper  ia 
also  found  in  Douglas,  Chippewa,  St.  Croix  and  Iowa  co'iuties. 
"  In  Dodge  county,  at  the  so-called  iron  ridge,  is  the  most  prom- 
ising locality  of  iron  ore  in  the  state  3'et  discovered  ;  but  on  tlie 
Black  river,  and  other  branches  of  the  Mississippi,  good  iron  ore 
occurs.  The  iron  ores  of  the  Lake  Superior  region  extend  from 
Michigan  into  this  state  in  abundant  deposits  of  the  richest  quali- 
ty. Tiie  other  metallic  substances  are  magnetic  ir.:n,  iron  pyrites, 
and  graphite,  or  plumbago.  The  nonmetallic  earths  are  agate, 
cornelianL  ^cound  on  the  shores  of  the  i^mal.l  lakes),  bitumen,  peat. 
Marble  of  a  fine  qaolitiy,  some  gypsum,  saltpetre,  and  other  min- 
erals have  been  found.  A  vein  of  copper  ore  was  discovered  in 
1848,  near  the  Kickapoo  river,  which  yields  about  twenty  per 
'  cent,  of  copper ,  but  to  what  extent  the  bed  runs  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained. Mines  were  also  worked  at  the  Falls  of  E'aek;  Iliver,  and 
in  its  vicinity  ;  but  they  have  been  abandoned.  Facts  do  not  justify 
any  expectations  of  great  deposits  of  copper  in  the  northwest  part 
of  the  state.  A  great  bed  of  magnetic  iron  ore  lies  south  of  lake 
Supe.ioi,  near  Tyler's  i^'ork  of  the  Bad  river,  in  stratf  of  metam- 
orphic  state.  Thu  amount  of  lead  received  at  Milwaukee  for  the 
year  1863  was  848,025  pounds.  On  the  completion  of  the  south- 
ern Wisconsin  railroad  to  Dubuque,  it  is  estimated  that  25,000,000 
pounds  will  seek  an  outlet  at  Milwaukee.  Beautiful  varieties  of 
marble  have  been  recently  discovered,  or  made  known  to  the  pub- 
lic, in  the  nothern  part  of  Wisconsin.  According  to  Messrs.  Fos- 
ter and  Whitney's  report,  they  are  found  on  the  Michigamig  and 
^Menominee  rivers,  and  afford"  beautiful  marbles,  whose  prevailing 
color  is  light  pink,  traversed  by.  veins  or  seams  of  deep  red. 
Others  are  blue  and  dovc-eolored,  beautifully  veined.  These  arc 
sus'.,;ptible  of  a  fine  polish ;  and  some  on  the  Menominee  are 
within  navigable  distance  from  the  lakes."* 

The  lakes  and  rivers  of  Wisconsin  are  invested  with  much  of 
beauty.  Besides  the  great  lakes,  Supenor  and  Michigan,  which 
bound  tiic  state  of  Wisconsin  en  the  north  and  east,  the  state 

*  Lippincotl's  Gazetteer. 


Soil  and  Surface. 


4/ 


.lablo  mineral 

rative  as  that 

and  zinc,  the 

Copper  is 

Dwa  counties. 

3  most  prom- 

;  but  on  the 

;ood.  iron  ore 

;  extend  from 

riciicst  quali- 

,  iron  pyrites, 

IS  are  agate, 

itumen,  peat. 

id  other  min- 

discovered  in 

t  twenty  per 

ot  been  ascer- 

3"k  lUver,  and 

do  not  justify 

rthwest  part 

outh  of  lake 

?  of  nietam- 

ikco  for  the 

i)f  the  south- 

25,000,000 

varieties  of 

to  the  pub- 

llessrs.  Fos- 

(igamig  and 

I)revailing 

deep  red. 

These  are 

Iminec  are 

li  mui.h  of 
[an,  which 
I  the  state 


contains  a  number  of  smaller  lakes.  Many  of  these  are  noted  for 
unrivalled  natural  scenery.  The  principal  of  these  is  lake  Win- 
nebago, a  short  distance  Foutheast  from  the  centre  of  the  state. 
It  is  about  twenty-eight  miles  long,  and  ten  miles  wide,  and  com- 
municates with  Green  Bay,  a  iiorthwestern  arm  of  lake  Michigan, 
through  the  Fox,  or  Neenah  river.  "  These  small  lakes  are  most 
abuntl:  nt  in  the  northwest,  and  are  generally  characterized  by 
clear  water  and  gravelly  bottoms,  often  with  bold,  picturesque 
shores,  crowned  with  hemlock,  spruce  and  other  trees.  They  af- 
ford exccillcnt  fish.  In  the  shallow  waters  on  the  margins  of  some 
of  them  grows  wild  rice,  once  an  important  article  of  food  with 
the  savages  of  this  region."* 

The  rivers  which  traverse  the  interior,  for  the  most  part,  flow 
gcner;.  ly  in  a  southwest  direction,  discharging  their  waters  into 
the  Misbisaippi.  The  latter  I'iver  bounds  Wisconsin  on  the  south- 
west for  more  than  two  hundred  miles.  Conimencing  on  this  line 
at  the  south,  we  have,  in  their  order,  the  Wisconsin,  Bad  Axe, 
Black,  and  Chippewa  rivers.  Of  these,  the  largest  is  the  Wis- 
consin, which  flows  nearly  directly  south  for  over  two  hundred 
miles,  and  then  west  about  a  hundred  miles,  into  the  Mississippi. 
It  is  navigible  for  steamboats  for  nearly  two  hundred  miles.  The 
Chippewa  is  about  two  hundred,  and  the  Black  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  mdes  long,  lae  Fox  river,  or  Neenah,  is  the  outlet  of 
Winnebago  lake,  and  connects  it  with  Green  Bay,  The  Wolf 
river,  from  the  north,  is  the  main  .supply  to  this  1  'ce.  The  Me- 
nominee fMnptying  into  Green  Bay,  and  the  Montreal  into  Lake 
Superior,  are  very  serviceable  streams  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses. These  livcrs  form  part  of  the  northeast  boundary  of  Wis- 
consin. "  The  Menominee  has  a  descent  of  l,0-i9  feet.  The  St 
Louis  (considered  as  the  primary  source  of  the  St  Lawrence)  coasts 
this  state  for  twenty  or  thirty  miles  on  the  northwest,  and  is  full 
of  rapids  and  falls  in  this  part  of  its  course.  These  rivers  are  not 
generally  favorable  to  navigution  without  artificial  aid.  The  Wis- 
consin may  be  ascended  by  steamboats  to  the  rapids,  where  it  ap- 
proaches a  tributary  of  lake  Winnebago,  within  a  mile  and  a  half, 
where  a  cr.nal  is  being  constructed,  which,  when  completed,  will 
open  an   entire  inland  navigation  from  New  York  to  the  Upper 

♦L'iipincott's  Gazetteer. 


li 


50 


TUTTLEfs   CEXTEyNIAL  NORTHU'EST. 


\  M 


Mississippi.  The  Rock  river  is  sometimes,  at  liigh  water,  ascended 
by  boats  to  within  the  limits  of  Wisconsin.  Tlic  Bad  Axe, 
Black,  Chippewa,  and  St.  Croix  are  important  channels  for  float- 
ing timber  to  market  from  the  pine  regions  in  the  northwest  of 
the  state.  The  rivers  flowing  into  lake  Superior  are  small;  and, 
though  unfavorable  for  commerce,  their  rapid  courses  make  them 
valuable  for  mill-sites.  Col.  Long  estimates  that  the  Chii)pewa, 
Black,  "Wisconsin,  and  Hock  rivers  are  respectively  capable  of  a 
steamboat  navigation  of  seventy,  sixty,  a  hundred  and  eighty, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles;  but  at  present  they  are  a  good 
deal  obstructed  by  shifting  sand  and  rapids."* 

The  climate,  though  quite  severe  in  winter,  is  free  from  those 
sudden  changes  that  prevail  farther  south.  The  sammers  are 
warm;  the  winters,  cold,  and  usually  very  long;  but  upon  the 
whole,  for  general  health,  Wisconsin  may  be  regarded  as  the  most 
desirable  place  of  residence.  The  natural  scenery  is  not  excelled 
for  beauty  in  North  America;  vyhile,  on  the  other  hand,  in  many 
of  its  rivers,  inland  lakes,  and  mounds  and  dells,  it  presents  fea- 
ture? of  marvellous  beauty  far  surpassing  otiier  localities. 

The  climate  of  Wisconsin  is  iiore  avorable  to  the  raising  of 
good  crops  than  is  generally  supposed.  The  winters  are  long  and 
severe,  but  the  temperature  is  somewhat  mitigatec'  by  the  lake 
breezes.  T'le  summers  arc  warm,  but  pleasant.  The  state  is 
healthy  as  a  general  rule,  and  is  less  liable  than  ether  new  places 
to  the  di-scases  incident  to  new  settlements,  owing  to  the  openness 
of  the  country.  '•  The  soil,  as  a  general  rule,  is  fertile,  and  is  pro- 
ductive, oven  in  the  mineral  regions  of  the  north.  The  best  lands 
are  on  the  prairies,  where  the  soil  consists  of  a  dark  brown  vege- 
table mould,  from,  one  to  <^-"o  feet  in  depth,  very  mellow,  and 
entirely  destitute  of  stones  or  gravel."  f 

Wisconsin  possesses  abundant  timber  resources,  and  an  immense 
lumbering  business  is  carried  on  in  many  of  the  northern  and 
western  counties,  the  pineries  of  Marathon,  Chippewa,  Clark, 
Wood,  St.  Croix,  and  oiher  counties,  furnishing  nuuty  millions  of 
feet  of  logs  and  lumber  annually.  Our  Clark  correspondent 
claims  that  100,000,000  feet  of  pine  timber  is  cut  each  year  in 
that  county  alone;  while  in  Monroe  30,000,000  feet  is  annually 

*  LippiacoU'8  Gazetteer.  \T\xq.  "Great  Republic." 


Soil  asd  Surface. 


61 


cut  into  Iiimboi'  bj  about  twenty  mills.  Hard  woud  timber  also 
abounds  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  and  there  are  few  counties  with- 
out sufTicicnt  wood  for  local  uses.  The  lumbering  but;"'.-.e'^s  is  a 
source  of  great  profit  to  those  engaged  in  it,  and  in  Brown  county 
parties  boast  of  cutting  enough  "A'hite  pine  logs  from  eighty  acres 
to  net  $1200  to  $1500. 
In  1870,  from  5,795,538  acres  of  improved  land,  the  returns 

ncrcasing  each  year 


were  as  follows,  as  they  have  been  steadily 
since : 

Busliels  of  wlieat,  .... 

"        Indian  corn, 

OiltS, 

"        barley', 

"        potatoes,  - 
Pounds  of  wool, 

butter,      - 

"       cheese, 

"        hops, 
Tons  of  hay, 
Number  of  horses,     - 

"        asses  and  Uiules, 

"        cattle, 

"       sheep, 

"        swjne, 

"        milch  co^vs, 
Value  of  domestic  animals,  about    . 
Estimated  value  of  all  farm  productions, 
Total  assessed  value  of  real  and  personal  estate, 


25,323,047 

1, 350,730 

14,S75,003 

19,878,71)4 

i,«27,r)(i9 

6,642,843 

4,086,038 

22,257,117 

1,494,145 

4,:  ;s,203 

i,28(),4:!-2 

149,9t,i» 

1,998 

480,319 

790,458 

805,008 

250,312 

f28,o00,000 

$77,507,201 

$320,705,238 


MINNESOTA. 

The  state  of  Minnesota  has  an  area  of  83,531  square  miles,  and 
is  situated  between  43°  30'  and  49°  N,  latitude,  and  between  89" 
80'  and  97"  W.  longitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  British 
America,  on  the  east  by  Lake  Superior  and  Wisconsin,  on  the 
south  by  Iowa,  and  on  the  west  by  Dakota  Territory. 

The  topography  of  the  s^atc  is  quite  diversified.  '■  Although. 
Minnesota  is  not  a  mountainous  country,"  says  Col.  Girat  Hewitt, 
of  St.-  Paul,  "its  general  elevation  gives  it  all  the  advantages  of 
one,  without  its  objectionable  features.  Being  equidisLint  from 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  situated  on  an  elevated  plateau, 


i !  i 


I 


ll^'M: 


i!:;i 


11  : 1 
I!'  i 


i'iill 

I!; 


<62 


Tvttle's  Centennial  NoRTinvEST. 


and  witli  a  sy.'^tem  of  lakes  and  rivers  ample  for  an  empire,  it  has 
a  peculiar  climate  of  its  own,  possessed  by  no  other  state.  The 
general  surfnce  of  the  greater  part  of  the  state  is'even  and  undu- 
lating, and  pleasantly  diversified  with  rolling  prairies,  vast  belts 
of  timber,  oak  openings,  numerous  lakes  and  streams,  w^ith  their 
accompanying  meadows,  waterfalls,  wooded  ravines  and  lofty 
bluffs,  which  impart  variety,  grandeur  and  ])icturesque  beauty  to 
its  scenerj'.  *  *  The  Mississippi  river,  2,400  miles  long,  which 
drains  a  larger  region  of  eountiy  than  any  stream  on  the  globe, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Amazon,  rises  in  Lake  Itasca,  in  the 
northern  part  of  Minnesota,  and  flows  southcasteily  through  the 
state  797  miles,  134  of  which  forms  its  eastern  boundary.  It  is 
navigable  for  large  boats  to  St.  Paul,  and  above  the  falls  of  St. 
Anthony  for  smaller  boats  for  about  150  miles  farther.  The  ser.- 
son  of  navigation  has  opened  as  early  as  the  25th  of  ]\rarch,  but 
visually  opens  from  the  P.'-.  to  the  middle  of  April,  and  closes 
betweei  the  middle  of  November  and  the  first  of  December.  In 
1865  and  1800,  steamboat  excursions  took  place  on  the  first  of 
December,  from  St.  Paul,  and  the  river  remained  0})en  several 
days  longer ;  in  1867,  until  December  1st.  The  principal  towns 
and  cities  on  the  Mi.ssissippi  in  Minnesota  are,  Winona,  Waba- 
shaw.  Lake  City,  Red  Wing,  Hastings,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  St. 
Anthony,  Anoka,  Dayton,  Monticello,  St.  Cloud,  Sauk  Papids, 
Little  Falls,  Watab.  The  Minnesota  riv.r,  the  source  of  which  is 
among  the  Coteau  des  Prairies,  in  l)ak  ->ia  territory,  flows  from 
Big  Stone  lake,  on  the  western  boundary  of  the  state,  a  distance 
of  nearly  500  miles,  through  the  heart  of  the  southwestern  part  of 
the  state,  and  empties  into  the  Mississippi  at  Fo'"t  Snelling.  5  miles 
above  St.  Paul.  It  is  navigable  as  high  up  as  ihe  Yellow  Medi- 
cine, 2o8  miles  above  its  mouth  during  good  stages  of  water.  Its 
principal  places  are  Shakopee,  Chaska,  Carver,  Belle  Plaine,  Hen- 
derson, Le  Sueur,  Traverse  des  Sioux,  St.  Peter,  Mankato,  and 
New  Ulm.  Tlie  St.  Croix  river,  rising  in  Wiscoi  sin,  near  Lake 
Superior,  forms  about  130  miles  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
state.  It  empties  into  the  Mississippi  nearly  opposite  Hastings, 
and  is  navigable  to  Taylor's  Falls,  about  50  miles.  It  penetrates 
the  pineries,  and  furnishes  immense  water  power  along  its  course. 
The  principal  places  on  it  arc  Stillwater  and  Taylor's  Falls.     The 


Soil  and  Surface. 


08 


cm  pire,  it  has 

nr  state.     The 

'•en  and  undu- 

ies,  vast  belts 

ms,  with  their 

les   and   lofty 

ique  beauty  to 

es  long,  which 

on  the  globe, 

Itasca,  in  the 

y  through  the 

andary.     It  is 

the  falls  of  St. 

ler.     The  seiv- 

of  March,  but 

il,  and  closes 

)eceraber.     In 

m  the  first  of 

1  o])en  several 

incipal  towns 

nona,  "Waba- 

nneapolis,  St. 

»auk  Ilapids, 

c  of  which  \:i 

V,  ilows  from 

e,  a  distance 

:stern  part  of 

ling.  5  miles 

cllow  Mcdi- 

watcr.     Its 

Maine,  Hen- 

nkato,  and 

,  near  Lake 

l^lary  of  the 

Hastings, 

penetrates 

its  conr.se. 

[alls.     The 


Red  river  rises  in  lake  Traverse,  and  flows  northward,  forming 
the  western  boundary  of  the  state  from  Big  Stone  lake  to  the 
British  possessions,  a  distance  of  380  miles.  It  is  navigable  from 
Breckcnridge,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Bois  de  Siou^  river,  to  Hud- 
son's Bay;  tlie  Saskatchewan,  a  tributary  of  the  Red  river,  is  also 
said  to  be  a  navigable  tctream,  thus  promising  an  active  commer- 
cial trade  from  this  vast  res-ion  when  it  shall  have  become  settled 
up,  via  the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific  Railroad,  which  connects  the  nav- 
igable waters  of  the  Red  river  with  those  of  the  Mississippi, 
Among  the  more  important  of  the  numerous  small  streams,  are 
Rum  river,  valuable  for  lumbering;  Vermilion  river,  furnishing 
extensive  water  power,  and  ])ossessing  some  of  the  finest  cascades 
in  the  United  States;  the  Crow,  Blue  Earth,  Root,  Sauk,  Le 
Sueur,  Zumbro,  Cottonwood,  Long  Prairie,  Red  Wood,  AYarajii, 
Pojuta  Ziza,  Mauja,  "\Yakau,  Buffalo,  Wild  Rice,  Plum,  Sand 
Hill,  Clear  Water,  Red  Lake,  Thief  Black,  Red  Cedar  and  Des 
iNfoines  rivers ;  the  St.  Louis  river,  a  large  stream  flowing  into 
Lake  Superior,  navigable  for  20  miles  from  its  lake  outlet,  and 
furnishing  a  water  power  at  its  falls  said  to  be  equal  to  that  of  the 
falls  of  the  Mississippi  at  St.  Anthony,  and  many  others,  besides 
all  the  innumerable  hosts  of  first  and  secondary  tiibutaries  to  all 
the  larger  streams." 

The  eastern  boundary  of  the  state  is  washed  by  lake  Superior 
for  a  distance  of  167  miles.  Along  this  shore  are  scverixl  fine 
harbors.  The  surface  is  thickly  dotted  with  small  lakes  which 
contain  the  usual  varieties  of  fish.     The  soil  is  well  watered.        * 

The  minerals,  as  yet,  have  not  attracted  any  great  attention. 
Iron  is  abundant  along  the  shores  of  lake  Superior,  and  copper  is 
found  in  small  quantities.  Coal  and  red-pipe  clay  are  also  found 
to  a  considerable  extent. 

The  climate  of  Minnesota  is  remarkable  for  its  healthful ness. 
Col.  Hewitt,  in  writing  of  this  in  his  work  on  the  soil  and  climate 
of  the  state,  says : 

•The  assertion  that  the  climate  of  Minnesota  is  one  of  the 
healthiest  in  the  world  may  be  broadly  and  confidently  made. 
It  is  sustained  by  the  almost  unanimous  testimony  of  thousands 
of  invalids  who  have  sought  its  pure  and  bracing  air,  and  recov- 
ered from  consumption  and  other  diseases  after  they  have  been 


m  I 


>  I  i 


:i'i; 


•  m 


: 


ill 

!  i 


i  i  ! 


m 


I-  ' 


i!i 


54 


TUTTLffs   Cl'XTENNIAL  NoiiTIlWEST. 


given  up  as  hopeless  by  their  home  physieiaus;  it  is  sustained  by 
the  experience  of  its  inhabitants  for  twenty  years;  and  it  is  sus- 
tained by  the  published  statistics  of  mortality  in  the  different 
states.  Minnesota  is  entirely  exempt  from  vudaria,  and  conse- 
quently the  numerous  diseases  known  to  arise  from  it,  such  as 
cliills  and  fever,  autumnal  fevers,  ar/ne  calx  or  enlarged  spleen, 
enlargement  of  the  liver,  etc.,  dropsy,  diseases  of  the  kidneys, 
affections  of  the  eye,  and  various  bilious  diseases  and  derange- 
ments of  the  stomach  and.  bowels,  although  sometimes  arising 
from  other  causes,  are  often  due  wholly  to  malarious  agency,  and 
are  only  temporarily  relieved  by  medicine,  because  the  patient  is 
constantly  exposed  to  the  malarious  influence  which  generates 
them.  Enlargement  of  the  liver  and  spleen  is  very  common  in 
southern  and  southwestern  states.  "We  are  not  only  free  from 
these  ailments,  but  by  coming  to  Minnesota,  often  ^\•ithout  any 
medical  treatment  at  all,  patients  speedily  recover  from  this  class 
of  diseases  ;  the  miasmatic  poison  being  soon  eliminated  from  the 
system,  and  not  being  exposed  to  its  further  inception,  the  func- 
tions of  health  are  gradually  resumed.  Diarrhoea  and  dysentery 
are  not  so  prevalent  as  in  warmer  latitudes,  and  are  of  a  milder 
type.  Pneumonia  and  typhoid  fever  are  very  seldom  met  with, 
and  then  merely  as  sporadic  cases.  Diseases  of  an  epidemic 
character  have  never  been  known  to  prevail  here.  'Even  that 
dreadful  scourge,  diphtheria,  which,  like  a  destroying  angel, 
swept  through  portions  of  the  country,  leaving  desolation  in  its 
train,  passed  us  by  with  scarce  a  grave  to  mark  its  course.  The  dis- 
eases common  to  infancy  and  childhood  partake  of  the  same  mild 
character,  and  seldom  prove  fatal.'  This  is  the  language  of  Mrs. 
Colburn,  an  authoress,  and  the  experience  of  physicans  corrobor- 
ates this  opinion.  That  dreadful  scourge  of  the  human  family, 
the  cholera,  is  alike  unknown  here.  During  the  summer  of  186G, 
■while  hundreds  were  daily  cut  down  by  this  visitation  in  New- 
York,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  and  other  places,  and  it  prevailed  to 
an  alarming  extent  in  Chicago,  not  a  single  case  made  its  appear- 
ance in  Minnesota.  Another,  and  a  very  large  class  of  invalids, 
who  derive  great  benefit  from  the  climate  of  Minnesota,  are  those 
whose  systems  have  become  relaxed,  debilitated  and  broken  down 
by  over  taxation  of  the  mental  and  physical  energies,  dyspepsia,  etc." 


Soil  aud  Surface. 


ff5 


sustained  by 

and  it  is  sus- 

tbe  different 

'(,  and  conse- 

n    it,  sueli  as 

u'ged  spleen, 

the  kidneys, 

md  dcrange- 

timcs  arising 

agency,  and 

he  patient  is 

oh  generates 

'  common  in 

ily  free  from 

witliout  any 

)m  this  chiss 

ited  from  the 

)n,  the  func- 

pd  dysentery 

f  a  milder 

met  with, 

in   epidemic 

Even  that 

ing   angel, 

ition  in  its 

e.  Thedis- 

same  mild 

ffc  of  Mrs. 

IS  corrobor- 

lan  family, 

er  of  186G, 

on  in  New 

rcvailed  to 

its  appear- 

f  invalids, 

are  those 

ken  down 

psia,  etc." 


The  soil  of  ^Minnesota  is  well  adapted  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  Minnesota  is  regarded  as  the  best  wheat  state  in  the  union. 
The  soil  is  of  a  dark,  "calcareous,  sandy  loam,  containing  a  va- 
rious intermixture  of  cLi}-,  abounding  in  mineral  salt^  nd  in  or- 
ganic ingredients,  derived  from  the  accumulation  of  decomposed 
vegetable  matter  for  long  ages  of  growth  and  decay." 


CHAPTER   V. 

aOIL  AND  SUIIFACE. 

Continued.) 


Topograph}'  -—Climate  — Minerals  — Soil  and  Productions. 

IOWA. 

The  '^tate  of  Iowa  has  an  a  ,  oi  55,045  square  miles  and  is  sit- 
uated between  40°  30'  and  43"  30'  N.  latitude,  and  between  90° 
and  97°  AV.  longitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Minnesota ; 
on  the  east  by  Wisconsin  and  Illinois,  from  which  it  is  separated 
by  the  ^[ississippi  river;  on  the  south  by  Missouri,  a'. ;  on  the 
west  by  Nebraska  and  Dakota  territory. 

The  following  sketch  of  the  soil,  surface,  minerals,  etc.  of  Iowa 
is  compiled  from  my  History  of  the  State  of  Iowa  :  The  surface 
of  the  state  of  Iowa  is  remarkably  uniform.  There  are  no  moun- 
tains, and  yet  but  little  of  the  surface  is  level  or  flat.  "  The  whole 
state  presents  a  succession  of  gentle  elevations  and  depressions, 
with  some  bold  and  picturesque  bluffs  along  the  principal  streams. 
The  western  portion  of  the  state  is  generally  more  elevated  than 
the  eastern,  the  northwestern  part  being  the  highest.  Nature 
could  not  have  provided  a  more  perfect  system  of  drainage,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  leave  the  country  so  completely  adapted  to  all 
the  purposes  of  agriculture."*  The  state  is  drained  by  two  sys- 
tems of  streams  running  at  right  angles  with  each  other.  The  riv' 
ers  that  flow  into  the  Mississippi  run  from  the  northwest  to  the 
southeast,  while  those  of  the  other  system  flow  toward  the  south- 

*  Iowa  Board  of  ImDiigralion  Pamphlet. 


56 


Tuttlf/s  CEXTExmAL  Northwest. 


II 


west,  and  empty  into  the  Missouri.  The  former  drain  about 
three-fourths  of  the  surface  of  the  state;  the  Litter,  the  remaining 
one-fourth.  The  waterslied  dividing  the  two  systems  of  streams 
represents  tlie  highest  portion  of  tlie  state,  and  gradually  descends 
as  one  follows  its  course  from  northwest  to  southeast.  "  Low 
water  mark  in  the  Missouri  river  at  Council  Bluffs  is  about  425 
feet  above  low  water  mark  in  the  Mississippi  at  Davenport.  At 
the  crossing  of  the  summit,  or  water-bed,  245  miles  west  of  Dav- 
enport, the  elevation  is  about  9G0  fectabove  the  Mississippi.  The 
Dcs  ^Moines  river,  at  tlie  city  of  Des  Moines,  has  an  elevation  of 
227  feet  above  the  Mississi])pi  at  Davenport,  and  is  19S  feet  lower 
than  the  Missouri  at  Council  BlufTs.  The  elevation  of  the  east- 
ern border  of  the  state  at  RrcGrcrror  is  about  624  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  while  the  highest  elevation  in  the  northwest  por- 
tion of  the  state  is  about  140  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea."  In 
addition  to  this  grand  watershed  dividing  the  two  great  drainage 
sj'stems  of  this  state,  there  are  smaller  or  tributary  ridges  or  eleva- 
tions between  the  various  principal  stream.s.  These  are  culled  di- 
vides, and  are  quite  as  fertile  and  productive  as  the  rich  valleys 
or  bottoms  along  the  borders  of  the  streams. 

The  entire  eastern  border  of  Iowa  is  washed  bv  the  Father  of 
"Waters,  the  largest  river  on  the  continent;  and  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  year  this  stream  is  navigable  for  a  large  class  of  steam- 
ers. The  principal  rivers  which  flow  through  the  interior  of  the 
state,  east  of  the  dividing  ridge,  are  the  Des  Moines,  Skunk,  Iowa, 
Wapsipinicon,  T^faquokcta,  Turkey  and  Upper  Iowa.  One  of  the 
largest  rivers  of  the  state  is  lied  Cedar,  whicb  rises  in  Minnesota, 
and  flowing  in  a  southeasterly  direction,  joins  its  waters  with  the 
Iowa  river  in  Louisa  county,  only  about  thirty  niiles  from  its 
mouth,  that  portion  below  the  junction  retaining  the  name  of  Iowa 
river,  although  it  is  really  the  smaller  stream.  The  Des  Moines 
is  the  largest  river  in  the  interior  of  the  state  ;  it  rises  in  a  group 
or  chain  of  lakes  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  not  far  from  the  Iowa 
border.  The  head  waters  of  this  stream  are  in  two  branches, 
known  as  east  and  west  Des  Moines.  These,  after  flowing  about 
seventy  miles  through  the  northern  portion  of  the  state,  converge 
to  their  junction  in  the  southern  part  of  Humboldt  county.  The 
Des  Moines  receives  a  number  of  large  tributaries,  among  which 


i 


:;!  1 


Soil  akd  Sun  face. 


67 


drain  about 


arc  Raccoon  and  the  Tliree  Rivers  (north,  south  and  middle)  on 
the  west,  and  Boone  river  on  the  cast.  The  Des  ^foines  flows 
from  northwest  to  scjutheast,  not  less  tlian  three  hundred  miles 
through  Iowa,  and  drains  over  ten  thousand  square  miles  of  terri- 
tory. At  an  early  day  steamboats,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  \'car, 
navigated  this  river  as  far  up  as  "  Raccoon  Forks,"  and  a  largo 
grunt  of  land  was  made  to  the  state  by  congress  for  the  purjioso 
of  improving  its  navigation.  The  land  ■wassubscrpacntly  diverted 
to  the  construction  of  the  Des  Moines  Valley  Railroad.  For  a  de- 
scription of  the  rivers  already  named,  which  drain  the  eastern 
three-fo;irtlis  of  the  state,  we  refer  the  reader  to  the  map. 

Crossing  the  great  water.shed  we  come  to  the  Missouri  and  its 
tributaries.  The  Missouri  river,  forming  a  little  over  two-thirds 
of  the  length  of  the  western  boundary  line,  is  navigable  for  largo 
sized  steamboats  for  a  distance  of  nineteen  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  above  the  point  (Siou.\  City)  where  it  first  touches  the  west- 
ern bord.er  of  the  state.  It  is,  therefore,  a  highway  of  vast  im- 
portance to  the  great  commercial  interests  of  western  Iowa. 

The  tributaries  of  the  Missouri,  which  drain  a  vast  extent  of 
territory  in  the  western  part  of  Iowa,  are  important  to  commerce 
also.  The  Big  Sioux  river  forms  about  seventy  miles  of  the 
western  boundary  of  the  state,  its  general  course  being  nearly 
north  and  south.  It  has  also  several  important  tributaries  which 
drain  the  counties  of  Plymouth,  Sioux,  Lyon,  Osceola  and  O'Bri- 
en. These  counties  are  located  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
state.  Among  the  most  important  of  the  streams  flowing  into 
the  Big  Sioux  is  the  Rock  river,  traversing  Lyon  and  Sioux  coun- 
ties. It  is  a  beautiful  stream,  bordered  by  a  pleasant  and  fruitful 
country.  Being  supported  by  living  springs,  it  is  capable  of  run- 
ning considerable  machinery.  The  Big  Sioux  river  itself  was,  at 
one  time,  regarded  as  a  navigable  stream,  but  in  later  years  iis 
use  in  this  respect  has  been  considered  of  no  value.  Not  fai  be- 
low where  the  Big  Sioux  flows  into  the  Missouri,  we  meet  the 
mouth  of  the  Floyd  river.  This  is  a  small  stream,  but  it  flows 
through  a  rich,  interesting  tract  of  countr}'. 

Little  Sioux  river  is  one  of  the  most  important  streams  of 
northwestern  Iowa.  It  rises  in  the  vicinity  of  Spirit  and  Oko- 
boji  lakes,  near  the  Minnesota  line,  and  meanders  through  various 


68 


Tuttlk's  Centexxial  Kortiiwest. 


counties  a  distnncc  of  nearly  tlirco  luiiulred  lullos  to  its  conflu- 
ence with  tlie  ^lissouri  near  the  northwestern  corner  of  Harrison 
county.  With  its  tributaries  it  drains  not  less  tlian  five  thousand 
square  miles.  Boj'er  river  is  the  next  stream  of  considerable  size 
below  the  Little  Sioux.  It  rises  in  Sac  county  and  flows  south- 
west to  the  Alissouri,  in  Pottawattomie  county.  Its  entire  length 
is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  drains  not  less  than  two 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory.  It  is  a  small  stream,  mean- 
derins  throu<>h  a  rich  and  lovely  vallcv.  Goinc?  down  the  ^lis- 
souri,  and  passing  several  sinall  streams,  which  have  not  been 
dignified  with  the  name  of  rivers,  we  come  to  the  Nishnabotna, 
which  empties  into  the  Missouri  some  twenty  miles  below  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  state.  It  has  three  principal  branches, 
with  an  aggregate  length  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 
These  streams  drain  about  five  tliousand  square  miles  of  south- 
western Iowa.  They  flow  through  valleys  of  unsurpassed  beauty 
'and  fertility,  and  furnish  good  water  power  at  various  points, 
though  in  this  respect  they  are  not  equal  to  the  streams  in  the 
northeastern  portion  of  the  state. 

The  southern  portion  of  the  state  is  drained  by  several  strcams 
that  flow  into  the  ^Missouri  river,  in  the  state  of  Missouri.  The 
most  important  of  these  are  Cliariton,  Grand,  Platte,  One  Hun- 
dred and  Two,  and  the  three  Nodaways  —  P]ast,  "West  and  Mid- 
dle. All  of  these  afl'ord  water  power  for  machinery,  and  present 
splendid  valleys  of  rich  farming  lands. 

These  few  general  remarks  concerning  the  rivers  must  suffice. 
Our  space  will  admit  only  of  a  mention  of  the  streams  Uiat  have 
been  designated  as  rivers,  but  there  are  niany  other  streams  of 
great  importance  and  value  to  different  portions  of  the  stale, 
draining  the  country,  furnishing  mill  sites,  and  adding  to  the  va- 
riety and  beauty  of  the  scenery.  So  admirable  is  the  natural 
draiufUTO  of  alniost  the  entire  state,  that  the  farmer  who  has  not  a 
stream  of  living  water  on  his  premises  is  an  exception  to  the  gen- 
eral rule. 

Let  us  next  look  at  the  lakes.  In  some  of  the  northern  por- 
tions of  Iowa  there  are  many  small  and  beautiful  lakes.  They, 
for  the  most  part,  belong  to  that  system  of  lakes  stretching  into 
Minnesota,  and  some  of  them  present  many  interesting  features. 


Soil  asd  Suhface. 


69 


to  its  conflii- 
r  of  Ilariisou 
five  thousand 
sidcrable  sizo 
I  flows  soutli- 
entirc  length 
lc«s  than  two 
ilream,  incan- 
iwn  the  Mis- 
ive  not  been 
Nishnabotna, 
OS  below  the 
pal  branehcs, 
fifty  mile?, 
lies  of  south- 
asscd  beauty 
rious  })oints, 
trcanis  in  the 

eral  streams 
;souri.  The 
',  One  Ilun- 
>i  and  Mid- 
and  present 

mist  suffice, 

|s  that  have 

streams  of 

the  stale, 

to  the  va- 

Pie  natural 

has  not  a 

lo  the  gen- 

Ithern  por- 
Is.     They, 
Ihing  into 
features. ' 


Among  the  moat  noted  of  the  lakes  of  northern  Icwa,  are  the 
following:  Clear  lake,  in  Cerro  Gordo  county  ;  Rice  like,  Silver 
lake  and  Bright's  lake,  in  Wortli  county;  Cry.'^tal  lake,  Kagle 
lake,  lake  ICdward  and  Twin  lakes,  in  Hancock  county;  Owl 
lake,  in  Humboldt  county ;  lake  Gertrude,  lake  Cornelia,  Elm 
lake  and  Wall  lake,  in  Wright  county ;  lake  Caro,  in  Hamilton 
county;  Twin  lakes,  in  Calhoun  county;  Wall  lake,  in  Sac 
county  ;  Swan  lake,  in  Emmet  county ;  Storm  lake,  in  Buena 
Vista  county,  and  Okoboji  and  Sjiirit  lakes,  in  l)ickinson  county. 
Nearly  all  these  are  deep  and  clear,  abounding  in  many  excellent 
varieties  of  lish,  which  arc  caught  abundantly  by  the  settlers  at 
all  proper  seasons  of  the  year.  Tlie  name  "  Wall  lake,"  applied 
to  several  of  these  bodies  of  water,  is  derived  from  the  fact  that  a 
line  or  ridge  of  boulders  extends  around  them,  giving  thcni 
.somewhat  the  appearance  of  having  been  walled.  Most  of  them 
exhibit  the  same  appearance  in  this  respect  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent.  Lake  Okoboji,  Spirit  lake,  Storm  lake  and  Clear  lake 
are  the  largest  of  the  northern  lowfi.  lakes.  All  of  them,  except 
Storm  lake,  have  fine  bodies  of  timber  on  their  borders.  Lake 
Okoboji  is  about  fifteen  miles  long,  and  from  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
to  two  miles  wide.  Spirit  lake,  just  north  of  it,  embraces  about 
ten  square  miles,  the  northern  border  extending  to  the  Minnesota 
line.  Storm  lake  is  in  size  about  three  miles  east  and  west  by 
two  north  and  south.  Clear  lake  is  about  seven  miles  long  by 
two  miles  wide.  The  dry  rolling  land  usually  extends  up  to  the 
borders  of  the  lakes,  making  them  delightful  resorts  for  excur- 
sion or  fishing  parties,  and  they  are  now  attracting  attention  as 
])laces  of  resort,  on  account  of  the  beauty  of  their  natural  scenery, 
as  well  as  the  inducements  which  they  afford  to  hunting  and  fish- 
ing parties. 

The  alternating  patches  of  timber  and  broad  i^rairie  render 
Iowa  distinguishable.  Of  course  the  prairies  constitute  most  of 
the  surface.  It  is  said  that  nine-tenths  of  the  surface  is  prairie. 
The  timber  is  generally  found  in  heavy  bodies  skirting  the 
streams,  but  there  arc  also  many  isolated  groves  standing,  like 
islands  in  the  sea,  far  out  on  the  prairies.  The  eastern  half  of 
the  state  contains  a  larger  proportion  of  timber  than  the  western. 
The  following  are  the  leading  varieties  of  timber :  white,  black 


'\ 


\%V 


00 


TuttLE's  CF\Tr\'\'T,r    \T 


nrid   biirr  oil-  I  i     ? 

"'"'  ■•>  f«v  isolate!   ,,i„;  „?,''•*  "'""S  '""•■■'  ""'l  Co,la,-  ,-,Vo,-s 
--o  "t  .1.0  ,,„.oa,„  ™  3  -""--O'l  "lo„.  tho  b,„,^    f 

"-'rlci...I,,„f  .i,„W.,.  1,    :  'C    T'   1™-'  "f  "-  «.a...     Very 

I'lanlinsofsccik  '  '  "  "''<''>  l'™pagalecl   from   tl.o 

coa;x;;;;:r  ""';,:%<:::  ::r™'  ■■"*—'  ^-™  „..e  ,,„„, 
"-  histoo-  of  o,.  .acoy :::;:  r '" "'°  ""'■  '-s  ^z 

"  l».„„if„,  ,,,„„.,;„„  fortl.o't    ,„        ''^''°™"-'-I"-°»-.^^,  ..,ado 
f""W  bcco,„„  „ecc,,a,.v  or  c  v  li    7'  '"  "'°  "'■''"  <"  "■"'S',  it 

''■0  -<;ate,  lea  to  improved  ,„c  1,?:  '"•'■. '"  "'"V  P^'-'i^/of 
co»nt,cs,  the  business  is  beeo"„i,  ^  ,  1  T"'='  '°  «'••"  '"  "'any 
^l«.aUy  wloro  railroads  hZuh   t  "'}  ""I"'«.'.r,t  „„( 

Tbe  eoal  few  of  tl,o  state  0^1,,  °''""'  °'  "■'■■"••'l«'»tion 

'■qiiare  miles,  and  coal  is  suce^f  »        ■"","™  "^  "«'■  20,0(10 
--^,  ombraeing  a  te,.,.ito,./w;:      '^  T'l  '"  """  """/  cou„. 
W.th.n  the  las.  year  or  tL  mCdt  ""=  "^  •^^■■'''-=™h".«etts." 

^«»  made,  a„d  eounlies  ^ot  1"!:?™"' I""' ''^P'-''-' '-vo 
coal  eounlies  of  ,l,o  state,  are  ilv  r  '"""'^•"^  "">°"S  "'o 
"""-  A  vein  of  eoal  of  ",11°;  o,  r?  *''  '■"'"'™  '°  'ho 
"OSS,  has  been  opened,  and  is  ,k,  ''''  "''"  '«'  ''>  tl.iek- 

"tout  f,ve  miles  southeast  oCtj",""  •'»<==^^'"»"y  wo,fad, 
Lnrge  quantities  of  eoal  a,,  shiiwod  I  ,'  '"  "'"'""'  <='"""3' 
»"d  .l>e  towns  along  .he  inoo  ttl7l  '"''''  '"  ^^"""I- 
lia.lroad.  Three  or  four  yel  ,  '  :f  """"l""  "'><'  Sioux  Wty 
»">e  eoal  c.x.sted  in  Eoono  ZZ'  ""r  ""'"^  ''""""  *" 
"long  thoDes  Moines  river  JtT ^^'  f  '"  °""=''  "^^  "Pos"es 
rt"'  .".o  ooal  n,i„03  of  J    ^go"    '^t  ""J""'';"  '»-^">™^»r 


u 


Soil  a\d  Sun  face. 


01 


I'll  and  soft 
berry,  birch, 
;w  sycamore 
.  Groves  of 
/cdar  rivers, 
the  bhilTs  of 
state.  "Very 
■ai)i(lly  wlicti 
id   from  the 

arc  lier  vast 

long  before 

recess,  made 

of  things,  it 

possession  of 

ack  of  trees, 

crful  carbon- 

;  the  proper 

portions  of 


and  west.  The  great  productive  coal  field  of  Iowa  is  embraced 
chiclly  within  the  valley  of  the  Dea  Moines  river  and  it3  tributa- 
ries, extending  up  the  valley  from  Lee  county  nearly  to  the  north 
line  of  Webster  county.  Within  the  coal  field  cinbraeed  by  this 
vnllcy,  deep  mining  is  nowhere  necessary.  Tlie  l-)es  Moines  and 
iid  largo  tributaries  have  generally  cut  their  channels  down 
through  all  the  coal  measure  strata. 

The  coal  of  Iowa  is  of  the  class  known  as  bituminous,  and  is 
equal  in  quality  and  value  to  coal  of  the  same  class  in  otlier  parts 
of  tlic  world.  The  veins  whicli  liave  so  far  been  worked  are  from 
three  co  eight  feet  in  tliickness,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  dig  from 
one  thousand  to  two  thousand  feet  to  reach  the  coal,  as  miners  are 
obli^^jd  to  do  insomc  countres.  But  little  coal  has  in  this  state 
be"'!  :..'sed  from  a  depth  greater  than  one  hundred  feet. 

Prof.  Gustavus  Iliurich  of  the  state  university,  who  also  olTioi- 
ated  as  state  chemist  in  the  prosecution  of  tlie  recent  geological 
survey,  gives  an  analysis  showing  the  comparative  value  of  Iowa 
coal  with  that  of  other  countries.  The  following  is  from  a  table 
prepared  by  him  — 100  representing  the  combustible: 


I  ^\ 


NA.ME   AND   LOCAUTV. 


Brown  coal,  I'roiu  Arbcsnn,  Bolicmiti. . 

Brown  colli,  IVoni  liilin,  Boheniiii 

IVituniinous  colli  from  Hcnthcn.Silisia. 
Ciinnel  coiil,  I'roni  Wigan,  England... 

Antliracile,  I'roni  Pennsylvania 

Iowa  coals  —  averajrc 


IS  ° 

SB 

5a 

m 

.a 

.2  V 

IB 

t:  a 
S-ii 
w  * 

80 

04 

3 

11 

114 

40 

07 

16 

00 

1'2'J 

r,i 

4i) 

21 

5 

120 

Gl 

3!) 

10 

3 

113 

01 

0 

2 

2 

104 

50 

50 

5 

5 

110 

88 
81 
80 
87 
1)0 

yo 


In  this  table  the  excess  of  the  equivalent  above  100,  expresses 
the  amount  of  impurities  (ashes  and  moisture)  in  the  coal.  The 
analysis  shows  that  the  average  Iowa  co"als  contain  only  ten  parts 
of  impurities  for  one  hund'o-d  parts  of  combustible  (carbon  and 
bitumen),  being  the  pu'-cst  of  all  the  samples  analyzed,  except  tbo 
anthracite  from  Pennsylvania. 

The  peat  deposits  have  also  proved  to  be  extensive  and  valua- 
ble. These  have  only  been  known  to  exist  for  the  past  five  or 
six  years.  In  1866,  Dr.  White,  the  state  geologist,  made  careful 
observations  in  some  of  the  counties,  where  it  was  supposed  to 


TvTTL^ys  CEXTr:xxjr,r.  XoRrirrEsr, 


'--^-  The  depth  of  th  0 ;  r"  '^ "'  '""-^  ^^^  ^^-^  P-t 

^^'-^J-'y  is  but  ]ittle  if  ,'      „;  'f  ^^"'"  ^°'^'-  to  ten  feet,  and  the 
^"^  little  use  has   b    „  1 '      ?*•' '"  '^'^^^  "^  I^'eland.     As  ,-et 

-^-•e^i  that  it  L  :,:rt;i ;;  :f  ^  ^-^'  ^^^'^  ->-"  itt^ 

^""^--^ -.ion  of  the  "ae^  '  f  r'  ^^^^^' ^  ^  ■^P--Iy 
T-7  groat  J),  ,Vhite  est  l^^,!  ^^^^^'^  ^^^  -  ^'egarded  's 
d^ep,  wdl  supply,  t.o  hundred  KUi,  7"^'^  ''  ^''''  ^°--  ^^et 
"Pwards  of  t«.entv-f]ve  years  '"  ^"^'""^■^  ^^'^h  fuel  for 

P-enee  of  these^peat  Ll^  i,.  ^  /rt:",  ''  ^''^^^^  ^hat  th: 
degree  prejudicial  to  health   f n  •  ^       ""^  ^'"  ^^^ate  is  i-n  any 

-^iing  prairie  land  us,:!  '';,':    T  ^^  '"  ^^^^^     ^^^^  ^'^ 
ft  >nar.h,  and  the  windsfo/b  ;ie     u^  •  ^  ^"'^^  '^^^'^^'^  "^  the 
«"-mer  season,  do  not  allc  ^  .   tc'-   o  I         "'  ^''''''  ^'"•-^■^'  tl- 
'•^eerns  to  have  designed  thL  ^e,/?]    ^'""^ '^^•'^'="''^"t.     Nature 
--C,-  of  other  n^ateWal  for    ^V     n  '^"'""^'^  ^^  -'PP'j  the  de/i- 
r^  ^'-  «tate  :        ,jroads,  and  the  n  i  r"'"'?  ^'  ^'^'^  P^'ti"" 
^^-ave  a  resort  to  peat  fo    ill       ,        .    ^''''''^  "^  tin.ber  ma. 
"eeessity.     It  theri:  .  ,,,' ^  i^;!  "^^'"^^^  ^''--,  -'d  not  i 
^■^  the  future  the  peat  oeds  of  To        ''",'^  "''''"^^  "^^'^"^^"^i^'  v-Uue 
^ound  in  Musca.4,  Lni:  C^ L^^;;:^,  ^^     ^^^^  -^  also  be:: 
^«""t...  of  the  «tate,  but  tl,e  W  '  '  "''^7^«tern  and  sonthern 
;H-o..cd  with  other  kinds  of  fu^  "     SK>n  o   northe.n  L.vva.  least 
tl^f  state.  '""''  ^-^  peculiarly  the  neat  region  of 

^!f!My  wo,.ko„,  „,„  covin:;,     Vfc  r  '°"' "'"'  ™-^  '- 

■J'feont  part.  „f  .he.,ta,o-.a.;     «  "'"'""'  I'—'fei  in 

'  ^'"-  ^f  q..i.«i,„o  is  f„„  d  r;b„r "'"'™' '™- "'"  ">-" 

-0  sfto.     Even  in  ,|,e  norf  „v«te™  ^       °  '"  """'>■  '"  l««-'  of 


Soil  akd  Sun  face. 


63 


low  it  is  esti' 

of  good  peat 

feet,  and  the 

:nd.     As  yet, 

hen  it  is  con- 

n  a  sparsely 

s  regarded  as 

eat,  four  feet 

witli  fuel  for 

ried  that  the 

ate  is  in  any 

c.     Tiie  dry, 

)ordcr  of  the 

through  the 

mt.     Nature 

iply  tlio  defi- 

'  this  })ortiou 

timber  may 

,  ai)d  not  of 

nomio  value 

as  also  been 

ul  so'.idierii 

Iowa,  least 

t  region  of 

past  forty 
\Gn  smelted 
per  cent. 
|at  may  be 
re  miles  in 
ll^ubuquo. 
mtities  ia 
lig  ehiefly 
he  inanu- 
parls  of 
ie  ai-e  but 


|nong  the 


So 


abundant  is  limestone  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  quicklime, 
that  it  is  needless  to  mention  any  particular  locality  as  possessing 
superior  advantages  in  furnishing  this  useful  building  material. 
At  the  following  points  parties  have  been  engaged  somewhat  ex- 
tensively in  the  manufacture  of  lime,  to  wit:  Fort  Dodge,  Wcb- 
stei' county;  Springvalc,  Humboldt  county;  Orford  and  Indian- 
town,  Tama  county;  Iowa  Falls,  Hardin  county  ;  Mitchell,  Mitch- 
ell county,  and  at  Nearly  all  tlie  towns  along  the  streams  north- 
east of  Cedar  river. 

There  is  no  s(>arcity  of  good  build-ng  stone  to  be  found  along 
nearly  all  the  str^arns  east  of  the  Des  Moines  river,  and  along 
that  stream  from  its  mouth  up  to  the  north  line  of  Humboldt 
county.  Some  of  the  counties  west  of  the  Des  Moines,  as  Cass  and 
Madison,  as  well  as  most  of  the  southern  counties  of  the  state,  are 
suj: plied  with  good  building  stone.  In  some  places  as  in  Mar- 
shall and  Tama  counties,  several  species  of  marble  are  found, 
which  arc  susceptible  of  the  finest  fini.sh,  and  are  very  beautiful. 
On'i  of  the  finest  and  purest  deposits  of  gypsum  known  in  the 
world  exists  at  Fort  Dodge  in  tliis  state.  It  is  confined  to  an  area 
of  about  six  to  three  miles  on  both  sides  of  the  Des  Moines  river, 
and  is  found  to  be  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  in  thioknes.s. 
The  main  deposit  is  of  uniform  gray  color,  but  large  masses  of 
almost  pure  white  (resembling  alabaster)  have  been  found  imbed- 
ded in  the  main  deposits.  IMie  quantity  of  the  article  is  practi- 
cally inexhaustible,  and  the  time  will  certainly  come  when  it  will 
be  a  source  of  wealth  to  that  part  of  the  state. 

In  nearly  all  parts  of  the  state  the  material  suitable  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  brick  is  found  in  abundance.  Sand  is  obtained  in  the 
bluffs  along  the  streams  and  in  their  beds.  Potter's  clay,  and  fire 
clay  suitable  for  fire  brick,  are  found  in  many  places.  An  excel- 
lent article  of  firo  brick  is  made  at  Eldora,  Ilaidin  count}',  where 
there  are  also  several  extensive  potteries  in  operation.  Fire  clay 
is  usually  found  underlying  the  coal  seams.  Tlicre  are  extensive 
potteries  in  operation  in  the  counties  of  Lee,  Van  Burcn,  Des 
Moines.  Wapello,  Boone,  Hamilton,  Hardin,  and  others. 

It  is  supposed  that  there  is  no  where  upon  the  j^'lobc  an  equal 
area  of  surface  with  so  small  a  proportion  of  untillable  land  as 
wo  find  in  Iowa.    The  soil  is  generalh"-  a  drift  deposit,  with  a  deep 


'U 


^ '  m<!  VI 


^""'"-^  ter^,™,,  .Aw™r«r. 


:'»'f ■  'iv. soil i„ « r,  ■  ^» , -'^- of .,.0  wvc.  ,•„  o„: 

1  '■«l"cing.a  -..pi.I   ,„„,  ,„™i  „°    ''"  '"•■""=  "=  h'-gol.v  alluvial 

■«ou  Invest  cor„crof   „,.  s  ,ct  sl        ?^'"°"''' '■"■"'■■  ''•"■"'^ 

-o-  ."nd,.ed  and  m,y  „„    "    ,  _^  f -«  C,t^,  a  distance  of  over 

lottom,"  or  valk,-  land   v  '..  ~"t"»>o„s  belt  of  alluvial 

""-.  and  of  st,,,asL-nr    „      ,'"=  "j  -^'V"'"  «-  '"  '"-en; 
oo«„„,„„s  li„e  of  i,,„5,   ™  ■  ■      J  I".'  valley  is  b„,,,,„j  ,    ' 

''«i'  g.v™  tl,e  „an,eof  "  bljr  '""'""./"""•'■"on,  to  ivl.iel,   l,as 

-d  i^  co,„„o.,ed  of  a  r,„e  S^^it  ,,  ''  "  "'  "  ^■^"">'  »'- 
)"">'  oonerelious.     Tl,i,  de„o  "'■  "''"'  «'mo  elay  „„ 

;;'i.""y  aeross  tl.e  eo^^ttd:'™":'!'';";-  "-"«''  oast™: 
of  Srea.  'ertili.,.  ,,,o„,„j,.„„        '=   "S  "<=  Missouri  river,  and  is 
■       otables.  =     '"•■^unant  growth  of  grain  and  veg 

p.4"o;l:!r:z::r^,^:f-  ™; -f  c,,,  eo„tai„;„g » ,arg° 

I'cen  extensively  „.sed  in  „,;/',^;.-^  -^S"  d.seovered  and  ],fs 
and  outhouses.  It  is  of  a  hi  el  ,°  "''  '"  '"'"""«  ''a'™ 
.oqual  inqualiy,  if  properlV n  i  h  f"  I'  "'"'  '^  """'"^O''  '«  l><= 
'■"P0*d  fron.  other  states.     "■""""'^""■'•■>'.  '«  the  mineral  ,„i„., 

As  before  statn]   tl,,.        c 
''■-■ollingor  undulating  olnattlfT  "  S0"crally  ,,■,!„„„  , 
Po  0  that  ,t  „,ig|,t  ,,,  ^,.  "'   fact  m,g\n  lead  some  to  sim. 

water  for  donrestie  uses.     S         Z.!        '"  """"^  '"""S  or  well 
f  ;■-  -ell  water  ;.,  ,„,;,„  „'^    ;d  a  rr''  "  ,""'  ""  '"''■  '"^  good 
"f 'f  '"■•"•"■-      It  i.;  rarel        ee    :r:  '  ."^  ■''""=•  «■»"  on'the 
'cctdeejMo  tlnd  „n  abundat^ee  of  Xf         ° '""''•■  "''•'"  ""«>• 
mem,  good  water.     Alone,  ,1,'      ,  """'  i"de.s,,ensal,Ie  ole 

- '-,  as  they  do  iu  ".ZltdltdX'^r  ™"  '-- 


r. 

miries  is  almost 

rivers  in  other 

argcly  alluvial, 

inds  of  vcgcta- 

ling  to  the  size 

river,  fii)mthe 

listance  of  over 

belt  of  alluvial 

five  to  twenty 

1  bortlered  by  a 

hundred   feet, 

in  at  a  distance. 

to  which  has 

a  vellow  color, 

sonic  clay  and 

tends  eastward 

i  i-ivcr,  and   is 

grain  and  veg- 

taining  a  large 

ered  and  has 

linting  barns 

elicvcd  to  be 

ineral  paints 


■  ;ln.ined  by 
the  nuiner- 
ome  to  sup- 
ling  or  well 
se,  for  good 
ven  on  the 
than  thirty 
usable  elc' 
ny  springs 
ly  of  pure 
ll  water  in 
early  all 
1  jiropor- 


! 


i  ,.,! 


ii; 


.1 .  ii  M> 


n 


iiii 


I 


mi 


Soil  and  Surface. 


65 


1 


M 


I 
J 


CIIAPTEE    VI. 
SOIL  AND  SURFACE. 

(LOntinved.) 

Topography  —  Climate  —  Minerals  —  Soil  ami  Productions. 

KANSxVS. 

The  state  of  Kansas  lias  an  area  of  81,318  .square  miles,  and 
is  situated  between  37°  and  42"  N.  latitude,  and  between  94°  and 
102"  W.  longitude,  ft  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Nebraska  ; 
on  the  east  by  Missouri ;  on  the  south  by  the  Indian  Territory, 
and  on  the  west  by  Colorado.  It  is  about  400  miles  long,  from 
east  to  west,  and  200  miles  wide,  from  north  to  south.  The  gen- 
eral surface  of  Kansas  is  a  gently  undulating  prairie,  ha\  g  no 
marked  features  like  tliose  of  other  prairie  states,  except,  perhaps, 
the  diversit}'-  presented  by  a  more  rolling  surface.  The  division 
of  land  is  of  two  classes.  First  to  mention  is  the  timber  and 
rich  alluvial  bottom  lands,  bordering  rivers  and  creeks,  the  esti- 
mated area  of  which  is  ten  million  acres,  being  fully  five  times 
the  amount  of  all  improved  lands  in  the  state  at  the  present  time. 
To  the  second  belongs  the  upland  or  rolling  prairie,  the  soil  of 
which  averages  from  two  to  three  feet  in  depth,  with  a  subsoil  of 
fertilizing  qualities  which  will,  by  careful  cultivation,  prove  inex- 
haustible. This  cla.ss  of  land  is  considered,  by  far,  preferable  for 
the  raising  of  grains  and  fruits,  while  the  bottom  land  is  selected 
for  corn,  hemp,  vegetables  and  grasses.  But  such  is  the  uniform 
character  of  the  general  surface  of  Kansas,  that  nearly  every 
quarter  section  within  its  limits  is  capable  of  cultivation.  Tim- 
ber is  confined  mainly  to  the  borders  of  rivers  and  creeks,  and  is 
njot  superabundant ;  j'ct  its  scarcity  is  compensated  for  in  a  great 
measure  by  the  very  general  distribution  of  rock  throughout  the 
state,  which  is  easy  of  access,  and  furnishes  the  best  of  building 
and  fencincT  material. 

No  mountain  ranges,  swamps,  sloughs?,  or  lakes  exist  iu  the 


=     --^ ' 


6G 


'     III 


.•.:.'1 


I'm-..-.  &v„,v.v«.  .v«„,„^„. 


over  the  .,a,o.    Th„i,.  „,„„,  ^.^^'^'"'"7  "'"  '""^^  '''=""l>«o<I 
™°«  important  arcims     „v  K  "'•'"'  °'  "'''■     '^"'""S  the 

"""■-.•n  pan,  a„J  tl,e  Mi  J",:,-  J"'  '■""^  '"  "''■'""-•ic-.s  in  tl.o 
f.0-.     The  descent  of  tl,o  Ka       "  ,   ,/"'™'"=  *°  ™»'<=".  touncL 
'"g-  the  rapiJityof  „„   wl:  J''<^""">'"'°'-<'g""IecIas.bo,v. 
'"-tl.  west  100  „,i,e,  .  :     ;:":^:, f  "-  =>«'=•     l-Vo,n   L 
""le  i  for  tlio  second  and  tl-i,,!  i  ""''  '"■»  f"^"'  to  tl,„ 

;  -  mile ;  and  t„  tl,o  i„    ™     ,      "f,'"  ""-.  »l»ut  six  feet  t 
^«^^ ;  -tlcin,  a  t„ta,  ,       "^"^  -  o.  abont  seven  feet  to 

Waer  powers  are  not  abundant  Z\  ,      "  '"  «»  ""'o^- 

on  the  l^eosbo  and  other  sn,ane;.  ^^^ea^r"'  ""  '^^'^S  -'P™vea 

--^"-;-r^.r  Star  .-""-%  Of  t„e  Stat, 

ean  and  S,™,,,  Hi,,,  „ear  J     e'on  Ci.'"°"'T  °'  "'"  ''^P"^^'- 
"■;  --tate,  and  flows  i„  an  ea.ferl      ■?-'  '"  "«  """tral  p,rt„f 
™-.  tl"'o»gh  a  rieh  fcrtie",      ,"'■'"■"■■!  '»"  "-tanee  of  UO 
;;■'-"■.,  and  empties  into    ,eMf' ''■™.""™ '"  »=>'".  nu'ies   „ 
l«  eastern  tenninn,  of  tl,c  Unio    Z'fl  'T^'  ''>™*'"*  Cit  " 
I'can  r,ver  eomes  down  from  f  ,      ,  '"'''°'"'-     ^  1"=  Be,H,l', 

'!»;■'  of  tbc  state,  conrsin'r  .";:;,!:■  f^rf  '"^  "<"■"-'    n 
™h,  >vdd  region,  of  eonntn-    „"  ^f^f  ''"'"'"'""  ""-O"?!-  a 
S'noly  II.H  derives  its    i^c      J  r.T  °  ""'■"*'""«•    ^b 
!"■■;'' r  »'-»-  i"  tl,c  caster      ,artTf,T  ~,"n"™- "f  several 

Kep„b,,can.     Along  tl,e  rieb  va    !■''''.        '  '"™"°"  '>''■"'  «» 
«Secoae,,e,  p.^,  ,,,^„^  tbc  we     /n  ,e,  '      '"T' "''•■">  "nc  of 
c"ie  Xtadroad  to  Denver  Citv     ThX    T'''  °'  "'"  ^'"'^'^  A- 
-"t-  of  .be  state,  and  ^ows  tft  ,e        t";  ''""'  ""^  "«'■  '>>o 
"Sncnltural  and  stock  ^rowL"        .  °"""^'""  "'™"sl.  a  rich 
nver  near  tbc  sontb,.,    °       '"«  country,  cmptyi„„  jnl,  n 
is  from  ,)  -^tlbeast  corner  of  Kans-i-      I'l      ?-  °''-'""' 

•Strom  three  toseven  miics  in  wHn         r  *■  ^oosbovaHov 

,■"0"  hoantifn,,  rieb  and     es    ,b      ,  '  T"*-  ""'""'■'  ^-^o  of    he 

=>•--  .-ivcr,  ejecting  the  r:  '  f    ie  B::,':\f  "'•    '''"=  ^■■ 

ii'o  iioCy  Mountain.,,  (]o„3 


Soil  and  Surface. 


er 


I  cliangod  tlieir 
ell   distributed 
Among  the 
Arkansas  and 
butaries  in  tho 
eastern  boiind- 
i;i'ded  as  show- 
.te.     From   its 
I'o  feet  to  tlie 
3Ut  six  feet  to 
t  seven  feet  to 
in  400  miles. 
3ing  improved 

Y  oi  the  state, 
IS  river  is  the 
il  streams   of 
tho  Eepubli- 
pntral   p'lrtof 
tancc  of  150 
ven  miles  in 
uidotte  City, 
lie  Kepub- 
lorhwestei-n 
through  a 
miles.    The 
of  several 
ows  to  tlie 
n  with  the 
lily  line  of 
Union  Pa- 
near  the 
gh  a  ricli 
to  Grand 
10  valley 
Ine  of  the 
TheAr- 
ns,  (lows 


in  an  easterly  direction  through  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state, 
for  a  distance  of  300  miles.  The  great  Nemaha  ris»es  in  the  north- 
central  part  of  the  state,  and  flows  east,  emptying  into  the  Missouri 
river  at  the  northeast  corner  of  the  state.  There  is  a  sufficiency 
of  timber  on  its  banks  for  all  practical  purposes  in  the  country 
through  which  it  passes.  Tlie  Osage  courses  through  a  fine  region 
of  country  in  southern  Kansas,  about  midway  between  the  valleys 
of  the  Kansas  and  Neosho.  The  Pottawattomie  and  other  smaller 
streams  flow  into  the  Osage.  The  valleys  of  these  rivers  contain 
some  of  the  most  valuable  farms  in  the  state.  The  "Big  Blue, 
from  Nebraska  territory,  flows  to  the  south,  through  the  north- 
central  part  of  the  state,  emptying  into  the  Kansas  river  at  the 
city  of  Manhattan.  The  Solomon  rises  in  the  northwestern  part 
of  the  state,  flows  in  a  southeasterly  direction,  and  empties  into 
the  Smok}'^  Hill,  about  30  miles  west  from  Junction  City.  The 
source  and  general  direction  of  the  Verdigris,  Cottoiuvood,  Grass- 
hopper, Grand,  Saline,  and  all  other  Kansas  rivers,  may  be  seen 
by  referring  to  lleam's  Map  of  Kansas.  In  addition  to  the  above 
is  the  Missouri  river,  which  u'ashes  the  eastern  shore  of  the  state 
for  a  distance  of  over  100  miles.  This  river,  navigable  at  all 
limes,  is  u  source  of  great  value  to  the  state,  and  especially  to 
Leavenworth,  Atchison,  Wyandotte,  "White  Cloud,  .Doniphan, 
and  othei-  cities  that  stand  on  its  banks.  It  is  impossible  to  draw 
a  line  cf  distinction  between  different  localities,  the  whole  state 
being  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  pure,  clear  cold  water.  Be- 
sidob  the  clear  running  streams  and  cool,  refreshing  springs  in  the 
different  localities,  the  best  quality  of  water  is  also  obtained  by 
digging  wells  on  the  high  prairies  —  ranging  from  10  to  30  feet 
in  depth." 

"  Minerals,"  says  Dr.  Wayne Griswold,  "are  abundant,  especial- 
ly stone,  coal,  salt,  and  gypsum.'  The  soil  is  almost  universally  rich, 
especially  in  all  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  for  two  hundred  miles 
lip.  It.  produces  immense  native  crops  of  prairie  grass,  and,  as 
far  as  it  has  been  cultivated,  it  equals  any  state  in  the  Union  for 
tho  production  of  fiuit,  vegetables,  and  grain  of  all  kinds.  On 
her  various  streams  are  numerous  water  powers  which,  at  some 
future  day,  will  move  a  vast  amount  of  machinery.  If  Ave  take 
two  hundred  miles  square  of  the  eastern  part  of  Kansas,  conipris- 


r:r 


ir 


68 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


ing  forty  thousand  square  miles,  or  over  twenty-five  million  acres 
of  land,  it  will  surj)as3  any  equal  amount  of  continuous  territory 
on  the  globe.  In  all  this  vast  body  of  land  there  is  little  but  what 
is  good.  All  the  choicest  gifts  which  nature  bestows  in  land,  to 
make  a  country  desirable  for  homes,  for  the  production  of  wealth, 
and  all  the  comforts  of  life  arc  found  here.  Beyond,  in  Western 
Kansas,  vast  prairies,  clothed  with  buffalo  grass,  stretch  out  for 
hundreds  of  miles,  where  vast  herds  of  buffalo  and  wild  horses 
roam  undisturbed  except  by  the  crack  of  the  rifle  or  the  shrill 
whistle  of  the  locomotive.  All  of  these  far-stretching  prairies  are 
interspersed  with  streams  of  various  sizes,  some  extending  for 
hundreds  of  miles,  lined  with  timber  and  rich  valley  land.  Vari- 
ous minerals  of  great  value  sleep  undisturbed  under  this  vast  ter- 
ritory." 

The  climate  is  beautiful  and  is  becoming  more  and  more  attrac 
tive.      The  winters  are  exceedingly   short,  but  little  snow  fal- 
ling.    The  spring  sets  in  about  the  first  of  March  and  "soon  after 
the  prairies  begin  to  glitter  with  a  profusion  of  beautiful  wild 
flowers." 

In  addition  to  the  above,  we  compile  the  following  sketch  of  the 
resources  of  Kansas,  from  a  little  work  by  0.  C.  Hutchinson, 
Esq.,  entitled  "  Resources  of  Kansas: "' 

"  The  water  of  .springs  and  wells  in  tl  state  is  pure  and  good. 
There  are  small  isolated  tracts,  embracing  two  or  three  farms 
each,  where  good  clear  water  is  not  easily  obtained  by  digging; 
but  the  settlers  here,  like  the  settlers  upon  large  tracts  of  country 
in  ^Missouri,  Iowa  and  Illinois,  where  the  well  water  is  uniformly 
turbid  and  unpalatable  to  the  taste,  must  drink  rain  water  caught 
in  cisterns.  This  is  healthful,  and  by  use  becomes  agreeable.  It 
is  probable  that  on  some  of  the  high  divides  between  streams  in 
the  western  portion  of  the  state^  it  may  not  be  easy  to  find  water 
by  digging.  In  fact,  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad  failed  to  obtain 
water  by  digging  at  tv.'o  or  three  of  their  stations  near  the  western 
state  line ;  but  of  the  many  emigrants,  buffalo  hunters  and  others 
who  have  traversed  all  the  western  portion  of  the  state,  none  say 
that  they  have  much  difficulty  in  finding  water,  either  flowing  from, 
springs  or  by  digging  a  few  feet  in  favorable  localities.  It  is  a 
peculiarity  of  some  streams  in  the  extreme  v.'cstern  portion  of  the 


Soil  and  Surface, 


69 


million  acres 
ous  territory 
ttle  but  what 
fs  in  land,  to 
)n  of  wealth, 
,  in  Western 
itch  out  for 
i  wild  horses 
or  the  shrill 
J  prairies  are 
:tcnding  for 
land.  Vari- 
.his  vast  ter- 

more  attrac 

e  snow  fal- 

"soon  after 

lutiful  wild 

:etch  of  the 
utchinson, 

and  good. 

|iree  farms 

digging; 

)f  country 

luniformly 

]er  caught 

;able.     It 

jtreams  in 

ind  water 

to  obtain 

western 

|d  others 

lone  say 

Ingfrom 

It  is  a 

of  the 


state,  that  they  suddenly  sink  into  quick  sands,  and  appear  again 
a  few  miles  below. 

"  One  of  the  first  things  for  a  settler  to  do  here,  as  in  any  coun- 
try, is  to  provide  good  pure  water.  Dir/ a  well  at  once,  unless  you 
are  near  a  spring,  and  do  riot  drink  surface  or  creek  water.  This 
custom  of  western  settlers,  I  believe  to  be  the  cause  of  more  sick- 
ness than  any  other,  or  perhaps  all  other  bad  habits  or  unneces- 
sary exposures  of  western  life.  Of  all  the  eastern  half  of  the  state, 
a  tract  of  country  two  hundred  miles  square,  and  —  if  we  except 
the  inhabitable  portions  of  Maine  —  as  large  as  all  New  England, 
it  can  be  truthfully  stated  that  it  is  abundantly  watered  with 
springs  and  streams  for  stock  purposes,  and  that  clear,  healthful 
drinking  water  is  universally  obtained  from  springs,  or  by  digging 
from  twenty  to  sixty  feet.  It  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  country,  that 
water  is  often  found  upon  the  high  prairies  at  a  less  depdi  than  oi\ 
the  low  lands.  The  water  here  is  not,  as  in  other  western  states, 
uniformly  hard.  Settlers  can  locate  where  they  may  have  soft  or 
freestone  water  if  they  prefer,  as  in  a  small  portion  of  the  state  the 
sandstone  formation  predominates,  which  furnishes  soft  water. 

"All  the  streams  in  the  settled  portion  of  the  state  are  larger 
than  when  the  country  was  new,  and  many  brooks  and  creeks 
flow  continuously,  which  were  formerly  dry  several  months  in 
each  year.  Not  only  is  this  well  known  to  all  early  settlers,  but 
there  are  thousands  of  springs  on  the  prairies  where  was  formerly 
no  indication  of  one.  This  phenomenon  is  owing  to  causes  which 
we  have  more  fully  alluded  to  under  the  head  of  climatic 
changes. 

"  The  editor  of  the  Chicago  Railway  Review,  spent  several  weeks 
of  1870,  in  a  thorough  examination  of  Kansas,  as  he  had  previous- 
ly examined  the  other  western  states.  In  his  paper  of  October 
27,  1870,  he  says  :  "  The  readers  of  our  previous  articles  must 
be  convinced  that  eastern  Kansas  is  anything  but  a  region  desti- 
tute of  streams,     Ko  country  in  the  world  is  better  watered^ 

"  In  the  early  settlement  of  the  country,  all  the  principal  roads 
were  laid  out  on  the  divides,  winding  about  between  the  sources  of 
the  streams,  because  bridges  could  not  at  once  be  erected,  and  roads 
cut  through  the  timber  growing  on  their  banks.  From  this  fact 
many  early  travelers  in  Kansas,  following  the  principal  roads,  con- 


TO 


Tvrrr.H's  Ci'xrj-xynr   v 


^'"-L    ::;;:-'-' --....s. -,,.,,0  0 „.,,  „  , 

von  ».,„„,,„.  ,,  „  ,,.„  "„f  D-™.f.er  U,  l8;o,  ;,.,  .„      t 
»'  03  .outi,  f,,o,„  j^„  °    MO  l.u.,dro.i  eight  and  „„„.,,,, 

-•-^'3--eve„  tri.,go.  „„j  ,;;,   ;     '•Vo.-,  .hero  wore  cons.,-  c  :a 

^cctJj  across  the  coun^.,  ^^^^  streams.     Tho   i;.      •     , 

'".•  l>.-actical  p„rp,«,      .  ^?™ ,"'"«  ''«  .•  »uffioienoy  cf  ,i,„l, 
;-™t„vi„es,  sMteredtrnZ     "'""«""=  ^'-->/a„     ™  ?' 

.    °'  ''-  -a.e,  p„p.,d    ;  B  °o'1  T  ""  "' '"°  "—  1    I,  S 

vviiite    oak,    red    no7-    i 
oak,  water  oak  whil        \^"''   °^^^^'    ^^^ck   oak    W-.  7     •    , 

»« k-t„,,,  ,«,,„ i:  i  :„ '"°"'' ^'-" tark i,ioi;o.t;i' 

"aplc.,  red    nudberrv     I-  ■'^"    ''>'<=amore,  wl.ite    -,.1,        ^® 

ct-.x  coffee  t,..'"'    ''""="    -  ^-wood.'  e«     ap"  t  ■:X 

goosebeny,  l,,,,j  ^ '"=   Pm   elder,  sum„c,   gree,,    hr 

P'-airie  rose,  and  grape     ?  ''  "'''■   '"^P''"^  Mae  •,      '"' 

-t:r{£-~rt.berbe:'r^"^ 

'  ^^^^""'^^  ^'-e  niore  than 


Soil  AifD  Surface. 


71 


lie  railroads, 
•itlgiiig  is  an 
contractors 
1,  was  |)ub- 
nnd  this  re- 
1(1  ()iie-]ialf 
Jon.stniotoJ 
"ing  nearly 
ree  inilJion 
ridges  and 
'road  does 
line  is  di- 
IS  river  to 
id  thence 
important 
1  of  water 
t  Kansas 
e  of  stock 

cf  timber 
id  in  ad- 
\v  high 
shrubs 
:)cuinent 

jack 
■y  elm, 
jox   el- 

sugar 
wild 

brier 
Derry, 

'g  in 

ies  in 
than 


one  or  two  miles  from  timber,  and  cordwood  sells  from  four  to 
six  dollars  per  cord  in  our  towns.  This  wonderful  advantage  over 
in(>st  prairie  states  is  ai:)prcciatcd  by  the  writer  at  least,  for  my 
first  experience  in  western  farming  was  in  Illinois,  forty  miles 
from  Chicago,  when  every  rail  and  fence  post  and  stick  of  fire- 
wood, or  whipstock  even,  was  hauled  ten  miles.  Many  splendid 
farms  have  been  opened  in  the  state  by  hauling  timber  twenty 
miles. 

"  Kan.'^as  really  needs  less  timber  than  any  othsr  western  state. 
No  where  else  is  there  as  much  good  stone  available  for  building 
purposes,  while  coal  is  abundant  and  good.  Yet  I  think  that  in 
no  other  prairie  state  is  there  a  fair  supply  of  timber  so  evenly 
distributed.  The  mild  climate  of  this  state  and  the  comparative 
dryness  of  the  winter  month.s,  really  make  the  demand  for  tim- 
ber less  imj)erative  than  in  localities  subject  to  excessive  cold 
weathci",  or  where  cattle  need  continued  shelter  from  cold  rains. 
In  the  latter  respect  the  timber  in  this  state  is  distributed  in  ex- 
act proportion  to  the  wants  of  the  country,  for  on  the  western 
and  coiiiparatively  treeless  prairies  there  is  very  little  precipita- 
tion of  moisture  during  cold  weather. 

"In  the  older  settled  portions  of  the  state,  considerable  of  the 
best  timber  has  been  cut,  but  railroads  are  already  constructed 
in  every  county  in  this  region,  bringing  pine  at  moderate  prices 
(which  are  given  elsewhere),  from  the  upper  Mississippi  and 
Michigan  pineries.  Two  or  three  lines  of  Kansas  railroads  are 
also  soon  to  jjcnetrate  the  pineries  south  of  this  state.  By  these 
roads  pine  will  be  furnished  at  low  rates.  It  now  sells  at  the 
mills  in  tlie  pineries  of  the  Indian  territory,  Arkansas  and  Texas, 
at  ten  dollars  to  fifteen  dollars  per  thousand  feet.  The  hard  pine 
of  the  .southern  pineries  is  unsurpassed  for  fencing,  framing  stuff 
and  flooring,  and  much  of  it  makes  excellent  siding,  shingles,  etc. 

''  When  large  timber  is  cut,  the  remaining  young  trees  grow 
with  accelerated  rapidity,  and,  us  soon  as  prairie  fires  are  checked, 
timber  springs  up  on  the  open  prairies,  and  in  our  rich  soil  soon 
becomes  available  for  domestic  uses.  Besides,  as  is  shown  else- 
where, it  is  a  veiy  easy  matter  to  grow  a  thrifty  young  forest.  In 
these  way.s  the  growth  of  native  timber  in  the  older  settled  prai- 
rie regions  of  Illinois  and  Missouri  have  exceeded  the  consump- 


79 

^l'^''^"^' prairie  m-as.  u-i 
"  Wild  g„,,  ,;,.,  ,  """">■  I"--=I"''e'! 

wooc  V  flhrp  nc  °        It  value  for  f„„,i  „       o-",  starcii  mxl 


Soil  axv  Su  it  face. 


78 


alifioa  than 

grass '  aa  a 
upon  tho 
many  dis. 

JO  tedious 

oral  iiamo 
tr  to  those 
the  cartli, 
'sc  grasses 
n  sells  ill 

wliicli  is 
101-  lands. 
'  grass  — 

country, 
»luc-stem 

of  cast- 
'itritious 
asses  in 
crioi",  to 

'tacked, 
d  farin- 
',  but 
[qiarcd 

br  hay 
Utled 
|1  any 

li  and 

into 

stiff 
Itting 

per- 
|that 
be 
[iilc- 


ling  a  little  salt  upon  it,  the  stock  will  cat  it  more  freely,  and,  as 
many  thiidc,  with  butter  thrift;  and  if  the  hay  is  a  little  damp 
when  stacked,  salt  will  keep  it  from  spoiling. 

'•  Ilay  is  generally  slacked  in  ricks  about  tci\  feet  wide,  twelve 
or  fifteen  feet  high,  and  as  long  as  convenient.  Slacks  or  ricks 
of  hay  (or  grain)  ought  to  be  kept  the  highest  in  tho  middle  from 
th(!  coinmenccnient  of  tho  rick;  carry  the  sides  .straight  up  for 
twotliirds  the  height  of  the  stack;  when  complete,  twist  largo 
hay  ropes  and  pass  them  across  the  top  of  the  rick,  fastening  a 
heavy  weight  to  the  cuds,  or  tie  two  rails  or  poles  together,  and 
throw  across  the  top.  Uay  is  put  up  in  this  manner  with  mowing 
machines  and  hor.se  rakes,  for  two  dollars  to  three  dollars  per  ton, 
and  by  selecting  a  good  locality,  and  stacking  on  the  ground 
where  cut,  it  can  be  put  up  for  one  dollar  and  a  half  per  ton. 
Our  prairies  yield  from  one  to  three  tons  per  acre,  varying  with 
the  soil  and  the  season. 

"  From  early  spring  to  midsummer,  the  prairies  are  gaily  decked 
with  flowers  of  various  form  and  hue,  presenting  through  this 
season  a  fa.scinating  panorama  of  ever  changing  color,  and  afford- 
ing boquets  which  rival  the  delicate  tints  of  costly  exotics. 

"  '  llow  man}'  days  in  the  year,'  asks  one,  '  is  the  mud  deep  and 
sticky  in  Kansas?'  I  answer  that  on  the  average,  during  three 
hundred  days  of  the  year,  you  can  put  j-our  s}>an  of  horses  to 
your  buggy  and  drive  at  a  smart  trot  over  our  common  natural 
prairie  roads.  At  times  the  mud  is  deep  and  stick}',  but  this  is  a 
feature  inseparahle  from  a  good  .soil,  and  owing  to  the  excellent 
natural  drainage  of  Kansas,  the  mud  dries  very  soon  after  the 
frost  goes  out  of  the  ground,  or  after  a  rain. 

"  Exceptmg  other  portions  of  this  peculiar  trans-Mis.souri  region, 
there  is  no  other  good  agricultural  country  so  favored  in  this 
regard.  The  mud  is  not  as  troublesome  here  as  in  Ohio,  Ir.diana 
and  Illinois. 

"No  people  from  any  locality,  which  is  a  good  farming  rogi^  n, 
need  fear  the  nmd  of  Kansas,  and  those  who  wish  to  live  in  towii3 
will  find  sidewalks  ready  made,  or  if  not  made,  the  price  of  lots 
will  be  so  low  that  they  can  afford  to  endure  the  discomfort  of 
thick  boots  occasionally,  to  be  benefited  by  tho  inevitable  rise 
in  such  property  as  they  purchase. 


"Wi 


*:•!.' 


74 


urn,  -'^^i-LnnrjUfiT. 

^iie  entire  state  of  7.' 
""/■"ate  i„  „,„  L-,„„„,  „""!«.     I'l"  •'""  »■•«'"•»'  n'-Kvavs  of 

AfioLio-.,,  nu    "  ^'"'^  streams.     TJ.erP  .         "^  ^^'^^^'ng  good 

-  te.  who  Lavo  flou,,  J  e„7 ,?        ', '"  "  '""'^^  '"»tlcr.  ' 

ro  .L.  ''  ''''^'"'^  «'•  bed  of  ;,  run  .n  .     '^*'^'^''^^'«n  one  feels  at 

^■::  T''  '^'  ^'-  on:^iS:^r^"^-eruponsoi- 

wa;>r     i;     ^  '"'^"^^  ^^'^"^^'^  ^'^  tl/e  ]■„:  !  '^/°  ''""'^'-S  streams 

'''^'^-     ^'^of't  stretches  of  I>n  7         ,       °^  steams,  or  from  )•  i 

-'^  nver  bottoms.     J^^r^'^  ^"'-^^'^  "''e  occa.siona  iy  to  b    .     °^ 

SPsPsii 

««d  that  «:;ouV°  ""7  ""  ■'-  "--uer.     W  „  i^"'  »■'"""" 
^i.I„?     1)    ,  "'°™"gliiv  ilrainp.!  1  '""^'w  saw  a  rail- 

"-"-(.a  that  our  roads, 


v^* 


Soil  and  Subface. 


76 


I'onclwajs  of 
ihis  regard 
'  and  stone 
ca  state  as 
n,  you  can 
'cting  good 
imjw  as  in 
'  Iowa ;  no 

ads.     The- 
tes  as  suit 
nes  a  v.-ell 
soon  worn 
i  inconve- 
ally  worn 
>ii  in  dry 
zed  road- 
less than 
the  keep- 

louglis 

eels  at 
on  solid 
streams 
in  ijigh 

found 

0  roll- 


aking 


easons 
c  usu- 

.sanie 
lid  or 
hout 
rail- 
each 
fall 
^ads, 


even  in  tlie  lowest  placi;^,  are  firm  and  smooth  when  tlie  ground 
13  dri/.  This  ought  to  teach  that  such  drainage  as  shall  make  it 
impossible  for  water  to  stand  a  single  hour  upC'i  the  road,  is  the 
first  thing  to  be  secured;  without  this,  all  other  hitjor  is  vain,  and 
in  rine  cases  out  of  ten,  this  is  all  that  is  needed  in  our  aeep  soil 
Whatever  is  thereafter  done,  will  be  permanent,  and  enduring. 
At  a  small  cost,  therefore,  there  will  everywhere  be  solid  roads  in 
Kansas. 

"Limestone  rock  broken  in  pieces,  none  of  which  contain  more 
than  eight  cubic  inches,  two  inches  each  way,  is  placed  upon  our 
city  streets  at  prices  ranging  from  seven  to  ten  cents  per  cubic 
foot.  The  layer  is  made  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  thick,  and  this 
is  called  "macadamizing  the  streets.''  If  the  road  bed  is  well 
drained  and  rounded  a  very  little,  this  is  probably  the  most  eco- 
nomical and  enduring  pavement  we  can  use.  The  city  of  Law- 
rence, however,  is  testing  wooden  pavement  by  putting  it  down 
on  her  principal  street. 

"Frequent  allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  important 
part  which,  rock  deposits  play  in  the  frame  work  of  Kansas  scenery, 
and  in  the  economy  of  Kansas  life.  The  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject in  its  '-'ecuniary  aspects  merits  still  further  mention. 

"  The  rock  of  Kansas  chiefly  consists  of  limestone,  sandstone 
and  o-vpsum.  At  least  90  per  cent,  is  limestone  of  various  *•■  x- 
ture  and  color.  There  is  no  better  limestone  in  the  United  States 
than  is  to  be  found  in  Kansas.  Columns  dressed  to  eight  inch 
face,  fourteen  inches  deep,  and  fourteen  feet  high,  ar*^  -.icd  in 
two  story  brick  fronts  at  Topcka. 

"  Prof.  J.  A.  Bent,  of  W  heaton  College,  Illinois,  cypresses  the 
following  opinion  which  is  founded  upon  c.\.tensive  travel  and 
observation:  'No  state  in  the  Union  is  so  generally  and  so  well 
supplied  with  rock  as  Kansas,  and  at  the  same  time  so  free  from 
rock  which  comes  in  the  way  of  cultivating  the  soil.' 

"  The  reason  why  the.sc  two  advantages  are  here  combined  in 
so  extraordinary  a  degree  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  strata  of 
rock  are  nearly  .all  horizontal,  while  the  critire  state  .slopes  very 
considerably  to  the  east.  The  strata  are  thereby  caused  to  appear 
one  above  another,  like  broken  and  irregular  terraces,  or  steps  ail 
the  way  westward.     Then  consider  that  excepting  some  of  the 


•  "  fell 


sf'iii 


r^  ( t 


'^'O-  farm,  so  -situat  J  ti    '"'  "'^^  ^'^«  ^-eUs  fou  ,  '  ',  *'"' 

<"■  '^"••"i.    '  m    °,',    '"°  f '"'*  '™«t«„e  L  font      ■"'■■   ''°"'=^" 
of  it  is  i,,"'.""^  '"'  «i»Ilj  taken  „„t  „.ith  ,1         ?"  ^  •"'"''"K^ 

«i',  leaving 7;t™»^  ^"^  '•■"•<)  «P  witi,  faoHi,  °  „?"'  ^'°""*' 

""«'>"«  the  soi,,  ;,i    'if -^'"ff.   "ca,.  tl,o;„,,   7     '"f<"- 
uiicorro(?or1  ,.    .•  ^norcasirifr  ti,„  f„  .,.    "'^'"-^^   to  decav, 

substantial  bS,      "*'""«■  t"-!"!.-  buiIJi    .      T.^^'H  an,] 


^-^^'-^d,  hauled  and  n,!.    "''  '  '''''  ^'-^'^  whieh  2    7"''^' 
using  tu'o  vol-.    /       ^    *  "i^  «t  the  rate  of  f  ""^  ^'''^"^^ 

in  abundance     Of  '„     ?'''"^°^''^''i'H^stone,  and  cv. 

d-cnbo.,,  but  it ;,. ,  ,-rf  ""'■''■■""^  '"""tio  "'Li  "b  z'r"- 

o-estorn  tbiee-f-„,„i      ,    ,    ^  "  e^'O''  or  less  ,)!  •""'« 

^'-i'.-j:aC;':r--.'.ati.ot:!:ror„r^^^^^ 

^-•-Kansa,„be„oe.tcC%rrfrt 


Soil  and  Surface. 


n 


!cl,  and 
^p  and 
miles 
■  rod. 
wall 
way, 
ands 
da}--, 
rods, 
ould 

)und 
the 

!on- 

ve 

|thc 

lit 

:d 

a 

e 


southern  line.  It  is  found  in  beds  of  all  thickness  up  to  fifty 
fceet,  and  in  the  western  half  of  the  state  it  oceurs  in  crystalized 
semi-transparent  sheets,  resembling  mica  (or  isinglass)  in  texture, 
and  alum  in  color. 

"  It  will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  map,  that  five  of  the  rail- 
roads now  running  in  Kansas  cross  the  gy[)sum  deposits,  thus 
making  it  easily  available  to  all  portions  of  the  state. 

"  The  uses  to  which  this  article  is  applied  arc  various  and  im- 
portant. It  is  used  as  a  cement,  and  in  taking  casts  by  artists^ 
dentists  and  others  ;  in  making  busts  and  ornamental  designs  for 
th  '•pament  of  inner  walls,  as  well  as  in  giving  to  the  walls 
tLo...  ives  an  elegant  and  durable  '  liard  finish.'  But  it  is 
most  extensively  used  as  a  .Vrtilizer,  whence  it  is  called  '  land 
plaster.'  " 

We  take  from  the  work  of  the  same  author  the  following  sketch, 
concerning  the  coal  deposits  of  Kansas: 

"  The  geological  formation  called  carboniferous  (coal  bearing) 
occupies  the  entire  eastern  portion  of  the  state,  having  a  general 
width  from  east  to  west  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles. 
Its  western  limit  cro-sscs  the  Kansas  river  through  Davis  and 
Kiloy  counties,  in  a  northeasterly  and  southwesterly  diiv-jtion,  and 
its  area  is  about  seventeen  thousand  square  miles.  There  are  out- 
croppings  of  bituminous  coal  throughout  the  entire  exLent  of  tliis 
vast  surface,  an  area  more  than  twice  the  size  of  tlie  state  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. Pi'ofessor  Swallow,  the  state  geologist,  counted 
'twenty-two  distinct  and  separate  beds  of  coal.  Many  of  these 
are  thin,  and  of  but  little  value,  but  ten  of  them  rarge  in  thick- 
ness from  one  to  seven  feet  of  coal,  suitable  for  domestic  and  man- 
ufacturing purposes.'  Th'^  thickest  outcropping  veins  are  dis- 
played in  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  state,  and  it  is  supposed 
that  these  continue  westward  under  the  other  veins  which  lie 
higher,  and  which  appear  at  tlie  surface  further  west  and  nortli- 
west. 

"No  considerable  experituents  liave  been  made  in  boring,  or 
by  test  wells  or  shafts,  except  at  Leavenworth  City,  where,  at  the 
depth  of  .seven  hundred  and  ten  feet,  an  excellent  quality  was 
found,  the  bed  varying  from  twenty-two  to  twenty-eight  inches  in 
thickness,  averaging  tweuty-iivc  inches.     This  nune  has  an  excel- 


\m 


78 


''*'  <M  is 


I   1 


Ml  ,      ! 


fi|/ 


^ont  steam  en   "  ^voy.r//;r^^^. 

'^  vein  tlii^ce  feot  ,-,    /  ""  S''^'''^^''  tlepth  .s  ,>  ;   T  ?  ^^  '^ 

cents  per  b.iQl,  i  f  ^       JnislicI,  but  is  nn,        ,         -^  ^'"^  C''^'" 

-'  v-ein,t;  :;,:;.:r'""T'=^  p-A"  or  :r:,r  '"^™ 

o'l'--  vein.,  1,  ""  V    ■■'  '°"  ""■'=''  '"*-"'  r,-o      r'  r     """'°"^''- 

"^  -^^/oi-":  r:t '::;---'  »-*-  ^z  zz  t^  ■•:"- 

^n  main-  nllp,        '  '  '^'"^  occupied  by  vein.  «l.  ""'^  portions 

:i's,';:„rt •  ^'r  -^^^ -:.  r '^^^^^^^^^  ^■'.«  ™": ;; 

^iiji,  tneie  seems  f^  i 

if'G   buffalo   licks   oPf  °  '      * 

county  of  the  .titP  r     "'  ^''-^--^^P^,  so  common    in    ., 

«^  -^t  bi-ii^  t^:  :,:""«^,  --  o.e  their  c:  li '  J  ^  ^  "-^'^ 

'•'vci.  ha.o  saI^    '  "^l^ _  }}'^   '^y-  of  tiL  V.  J  J^  ^''fi^  ^^ 


"''^'  the  supply,  t!,„ 


„jfeS^^:.'i 


Soil  and  Sun  face. 


'9 


water  from  open  springs  or  wells  only  being  u.sccl,  whicli  is  much 
diluted  by  the  surfaee  streams."' 

Here  follows  au  enumeration  of  springs  and  wcll.s  in  eastern 
Kansas  from  which  salt  has  been  made  in  small  quantities,  but 
which  I  think  have  all  been  abandoned  as  unprofitable.  They 
are  but  the  surface  indications  of  the  vast  reservoir  farther  west, 
AVe  continue  to  quot'3  irom  the  report.  "On  the  boundary  of 
the  state,  a  very  large  deposit  of  crystalized  salt  exists  south  of 
the  great  bend  of  the  Arkansas  river,  in  which  it  lies  in  beds 
from  six  to  twenty-eight  inches  in  de[)th.  In  one  instance,  two 
government  wagons  were  filled  in  a  few  minutes,  without  being 
moved.  The  salt  is  so  compact  as  to  require  a  hatchet  to  cut  it. 
These  deposits  are  undoubtedly  caused  by  the  drying  up  of  salt 
P(mk1s  or  salt  branches  of  tho  Cimmarron  river.  But  this  is  situ- 
ated so  far  from  the  settled  portions  of  the  state,  or  any  regular 
route  of  transportation,  that  at  present  it  is  of  no  practical  value. 
A  railroad  toward  that  region  would  make  it  of  vast  commercial 
importance."  The  professor  thus  dismisses  these  great  salt  plains, 
for  he  had  at  that  time  little  idea  that  railroads  would  so  soon 
reach  tlicir  rich  stores.  The  area  of  these  plains  is  estimated  bj' 
the  best  authorities  at  more  than  five  hundred  square  miles,  en- 
tirely covered  with  an  incrustation  of  pure  salt  of  various  degrees 
of  thickness.  Very  few  whit(?  people  have  ever  visited  this  re- 
markable s])ot.  But  many  bushels  of  excellent  salt  have  been 
brought  from  there,  and  tl.e  wilder  Indian  tribes  who  formerly 
inhabited  Kansas,  annually  wtMit  thither  to  procure  a  supply  of 
salt  in  addition  to  that  furnished  them  by  tlie  government.  These 
salt  plains  lie  ixartly  in  Kansas  ami  partly  in  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory, and  arc  surrounded  by  a  fine  grazing  and  agricultural  region. 

Professor  Mudgc  proceeds  to  describe  the  salt  region  of  Western 
Kan:-:as,  which  ho  says  embraces  a  tract  of  country  about  thirty- 
live  miles  wide  and  eighty  miles  long,  crossing  the  Republican, 
Solf  iuon  and  Saline  valleys.  Here  are  to  be  found  numerous 
springs,  but  more  frequently,  extensive  salt  m  irshcs.  One  of 
these  he  thus  describes  at  length,  as  illustrative  of  the  characLer 
ami  appearance  of  them  all : 

"Take  thatin  town  fotw',  i"sngc  two,  vest  of  the  sixth  principal 
meridian,   in  the   Republican   valley,   about  scventy-fivc  miles 


r:  ■;«  ' 


80 


:IF^^ 


■i;P 


i 


'"•'««■■     Al„„„  °''°''>  "WO  or  Jras  ,•„„  '"•■"■«''  covers 

'■"■<■'=  «mo.,  ,1  e"  ,  '    ?'='■  ("»'  """Mi,,.,  to,"  ""'=.'"""'•■«'  and 
tl.e  bri„o.  '-'^  •■""='■  •■'  l-eavy  rai„  !,"      '■''""  «<>«.■  .second 


«>'«  west      n,       7  '"''""'  •"  towns],  Lf'  "''  ">  «»■«  tl.ous. 


CVl- 

are 

liilcs 

i-sof 

of 

liiul 


II 

f 


I 


t   'If    I 


Soil  akd  Surface. 


81 


l  Ml 


ll^ 


n 


Urine 

Urine  1 

Salt. 

MMjiU. 

U.S.  (jut. 

■    90.089 

4.708 

3,801.20 

l.!»59 

O.r.7!} 

318.23 

o.yio 

0.157 

04.41 

o.;!00 

0.'.i31 

140.39 

truce 

trtitje. 

0.0.50 

o.oto 

O.Ol 

0.780 

9t.221 

57,327.;J.5 

100.000 

99.000 

00,773.19 

Having  shown  that  these  deposits  arc  fonml  in  the  true  salt 
bearing  geological  formations,  as  developed  in  this  country  and  iii 
Europe,  and  having  i)roved  that  the  strength  of  the  brines  is  en- 
tirely satisfactory,  Prof.  Mudge  proceeds  as  follows: 

"  Tlic  analysis  of  the  salt  and  brine  from  the  Tuthill  marsh, 
made  by  Prof.  C.  II  Chandler,  of  the  school  of  mines,  Columbia 
college,  New  York,  is  as  follows. 


CliloricU'  of  sodium  (suit). 
Sulphate  of  soila, 
Sulphate  of  lime. 
Chloride  of  maguosium. 
Oxide  of  iron. 
Sand  and  cluy. 
Water, 


Density  of  brine  1.0421  — G.IG  Baume. 

Total  saline  matter  in  brine,  5.770. 

Chloride  of  sodium  per  U.  S.  gallon  of  231  cubic  inches,  0.53  oz. 

"This  gives  one  bushel  of  solid  matter  to  one  hundred  and 
ten  gallons,  or  one  bushel  of  pure  salt  to  one  hundred  and  thirty 
gallons  of  brine.  The  water  was  taken  by  me  from  a  boring  made 
at  random,  within  four  feet  of  the  surface.  The  salt,  I  took  from 
one  of  fifty  hollow  logs,  in  which  it  was  being  made.  The  per- 
centage of  solid  impurities  is  2.55,  and  contains  no  chloride  of 
calcium.  No  attempt  was  made  to  2:)urify  the  salt,  as  the  parties 
making  it  had  no  previous  knowledge  of  the  business.  The  or- 
dinary market  suits  of  tlie  United  States  contain  from  two  to  six 
percentage  of  impurities ;  a  larger  portion  being  nearer  the  latter 
than  the  former  standard." 

The  report  of  the  Onondaga  salt  spring.^,  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  shows  that  the  "factory  nil(!(l  refined  for  table  and  dairy," 
contains  1.00  per  cent,  of  solid  impurities.  Th(!  celebrated 
"stored  Ashtnii  Bitll,"  nf  Miigliind,  eonlaina  about  the  same 
aiutmnl  uf  hiipill'lilnM,  mid  Ijioy  iiro  prepared  with  great  care,  and 
are  acknowledged  to  be  among  the  best  salts  in  the  world.  Thus 
it  is  seen  that  our  unrefined  salts  are  nearly  equal  to  the  best 
commercial  salts. 
6 


'M 


82 


Tl'TTLt's  Ce\Tf\mt,    \- 

"-^^^^^NU  2\  OliTint'EST. 


11  li! 


^:^  ^x  ":ti?:,:'/r "  '"^ '°"""-"'« "-'•■'■  -^  we,.o,.„ 

J  lie  western  third  nf  v 

P°«'°"  of  ll.e  ITnitea  Slate  e.J       ,f'™'^' l^'''^""'"'  "'"t  no 

^Vl-ccver  buiralo.  an.oL  ,     '  J  I™""  """  "'-■«  -  "o  do  e 
»«;-'l.c  cattle.  „,a,.a,,,„  ^J^ '       ,^    '^  S™'^^  .-"ml  /..to,,,  .!,„,,  ,lo 
""■'"«'.'  l^avo,  f,.„™  time     n„t, "'•■'''    ",'■■"  '^"°»'"  «-"h«o 

"  "'"  »"■«""  <'f  feed  ,„.o,k  CO    '  """■'^  ''^  "  e™'  <>iffo.-e„e„ 

'"fe  of  bt„raIo'gras.  "  ""^  ™-"  •■"■«»  P'-oJucos  scatto.-D 

--'  of  .,„  ,„,,  area  t  r; ''™ vr  ^'■"'■'"  ^^■""'»-  a, 

or   1..-C0  .i„,s  as  ,m,ol,  food  1      "^  "'^^l"!''  "'"1  P.™laccs  two 
and  among  tho  Hocky  ntouM  h'  '"  ''"''"'°  S-'as.,     Noa^ 

"OIJ  callod  bunch  iass      o^    '  ""  f""""  S''«.  and  al.o  a  va 

called  small  o..te,a;,,:o«°'t'n:i"        "'°  '""■■"'  -•"  S"- 
fea  ;    The  „a,„c,  buffalo  g,,4    is  f     r.f*"  '"'™  "  •="*'! 
">  I-ansas.    Some  thi„k°  ho  t  L  k  ^  °       °™"='  °'  ""■'  l^'"" 
.^™-.c.y  from  the  small  mcs„„     ^a  "f  S''-^. '"bo  a  distino. 
;fe."cal.     The  bullaio  g.«ssl "ead;'     t""  '^'™^  ">■■"  'b^X  are 
"■»  n.a..no,.  of  a  st,.a„.bo..„.  v       td   t    1  "T"""  =™''"-'"-"  '" 
S'o...., ,  so  .ha.  it  loots  ,„„,;  lil ^'^tcd  i  n     ?'■■'  ^'«''  '°  "■« 

'-"-..common  , ass.    Xtsseedtri^lrjl^rrdci-:.:: 


Soil  .lyn  SrnFAcn. 


83 


Ptom.  This  grass  is  extremely  sweet,  and  the  more  ho  nearer  its 
roots.  It  is  true  that  tliere  arc  considerable  alkali  tracts  on  the 
plains  (but  not  in  Kansas,  according  to  the  best  information  wliieh 
I  can  obtain),  where  grazing  is  not  practicable,  by  reason  of  bad 
water,  but  not  for  lack  of  a  fertile  soil,  because,  by  irrigation,  al- 
kali lands,  as  in  Utah,  become  extremely  productive,  ^[ost  vari- 
eties of  these  grasses  are  in  a  growing  condition  from  early  spring 
until  autumn,  when,  during  the  beautiful  weather  of  that  season, 
tliey  cure  upon  the  stalk.  Thus  they  retain  their  nutritious  qual- 
ities through  the  dry  winters,  which  invariably  bless  the  herds- 
man and  his  herd  in  these  regions.  Other  varieties  are  green  in 
western  Kansaa  during  the  winter  months,  as  the  attentive  reader 
can  learn  from  the  letter  of  Rev.  L.  Sternberg,  of  Fort  Ilarker. 

"  Add  to  this  sufTicicnt  evidence,  the  indisputable  fact  that  cattle 
in  vast  herds,  not  of  hundreds  simply,  but  of  thousands  in  num- 
ber, arc  to-day  grazing  upon  buitalo  grass,  and   that  not  alone  in 
Kansas,  but  also  in  Colorado,  Nebraska  and  Wyoming.     Travel- 
ers who  pass  through  Kansas  upon  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railway, 
enter  upon   the  buffalo  grass  region  after  riding  about  two  hun- 
dred miles  thi'ough  the  fat  meadows,  the  luxuriant  corn  fields, 
and  the  vigorous  wild  grasses   of  eastern  Kansas,  and  as  they 
come  in  sight  of  the  brown  and  shriveled  bufTalo  grass,  it  seems 
indeed  contemptible.     It  is  very  true  that  vast  herds  of  buffalo 
are  seen,  extending  for  miles  in  either  direction,  sometimes  hud- 
dled in  distant  masses  which  rcsembla  low  islands  in  the  sea,  or,  at 
other  times,  are  .so  numerous  and  so  persistent  in  keeping  to  their 
course,  that  the  engineer  isobliged  to  stoj)  his  train  and  give  them 
the  track,  until  thc}^  cross  it  in  th.^ir  Hne  of  march.     The  traveler 
also  sees  the  dressed  carcasses  of   bii!''^alo  and  antelope  at  every 
station,  wdiich  are  as  fat  as  stall- 'ed  b(.of;  and  yet  many  people 
return   from  the  trip  and  talk  ab  iit   Uie  "buffalo  grass  desert." 
Who  would  suppo.se  that  buffalo  would  return  to  a  "desert  "  for 
feed  year  after  year  ?  nay,  that  they  would  stay  there  the  year 
around,  as  thousands  annually  do  stay  in  the  valleys  of  the  Rc- 
I)ublican,   Solomon,  Smoky  Hill  and  Arkansas  rivers,  and  their 
tributaries?     Many   an   eastern   farmer  would   gladly  turn   the 
flocks  and  herds  on  to  this  desert,  which  crop  the  low  grass  in  his 
high  priced  pastures,  or  during  six  months  of  winter,  eat  the  hay 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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84 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


he  has  so  laboriously  garnered.  I  think  the  higher  and  drier  por- 
tion of  western  Kansas  is  in  some  respects  superior  as  a  winter 
stock  range.  The  less  rain  falls  upon  the  grass,  the  richer  it  will 
be.  This  is  not  a  theoretical  opinion.  Stock  that  ranged  on 
grass  during  the  hard  winter  of  18G0-61,  which  succeeded  the 
famous  "dry  season,"  came  out  in  the  spring  in  better  order  than 
usual.  The  grass  was  short,  bat  very  nutritious  —  having  cured 
on  the  ground.  The  time  is  noL  distant  when  the  western  portion 
of  the  state,  one  hundred  by  two  hundred  miles  in  exten',  will  be 
selected  as  the  choice  pasture  land  of  the  continent,  its  altitude 
of  twenty-five  hundred  to  thirty-five  hundred  feet  above  the  ocean 
level,  makes  the  climate  all  that  could  be  desired.  It  is  plenti- 
fully watered  for  stock  purposes,  by  springs  and  running  streams, 
■whose  water  is  palata,ble  to  the  herds  and  flocks,  and  upon  the 
banks  are  small  timber  growths,  and  high  bluffs  for  shelter.  There 
arc  also  stone  quarries,  from  which  houses  may  be  cheaply  con- 
structed for  the  herdsmen. 

"I  think  it  true  that  every  where  in  Kansas,  a  little  hay  ought 
to  be  put  up  as  a  safeguard  against  light  snows,  accompanied  by 
wind,  which  may  render  grazing  difiicult  for  a  few  days  at  a  time. 
Such  snows  occur  every  two  or  three  years,  in  all  the  region  we 
have  been  considering  ;  but  are  much   less  severe  in  Kansas  than 
farther  north.     Whenever  they   occur,  great  herders  expect   to 
lose  more  or  less  stock.     It  is  one  of  the  chances  they  take,  and 
aggregate  results  for  a  series  of  years  prove  that  with  all  the  risks, 
the  business  is  still  very  profitable.     But  in  every  part  of  Kansas 
there  is  grass  in  abund-ancc  to  make  hay.     The  wide  bottoms  af- 
ford from  one  to  three  tons  per  acre,  even  at  the  western  limits  of 
the  state,  and  on  ground  as  smooth  as  a  floor,  it  is  little  trouble 
to  put  up  hay  with  machinery.     Perhaps  half  the  year  it  would 
stand  untouched,  while  stock  fattened  on  buffalo  grass.     But  it  is 
better  to  provide  against  contingencies,  and  if  not  usod,  it  will  keep 
over  in  good  condition,  if  well  stacked.     Tlie  estimated  amount 
that  ought  to  be  put  up  per  head  in  the  buffalo  grass  region  i.-i 
from  four  hundred  to  six  hundred  pounds.     Among  scores  of  ex- 
perienced stock  men,  with  whom  I  compared  notes  upon  this  sub- 
ject, none  set  it  higher  than  the  latter  figures." 

The  following  letters,  relating,  respectively,  to  the  northern. 


Soil  and  Surface. 


85 


central  and  soutlicrn  portions  of  western  Kansas,  written  by 
gentlemen  well  known  in  tlicir  resppctive  localities,  will  serve  to 
confirm  ilie  foregoing  sketch  taken  from  Mr.  Hutchinson's  work. 
The  following  is  from  A.  B.  ^\''arncr,  Esq.,  of  Republic  county  : 
"/A'ar  Sir — I  send  you  a  few  facts  concerning  the  northern 
part  of  the  state,  or  at  least  that  portion  of  it  which  has  come  un- 
der my  personal  observation.  The  portion  I  shall  refer  to  is 
chiefly  watered  by  the  Republican  river  and  its  tributaries.  These 
streams  have  many  beautiful  mill  sites,  and  we  think  here  it  would 
be  hard  to  find  a  portioii  of  2>raine  country  more  highly  favored 
in  respect  to  water,  notwithstanding  it  is  in  'drouthy  Kansas.' 

"  About  eighty  miles  west  of  this  county,  a  tributary  takes  in 
to  the  Republican,  called  Prairie  Dog,  and  a  beautiful  stream  it 
is,  having  quite  a  belt  of  timber  along  its  banks.     Its  bottoms 
arc  wide  and  fertile,  and  all  who  see  it  are  in  no  wise  sparing  of 
th'.ir  praise.     There  is  yet  little  or  no  settllement  along  the  stream, 
and  none  on  the  adjacent  prairies,  but  there  is  strong  talk  of  a 
settlement  there  in  the  spring.     White  Rock  is  another  tributary 
of  the  Republican  and  enters  it  about  ten  miles  from  where  the 
last  named  stream  crosses  the  western  line  of  Kansas  from  Nebras- 
ka, and  in  range  live,  west.     On  its  lovely  bank,  on  lands  the  most 
beautiful  eyes  ever  rested  upon,  we  have  taken  up  our  abodes. 
Its  line  towards  the  head  is  a  trifle  south  of  west,  and  it  is  about 
sixty  miles  long.     It  has  quite  an  abundance  of  timber,  though 
not  quite  so  mucli  as  Prairie  Dog,  and  besides  the  stream  is  not 
so  large.     The  waters  of   the  latter  ruti  the   year  round,  while 
those  of  Wliite  Rock,  in  very  dry  weather,  will  sometimes  cease 
to  run,  though  at  all  times  it  contains  a  sufTicicncy  of  pure  water 
for  stock.     Its  bottoms  arc  very  fertile,  as  well  as  the  adjoining 
prairies.     The  former  are  all  taken  for  thirty  miles  from  its  mouth, 
but  of   the  latter  there  are  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of 
acres  of  as   rich  and  beautiful  prairie  lands  r.s  ever  graced  a 
western  state.     The  old  inhabitants  say  they  can  get  a  living  here 
easier  than  in  any  other  place  they  ever  .saw." 

The  following  letter  is  froua  Rev.  Dr.  L.  Sternberg,  a  Lutheran 
clergyman  of  liigh  standing,  of  Fort  Ilarker,  Kansas:  '^^ Dear 
Sir:— Yo\x  desire  to  know  if  the  plains  are  well  adapted  to  but- 
ter and  cheese  making,  and  also  my  method.     In  replying  to  the 


I 


^^:l 


i'mW 


1'^      -il 


■IV 


86 


Tuttle's  Cextexxial  Northwest. 


first  inquiiy,  it  may  be  proper  to  say  that  I  am  not  prepared  to 
speak  of  the  plains  generally.  Portions  of  them  may  be  barren 
and  destitute  of  water  and  of  natural  shelter  for  stock.  My  re- 
marks are  intended  to  fvpply  more  especially  to  Ellsworth  county, 
the  eastern  limit  in  this  part  of  the  state  of  the  buffalo  grass 
region.  Whether  a  country  is  well  adapted  for  stock  and  dairy 
purposes  depends  upon  its  grasses,  water  and  climate. 

"  We  have  both  winter  and  summer  grasses.  Our  winter 
grasses  arc  such  as  keep  green,  and  grow  somewhat  during  the 
Avinter,  especially  in  sheltered  jilaces  iu  ravines  and  near  the 
banks  of  streams.  They  come  forn'ard  very  early  in  the  spring 
so  as  to  afford  good  ])asturage,  in  this  region  generally  about  the 
middle  of  ^Nlarch.  The  principal  variety  ripens  about  the  first  oi 
June,  and  resembles  what  we  used  to  call  the  carl}'^  June  grass  in 
New  York.  When  green,  it  is  sweet  and  tender,  and  cattle  eat  it 
with  avidity. 

"  Our  summer  grasses  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  con- 
sisting of  such  as  are  only  fit  for  grazing,  and  such  as  are  also 
suitable  to  be  cut  for  hay.  The  term  buffalo  grass  includes  the 
gramma  grass,  or  the  curled  mesquit,  both  of  them  remai'kably 
nutritious,  even  when  ripened  and  dry,  and  affording  almost  as 
good  pasturage  in  winter  as  in  summer,  but  too  short  to  be  cut 
for  hay.  The  blue  joint  is  our  prineii)al  grass  for  haj'.  It  is  the 
latest  of  cur  grasses  in  coming  forward  in  the  spring,  only  ap- 
pearing about  the  time  when  our  winter  grasses  are  beginning  to 
ripen.  We  have  at  present  little  more  of  this  grass  than  is  re- 
quired for  hay  ;  but  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  it  is  slowly  but  surely 
supplanting  the  buffalo  grass.  The  milk  produced  from  these 
grasses  is  remarkably  rich,  and  our  cows  have  access  to  no  plants 
giving  their  milk  an  unpleasant  flavor,  except  that,  late  in  the  fall, 
they  sometimes  eat  a  species  of  wild  sage,  giving  it  a  bitter  taste. 

"  Good  water  is  a  prime  necessity  for  a  stock  and  dairy  coun- 
try. It  should  be  running  water.  Stagnant  water  affects  the 
quality  of  the  milk  injuriously.  Water  drawn  by  band  involves 
too  much  labor,  and  is  too  uncertain  a  reliance.  Our  river  water, 
and  that  flowing  from  our  numerous  springs,  is  most  excellent 
for  stock. 

"  Our  climate  is  of  a  medium  character.     Wc  are  subject  to  oc- 


t.  JJ/U 


Soil  axd  Suuface. 


87 


casional  storms,  when  cattle  need  some  natural  or  artificial  slicltcr, 
and  it  may  be  some  hay.  Usually,  however,  the}'  graze  upon 
the  open  prairie,  in  winter  as  in  summer.  Thus  far  I  have  not 
been  required  to  feed  my  cattle  more  than  about  a  dozen  times 
during  the  winter,  and  thej'  reach  the  spring  in  fine  order,  unless 
they  should  be  pulled  down  somewhat  by  some  special  cause, 
such  as  coming  in  too  early.  In  summer  our  climate  is  not  warm- 
er than  in  more  northern  latitudes.  However  warm  it  may  be 
during  the  day,  our  nights  are  invariably  cool  and  refreshing. 
The  heats  of  summer,  therefore,  interfere  but  little  with  butter 
and  cheese  making,  to  those  who  have  u  suitable  place  for  the 
purpose,  and  I  know  of  no  reason  why  we  may  not  compete  suc- 
cessfully, both  as  to  cpudity  and  quantity,  with  the  dairymen  of 
any  part  of  our  country. 

"In  the  manufacture  of  butter,  I  am  careful  as  to  the  condi- 
tion of  my  cream,  not  leaving  it  to  stand  too  long.  I  use  the 
dash  churn.  I  am  careful  to  work  out  nil  the  buttermilk,  and 
yet  not  destroy  the  grain  of  the  butter.  This  requires  both  ex- 
perience and  skill.  The  salt  which  should  be  of  the  purest  kind, 
and  about  an  ounce  to  the  pound  of  butter,  should  be  thoroughly 
incorporated  with  the  butter,  and  dissolve  in  it.  If  the  cream  be 
too  warm  in  cluirning,  the  butter  will  be  of  an  inferior  quality, 
and  wiil  readily  soften  in  warm  weather.  The  proper  tempera- 
ture is  from  fifty-six  to  sixty  degrees.  The  cooler  the  cream,  the 
longer  the  butter  is  in  coming,  but  the  better  the  butter. 

The  next  letter  is  from  Mr.  Ernst  Ilohneek,  a  surveyor  who 
lias  resided  in  western  Kansas  about  fourteen  years,  and  is  en- 
tirely familiar  with  the  country  he  talks  about.  This  letter  throws 
light  upon  the  "  desert  "  question.  There  has  been  great  inquiry 
for  that  desert  for  several  years,  and  of  late  it  has  come  to  be  be- 
lieved that  the  whole  account  of  "  a  desert "  was  a  stupendous  hum- 
bug of  ancient  geographers.  After  describing  various  counties  in 
that  region,  and  showing  that  all  are  possessed  of  good  water  and 
good  coil,  with  considerable  quantities  of  timber,  and  coal  opened 
of  fair  quality  for  fuel,  he  proceeds:  "  llice  county,  south  of 
Ellsworth,  through  which  runs  the  Arkansas  river  and  several 
tributaries,  is,  with  the  exception  of  timber,  which  is  rather  scarce, 
a  most  beautiful  count}'-,  and  contains,  I  believe,  a  greater  per 


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88 


Tuttle's  Cestexkial  NonrmFEST. 


centage  of  tillable  land,  than  any  other  county  in  the  state  I 
know  of.  The  southeast  part  is  already  somewhat  settled,  and  a 
colony  from  Ohio  is  expected  to  settle  on  Plum  Creek  next  spring. 
Cow  Creek  is  also  in  this  county.  Around  Fort  Zarah,  in  Bar- 
ton county,  near  the  mouth  of  that  fine  stream  where  the  Big 
Walnut  empties  into  the  Arkansas,  the  nucleus  of  quite  a  settle- 
ment is  now  forming,  and  about  two  hundred  families  are  to  settle 
along  the  river  and  Walnut  next  spring.  The  advance  of  a  Ger- 
man colony,  about  ten  families,  settled  eight  miles  above  Zarah 
last  spring,  and  raised  quite  a  crop  of  corn,  with  pumpkins,  melons, 
etc.,  without  end.  I  have  not  a  doubt  but  that  the  bottoms  of 
the  Arkansas  river  will  turn  out  to  be  prodigious  corn  land. 

"  Walnut  Creek  valley  runs  in  a  westerly  direction  for  over  a 
hundred  miles,  with  abundance  of  timber  and  water,  and  as  fine 
bottoms  as  a  man  wants  to  see.  The  only  drawback  to  the  settle- 
ment of  that  part  of  our  beautiful  state  may  be  Indian  difficul- 
ties. 

"In  conclusion,  let  me  give  you  the  result  of  my  obscvations 
during  a  residence  of  fifteen  years  in  the  state,  the  greater  part  of 
which  I  spent  in  the  western  part. 

"  The  story  of  the  American  desert,  as  far  as  it  relates  to  that  por- 
tion of  Kansas  that  lies  north  of  the  Arkansas  river,  is  a  myth,  and 
never  had  any  foundation.  That  "belt  of  land,"  beyond  which, 
according  to  early  histories  of  Kansas,  the  desert  commenced,  ex- 
ists only  in  imagination.  True,  there  is  a  range  of  sandhills,  from 
one  to  two  miles  wide,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Little  Arkansas,  as 
far  north  as  the  mouth  of  Jarvis  Creek,  emptying  into  Cow  Creek, 
and  also  another  narrow  range  of  sandhills  on  the  west  side  of 
Cow  Creek,  from  the  Plum  Butes,  on  the  old  Santa  Fe  road,  ex- 
tending, with  intermissions,  about  ten  miles  north.  But  the  land 
■west  of  these  hills  is  just  as  good  as  east  of  it. 

"  I  suppose  the  idea  of  this  desert  originated  in  this  way  :  Dur- 
ing that  season  when  the  buffalo  roam  north  in  immense  numbers, 
they  eat  the  whole  country  so  closely  that  it  looks  to  the  casual 
observer  cmtircly  bare,  and  devoid  of  vegetation.  Buffalo  and 
even  horses,  will  find  sustenance  on  this  very  ground,  it  being  the 
nature  of  the  buffalo  grass  to  be  continually  growing,  and  the 
part  next  to  the  ground,  almost  in  it,  being  the  most  nutritious 


1  :.  ;!'!: 


Soil  and  Surface. 


89 


part,  and  verj'  sweet;  Lorses,  which  arc  used  to  the  planis,  will 
graze  on  this  verj'  ground,  when  loose,  in  preference  to  places, 
where  the  grass  has  not  been  pastured.  Another  peculiarity  of  the 
bufTalo  grass  is,  that  it  only  grows  in  packed  ground,  and  dies  out 
as  soon  as  the  bufTalo  quits  the  country,  and  the  action  of  the 
rains  and  frosts  loosens  the  soil.  After  the  builalo  have  left  a 
portion  of  the  country  for  good,  in  a  few  years  single  stools  of 
blue  stem  grass  will  appear,  which  increase  in  size  from  year  to 
year,  until  the  whole  country,  which  grew  once  the  short  bufTalo 
grass,  is  covered  wi*;Ii  blue  stem,  and  then  has  all  the  appearance 
of  an  agricultural  country.  I  have  watched  this  transformation 
ever  since  1855,  and  it  is  a  fact  and  no  theory.  Thousands  of 
tons  of  prairie  hay  can  be  cut  now,  where  ten  years  ago  nothing 
but  builalo  grass  grew.  Whoever  opens  a  farm  in  a  buffalo  gi-ass 
region  needs  to  plow  his  land  deep,  from  six  to  eight  inches  at 
least,  so  as  to  prepare  it  at  once  for  crops.  And  all  this  great  re- 
gion in  the  western  part  of  the  state  will  be  thus  transformed 
shortly,  and  will  be  found  to  be  the  granary  of  the  west." 

Upon  receipt  of  this  valuable  letter  I  wrote  to  the  author,  re- 
questing him  to  explain  why  he  confined  his  j'cmarks  to  the  re- 
gion north  of  the  Arkansas  river,  in  showing  that  the  country 
was  generally  good,  and  that  a  few  square  miles  of  sand  hills  had 
been  magnified  into  a  boundless  "desert."  In  reply,  the  follow- 
ing letter  came  to  hand : 

"  When  I  spoke  rather  negatively  of  the  country  south  of  Ar-' 
kansas  river,  I  had  in  my  mind  a  pear  shaped  tract  of  land,  with 

J  stem  end  near  Fort  Dodge,  and  the  opposite  about  south  of  the 
mouth  of  Cow  creek,  which  empties  into  the  Arkansas  in  Eice 
county,  with  a  width  at  its  broadest  part  (south  of  Pawnee  Rock, 
seventeen  miles  west  of  Zarah)  of  about  sixty  miles,  which  con- 
sists of  a  series  of  sand  hills,  naked  sandy  flats  and  bunch  grass 
prairie.  This  part  is  entirely  destitute  of  timber,  but  in  most 
parts  well  watered,  and  having  considerable  salt  water  branches 
running  through  it. 

"  The  Arkansas  river  is  also,  with  the  exception  of  a  strip  of 
about  fourteen  miles  running  east  from  Fort  Zarah,  destitute  of 
tinaber  from  below  the  mouth  of  Cow  creek  to  the  west  line  of 
the  state,  and  beyond  to  near  Fort  Lyon.     The  Atchison,  Topeka 


i+:a 


M  V 


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,11 


90 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


k  Santa  I  c  Railroad  has  been  surveyed  and  located  to  Fort  Dodge, 
which  will  open  these  wide  and  fertile  bottoms  to  settlement. 
The  sandy  district,  however,  spoken  of  above,  will  be  a  great 
grazing  country,  as  the  grass  on  it  is  very  nutritious,  and  the  con- 
figuration of  the  country  affording  a  great  deal  of  shelter  to 
stock  in  the  winter.  South  of  this  district  lays  a  beautiful  coun- 
try along  the  tributaries  of  the  little  lied  river,  or  Red  Fork  of 
the  Arkansas.  [Mulberry,  Turkey,  Medicine  Lodge,  Bluff  creek, 
etc.,  arc  among  these  creeks.  The  soil  is  here  red  in  all  its 
shades,  and  every  little  thaw  or  rain  will  color  the  streams  red. 

"Two  years  ago  tliis  winter,  I  found  the  bottoms  covered  with 
the  tallest  blue  stem  grass.  A  great  deal  of  winter  grass,  which 
we  generally  call  June  grass,  grows  also  here.  The  country  is 
also  timbered  with  cottonwood,  cedar  in  great  quant'*y  on  the 
bluffs,  mulberry,  elm,  walnut,  oak,  hackberry,  and  on  the  South 
Fork,  with  china  tree.  I  found  bodies  of  timber  containing  from 
forty  to  eighty  acres.  Rock  is  very  scarce  here ;  the  deepest 
canyon,  as  well  as  the  highest  bluffs,  are  devoid  of  it.  In  my 
opinion,  it  will  not  be  very  long  before  this  country  will  be  the 
great  winter  quarters  of  the  stock  men  of  western  Kansas.  As 
for  shelter,  there  is  nothing  that  will  surpass  it  in  these  parts. 

"Since  my  last,  I  learned  that  about  fifty  claims  are  taken  on 
"Walnut  creek,  and  the  Arkansas,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Zarah. 
So 'the  Star  of  Empire  is  moving  westward  at  a  lively  rate.  It  is 
some  satisfaction  to  contemplate  that,  in  fifti^en  years,  civilization 
has  conquered  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  wilderness." 

More  will  be  found,  further  on  in  this  volume,  on  the  produc- 
tions of  Kansas  in  the  chapters  on  hei"  great  industries. 


"IT'  sri 


Soil  and  Surface. 


91 


I't  iV 


I    li 


CHAPTER  VII. 
SOIL  AND  SURFACE. 

(continued.) 

Topogmphy  —  Climate  —  Minerals — Soil  and  Productions. 


NEBRASKA. 

The  state  of  Nebraska  has  an  area  of  75,995  square  miles  and 
is  situated  between  40°  and  43°  N.  latitute,  and  between  9(5°  and 
104°  W.  longitude.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Dakota  terri- 
tory ;  on  the  east  by  Iowa ;  on  the  south  by  Kansas  and  Colorado 
territory,  and  on  the  west  by  Colorado  and  Wyoming  territories. 
There  are  no  mountains  in  the  state  ;  the  whole  surface  consists 
of  rolling  prairies,  vast  table  and  rich  bottom  lands  in  the  valleys  of 
the  numerous  streams.  The  principal  river  is  Platte  —  a  wide, 
rapid,  shallow  stream,  full  of  sand  bars,  with  divided  channel,  and 
although  not  navigable,  it  is  of  inestimable  value  for  the  purpose  of 
mill-sites,  irrigation,  etc.  It  enters  the  state  in  two  branches, 
which  unite  about  three  hundred  miles  west  of  the  Missouri  river, 
and  thence  pursues  an  easterly  course  through  the  state,  dividing 
it  into  two  nearly  equal  parts.  Its  special  feature  is  the  unrivalled 
valley  through  which  it  courses  from  the  mountains  to  the  Mis- 
souri river.  This  valley  is  from  five  to  fifteen  miles  in  width,  and 
is  widely  celebrated  for  its  picturesque  scenery,  rich,  productive 
soil,  and  mild  and  healthful  climate.  The  Wood,  Loup  and  Elk- 
horn  rivers  flow  into  the  Platte  on  the  north  side,  east  of  Kearney, 
and  all  have  extensive.,  fertile  valleys.  The  Big  Blue  and  Little 
Blue,  flowing  southeast,  cross  the  line  into  Kansas,  the  former 
about  sixty-five  and  the  latter  about  ninety  miles  west  of  the  Mis- 
souri. The  numerous  streams  of  the  interior  flow,  in  a  southeast- 
erly course,  through  valleys  rank  with  vegetation,  of  loose,  rich, 
soil,  in  which  they  cut  their  channels  deep  and  winding,  with 
nothing  to  mark  their  course  except  the  fringe  of  trees  that  line 
their  margin.  The  valleys  of  these  streams  are  generally  skirted 
with  a  range  of  low,  rounded  hills,  sometimes  abrupt  and  irregu- 


-  t  ,**■ 


92 


TVTTLlfs  CENTEKlilAL  XORTIIWEST. 


lar,  but  becoming  less  ami  less  broken  as  they  recede,  until  they 
gradually  blend  with  the  table  land,  and  keeping  about  the  same 
level,  stretch  away  in  low  swells  till  intei"Sf3ctcd  by  another  valley.'* 

Next  to  the  Platte  river  in  magnitude  and  importance  is  the 
Republican,  which  enters  the  state  from  Colorado,  at  a  point  five 
miles  from  the  soutiieast  corner,  takes  a  liglit  curve  to  the  north- 
ward, bends  back  and  passes  out  into  Kansas,  crossing  the  line 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  the  Missouri  river.  Its 
main  tributaries  in,  and  partially  in,  Nebraska  are  Whiteman's 
Fork,  Willow,  ^[edicinc  and  Muddy  on  the  north,  and  Beaver, 
Little  Beaver  and  Prairie  Dog  on  the  south.  The  Republican 
and  its  tributaries  "  water"  something  over  a  dozen  counties,  and 
the  latter  afTords  some  of  the  best  mill-sites  in  the  state.  For 
magnificence;  fertility  and  natural  I'esonrces,  the  valley  of  the  Re- 
publican is  scarcely  second  to  that  of  the  Platte,  and  contains 
many  fine  groves  of  timber,  an  abundance  of  fine  building  rock, 
etc.  Not  more  than  one-twentieth  part  of  the  area  of  the  state 
has  been  turned  over  by  the  plough.  Nearly  one-half  the  whole 
is  still  remaining  in  possession  of  the  government. 

Nebraska  is  one  of  the  great  corn-raising  and  stock-growing 
states  where  lands  can  yet  be  had  for  nothing,  or  for  a  nominal  sum. 
Where  moneyless  men  can  become  land  owners  by  a  mere  resi- 
dence, and  men  of  small  means,  property-holders  at  onee,  or  b}' 
trifling  payments,  distributed  through  a  long  series  of  years.  She 
presents  the  anomaly  of  a  state  wherein  railroads,  wagon  roads, 
(we  might  almost  say  churches  and  school-houses),  etc.,  have  pre- 
ceded civilization,  instead  of  following  it,  after  the  usual  course. 
Nebraska  is  a  "  highland "  state,  constituting  as  it  does  part  of 
the  great  interior  continental  slope,  which  terminates  to  the  west- 
ward, as  stated,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Hence,  sweeping  winds 
from  the  westward  and  southward  occasionalbj,  and  light,  cooling 
breezes  from  one  or  another  direction  almost  perpetually.  Hence 
the  absolute  absence  of  malaria,  and  the  innumerable  train  of  con- 
sequent diseases. 

In  very  many  of  the  original  settlements  made  in  America  dur- 
ing the  last  three  hundred  years,  the  pioneers  have  been  again 
and  again  driven  back  and  out  by  agues,  fevers,  and  other  ma- 
*  Compiled  from  Sketches  by  Hon.  Geo.  D.  Brown. 


Soil  and  Surface. 


98 


larial  ailments,  by  the  savages,  or  by  all  these  calamities.  But 
Nebraska,  in  less  than  a  decade,  without  interruption,  from  an 
unpeopled  waste,  straightway  grows  into  a  fully  developed,  strug- 
gling community,  numbering  a  quarter  of  a  million  souls.  The 
rapid  descent  of  the  surface  from  west  to  cast,  together  with  the 
presence  of  the  Platte,  traversing  its  entire  length  and  extending 
back  to  the  mountains,  (thus  forming  a  superb  conduit  for  their 
vast  fields  of  melting  snows,  in  early  summer),  furnishes  a  natural 
system  of  self- drainage,  renders  stagnant  conditions  impossible,  and 
banishes  from  our  borders  every  semblance  of  a  swamp  or  morass, 
every  sluggish  stream  and  every  putrid  pond. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  the  purity  of  Nebraska  air.  It  is 
a  blessed  privilege  to  be  able  to  lie  down  at  night,  within  doors 
or  without,  on  hill  or  in  valley,  assured  that  the  atmosphere  which 
surrounds  your  couch  or  sighs  through  your  window  is  free  from 
poisonous  taint  of  death-dealing  malaria. 

The  soil  of  Nebraska  is  excellent.  An  eastern  editor  truly  re- 
marks :  "  The  finest  garden  mold  in  the  state  of  New  York  is  not 
a  whit  better  than  the  average  Nebraska  soil,  which  is  light  and 
free  from  lumps  and  stones ;  dark  soiled,  easily  worked  and  emi- 
nently productive.  I  would  advise  nurserymen  in  the  east  to  im- 
port a  carload  of  it,  to  grow  their  most  delicate  plants  in.  They 
need  take  no  precaution,  but  send  their  order  to  anv  postmaster 
or  railroad  agent,  and  tell  him  to  dig  the  first  dirt  he  comes  to 
and  send  it  along."  Another  writer  says  the  soil  "  may  be  plowed 
to  any  depth  required.  Under  the  plow  it  becomes  remarkably 
loose  and  mellow,  and  can  be  worked  to  advantage  within  a  few 
hours  after  a  long  rain.  From  the  absence  of  hard  pan,  and  other 
imj^orvious  substances,  it  possesses  the  singular  property  of  resisting 
both  unusual  wet  and  continued  drouth  ;  a  failure  of  crops  from 
either  of  these  causes  is  an  unheard  of  event.  It  does  not  bake 
after  rain,  and  deep  mud  is  never  known.  The  soil,  although 
easily  penetrated  with  a  spade  to  any  depth,  has  a  tenacity  that 
renders  the  walling  of  cellars  and  wells  unnecessary."  The  su- 
perstratum of  black  mold  is  usually  blended  with  the  underly- 
ing yellowish  clayey  soil  at  a  point  about  twenty-four  inches  be- 
low the  surface.  This  substratum  is  profusely  impregnated  with 
iron  stains  and  lime  seams  and  concretions,  and  will  produce  veg- 


af 


■•'■■hi 

If 

I 


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M 


TuTTLK's  CeXTKNXIAL  XoiiTinVEST. 


ctation  nearly  oqunl  to  surfnco  soil,  to  a  depth  of  twenty-five  to 
thirty  feet.  The  roots  of  the  shoe  string  (:i  low  shrub  resembling 
tea  plant)  penetrate  to  a  depth  of  twelve  feet,  and  the  yellow 
mold  thrown  out  of  a  well  will  grow  thrifty  scpiashcs  and  fully 
matured  corn  and  wheat.  The  distinguishing  eharaeteristies  of 
this  gray-yellow  subsoil,  is  its  porosity  —  that  is,  it  is  tlireaded, 
as  it  were,  with  minute  scams  and  cells,  herein  dilTering  from  the 
soapy  clay  and  tlie  blue  hard  pans  of  the  east.  Tlic  good  ofhecs 
subserved  by  thirf  peculiar  subsoil  t.re,  the  letting  down  of  a  super- 
abundance of  surface  water  in  wet  seasons,  and  a  drawing  or  suck- 
ing up  of  the  subterraneous  moisture  when  the  earth  is  parched 
by  an  August  sun.  So  that  it  may  be  written  down  as  a  simple 
fact  that  as  regards  capacity  to  stand  both  flood  .and  drouth,  Ne- 
braska has  few  e(pials  and  no  superiors. 

All  species  of  grain  and  vegetables  that  are  raised  in  the  richer 
portions  of  ilinnesota,  Wisconsin,  or  Canada,  can  be  grown  here, 
with  many  others  which  require  a  longer  interval  between  spring 
and  autumn. 

Corn  ranks  as  the  first  staple;  then  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  bar- 
ley, fla.x,  broom-corn,  sorghum,  etc.  The  eultiva-tion  of  onions, 
flax,  hops,  castor  beans,  tobacco,  and  other  specialties,  has  given 
ample  returns  for  the  capital  and  labor  invested. 

From  her  first  crop,  Nebraska  has  always  stood  second  in  the 
list  of  states  for  average  number  of  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre  ; 
California  being  first.  The  average  rarely  falls  below  twenty 
bushels,  and  sometimes  exceeds  that  figure.  And  it  has  become 
a  settled  question  in  Chicago  that  the  wheat  sent  thither  from 
this  state  is  one  of  the  best  and  highest  grades  received  in  that 
market,  Timothy  and  clover  grow  rank  and  with  unvar^-ing  cer- 
tainty, but  are  little  patronized,  as  wild  grass  is  universal  and  of 
excellent  quality'.  Millions  ol  tons  of  the  latter  are  annually 
burnt  by  the  fierce  prairie  iircs  of  November  and  the  milder  ones 
of  April. 

*  "  A  farmer  who  finds  his  meadow  ready  made,  and  which  may 

be  fenced  with  a  dozen  furrows  any  pleasant  day  in  June,   has 

gained  quarter  of  a  life  time,  from  an  Ohio  or  Pennsylvania  point 

of  view;  leaving  him  ample  time  to  mildly  fret  about  the  ■•  b- 

*  From  a  sketch  by  lion.  G.  L.  Brown, 


mrr 


"^TT^ 


Soil  asd  Surface. 


95 


Bence  of  the  docayinfr  stumps  and  weed  liiJdcn  rail  fence  of  liis 
boyhood,  or  at  the  w-jU  nigh  perpetual  breeze,  which  cfTectually 
6wee[)savvay  every  vestige  of  miasma  an<l  mahiria." 

"With  the  exception  of  the  peach,  fruit  trccj  ^  not  winter 
kill  —  if  })roperly  treated  —  and  come  into  bearing;  s  nun  as  in 
Illinois.  Even  peaches  are  successfully  reared  in  .'hiJtered  loca- 
tions. Apples,  pears,  plums,  cherries,  grapf' •,  ourrn  \s,  bcTics, 
etc.,  thriv"  most  luxurii.  itly,  when  cared  for.  The  raviies  and  shel- 
tered huuks  near  the  streams  arc  literally  full  of  pU:ms,  grapes 
ind  other  v;ild  fruits,  and  .scarcely  a  season  pa.s.ses  hut  the  homc- 
Ktcader's  pantry  is  stored  in  autumn  with  preserves  and  jellies, 
little  inferior  to  those  of  Indiana  or  New  Jersey,  without  cost  and 
without  price. 

"  Probably  there  is  not  a  farmer  in  the  entire  state  who  has  not 
some  forest  trees  growing.  To  these  a  few  are  addod  each  suc- 
ceeding year,  and  in  many  cases  quite  extensive  tracts  have  been 
planted.  Trees  invariably  thrive  and  grow  with  a  raj)idity  that  is 
marvellou.s.  The  traveller  has  observed  the  thrifty  groves  of 
Cottonwood  along  the  line  of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad.  Similar 
ones  exist  along  all  the  old  emigrant  and  government  roads  or 
trails.  A  patch  of  "slips,"'  carelessly  "stuck  out,"  near  therudo 
huts  of  the  inevitable  rancher,  and  forgotten,  has,  in  nearly  every 
casG  survived  the  "  ranch,"  and  stands  erect  in  the  proud  dignity 
of  perfect  life,  high  above  the  mouldering  ruins  of  the  old  cabin, 
or  oftener  the  weed-covered  cellar  where  once  it  stood.  ^[y raids 
of  beautiful  groves  will  throw  their  cooling  shades  over  the  com- 
ing generation,  where  once  lay  the  boundless,  treeless,  almost 
shrubless  prairie. 

"  That  this  is  essentially  a  stock  raising  region  cannot  be  gainsa}'- 
ed.  Corn  and  grass,  the  two  great  indigenous  growths,  render  it 
indisputably  superior  to  eastern  and  northern  paiusin  this  respect; 
and  that  herein  lies  the  broad  avenue  of  our  escape  from  abject 
slavery  to  over  production,  the  cajirice  of  grain  gamblers,  and 
high  railroad  tariffs,  all  of  which  do  pertain  to  the  purely  grain- 
raising  districts,  is  equally  undeniable." 


*S    ■!•■ 


1'  i\\ 


r^^y 


"I' 


m 


96 


TvTTLE's  CsNTEyNIAL  NOBTHWEST. 


ttl 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

EXPLORATION  AND  SETTLEMENT* 

First  Exploration  of  tlie  Nortliwcst  —  Expeditions  of  Marquette  and  La  Salle 
—  The  Company  of  the  West — John  Law  —  Early  Outposts  of  Civiliza- 
tion—  The  Missionaries. 

Having  devoted  considerable  space  to  the  soil,  climate  and 
productions  of  the  Great  Northwest,  we  may  now  come  at  once  to 
the  historical  department,  but,  let  it  be  understood  in  the  outstart 
that  the  limits  of  our  space  compel  us  to  condense  largelji  The 
first  exploration  and  settlement  of  the  northwest,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  slight  portion  of  Ohio,  is  a  subject  of  French  colonial 
history.  It  is  true  however,  that  the  Mississippi  valley  was  first 
entered  by  Spanish  explorers.  Following  in  the  train  of  French 
exploration  and  settlement  we  find  that  in  1535,  James  Cartier 
entered  and  e-xplorcd  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Isle  of  Orleans  ;  and, 
six  years  later  in  conjunction  with  Roberval,  he  explored  the 
same  region  and  called  it  New  France.  Again  in  1608,  through 
the  effort  of  Samuel  Chaniplain,  the  town  of  Quebec  was  estab- 
lished. Five  years  alter  Montreal  was  founded.  From  these 
points  the  French  pushed  their  way  towards  the  great  lakes,  fight- 
ing their  way  through  hordes  of  savages.  "  Contemporaneous  with 
these  ex25lorations,  the  French  missionaries  carried  on  a  zealous 
missionaiy  work  among  the  Indians,  enduring  many  hardships 
and  privations.  The  enthusiastic  missionaries  were  soon  in  ad- 
vance of  the  military  expeditions,  penetrating  the  whole  lake  re- 
gion, and  acquainting  themselves  with  the  natives,  and  the  resour- 
ce of  the  country.  Meanwhile  the  government  of  New  France 
was  improving,  and  the  French  colony  took  on  civil  and  military 
attire. 

In  1665  Claude  Alloucz  was  sent  to  the  far  west  under  some 

♦Before  taking  up  the  history  of  the  northwest  by  states,  we  present  a  gen- 
oral  history  of  the  exploration  and  early  settlement  of  the  whole  section. 


kinc| 
i-ic, 
laudl 
of  t| 

of  t) 
and! 
year| 
the 
leanl 
'  Mo! 
borel 
to  tl 


lUg 


Exploration  and  Settlement. 


97 


kind  of  government  auspices.  "Jlcacliing  the  Sault  olo.  ^\Ia- 
ric,  lie  passed  around  the  south  shore  of  lake  Superior,  and 
landed  at  the  bay  of  Chegoiniegon.  Tliere,  at  the  chief  village 
of  the  Chippewas,  he  established  a  mission,  and  made,  on  behalf 
of  the  colony,  an  alliance  with  them,  the  Pottawattomies,  Sacs 
and  Foxes,  and  the  Illinois,  against  the  Iroquois.  In  the  next 
year,  he  jjassed  with  the  Ottawas  to  the  north  shore,  and  at 
the  western  extremity  of  the  lake  met  the  Sioux,  and  from  them 
learned  of  a  great  river  flowing  to  the  south,  which. they  called 
'Messipi.'  Thence  he  returned  to  Quebec  to  seek  more  la- 
borers. In  l(j()8,  Claude  Dablon  and  Jaques  Marquette  repaired 
to  the  Sault,  and  established  the  mission  of  Ste.  !N[arie ;  fvod  dur- 
ing the  the  next  five  years  Alloucz,  Dablon  and  >[arquette  ex- 
plored the  regions  south  of  Superior,  and  west  of  ^Michigan,  and 
established  the  missions  of  Chegoiniegon,  St.  Marie,  Mackinaw, 
and  Green  Ba}'.  The  purpose  of  exploring  the  Mississippi  sprang 
from  Marquette  himself;  but  it  was  furtliered  by  the  plans  of  the 
intendont  Talon,  to  extend  the  power  of  France  to  the  west.  In 
1670,  Nicholas  Perot  was  sent  to  the  west  to  propose  a  congress 
of  the  tribes  of  the  lakes.  In  May,  1671,  the  great  council  was 
held  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie  ;  the  cross  was  set  up,  by  its  side  a  column 
inscribed  with  'die  lilies  of  the  Bourbons,  the  Yexilla  Regis  was 
chanted,  and  the  nations  of  the  northwest,  with  all  the  pomp  of 
the  feudal  age,  were  taken  into  the  alliance  and  under  the  protection 
of  Franco.  Talon  was  not  satisfied  with  more  display.  There 
were  tlwee  opinions  in  regard  to  the  course  of  the  great  river,  of 
which  iUlouez  had  heard  —  that  it  ran  to  the  southeast  into  the 
Atlantic,  below  Virginia  —  that  it  flowed  into  the  Guf  of  Mexico 
—  and  t'.at  it  emptied  into  the  Gulf  of  California,  and  opened  a 
highway  to  China  and  the  cast.  To  determine  this  problem,  to 
secure  the  lands  through  which  it  flowed  to  France,  and  thus  to 
signalize  the  close  of  his  administration,  Talon  approved  the  pur- 
pose of  ]\Iarquctte,  and  directed  him,  with  ^^.  Joliet,  of  Quebec, 
to  explore  the  Mississippi." 

At  Mackinaw,  on  the  loth  of  ^[ay,  1673,  Marquette,  Joliet,  and  five 
attendants  embarked  on  this  great  expedition  in  two  lurch  canoes. 
They  visited  .Green  Bay,  where  the  Indians,  who  received  them 
kindly,  w  U'ned  them  against  pursuing  their  intended  journey,  tell- 


•tiMil 


vm. 


i<nil 


,'      :.l.   '    M 


vYx'^ 


I 


ll:f 


98 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


ing  tbem  that  hostile  nations  would  impede  their  progress.  They 
however  progressed  westward,  and,  on  June  17th,  they  entered 
the  broad  ^Mississippi  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wiseonsin.  Quietly 
floating  down  tlie  great  river,  they  noticed  the  deer,  the  buffalo, 
the  swans —  "  wingless,  for  tlicy  lose  their  feather?  in  that  coun- 
try " —  the  great  fish,  one  of  v.'hich  had  nearly  knocked  tlieir 
canoe  into  atoms,  and  other  creatures  of  air,  earth  and  water,  but 
no  men.  At  last,  how(!ver,  upon  the  21st  of  June,  they  discover- 
ed, upon  the  western  bank  of  the  river,  the  footprints  of  some 
follow  mortals,  and  a  little  path  leading  into  a  pleasant  meadow, 
Leaving  the  canoes  in  charge  of  their  followers,  Joliet  and  Father 
Marquette  boldly  advanced  upon  this  path  towards,  as  they  sup- 
posed, an  Indian  village.  After  walking  for  two  leagues,  they 
came  to  a  cluster  of  Indian  villages  along  the  banks  of  a  river, 
then  called  the  ^loingona,  now  j)robably  the  Des  Moines,  ^fak- 
ing their  presence  kuown  by  u  loud  cry,  they  were  met  by  four 
old  men,  who  presented  to  them  the  calumet,  and  escorted  them 
to  their  chief.  Here  they  made  known  the  purpose  of  their  vo}'- 
age,  and  here  again  they  were  bogged  to  desist.  The  natives 
told  them  that  their  bodies  would  be  tortured  by  the  merciless 
sava";cs  which  thev  were  sure  to  encounter.  Thcv  were  hos- 
pitably  entertained  by  these  savages.  The  explorers  passed 
on  down  the  great  river  to  the  uiouth  of  the  ilissouri.  They 
of  course,  next  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  In  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Arkansas  they  were  attacked  by  savages,  but  the  ven- 
erable old  missionary  presented  the  peace  pipe,  whicli  he  did  with 
so  much  readiness  and  good  grace  that  the  head  men  were  soft- 
ened and  persuaded  the  others  to  forbear.  Having  decided  as  to 
the  outlet  of  the  Mississippi,  they  returned  north  by  way  of  the 
Illinois  river. 

The  Mississippi  valley  was  now  fairly  opened  up  to  French  en- 
terprise. Almost  innnediatcly  following  tliis  great  event,  Robert 
de  La  Salle,  whose  mind  had  iilrcady  been  occuiiied  with  projects 
for  discovery,  visited  the  king  of  France  by  whom  he  was  highly 
honored  and  from  whoni  his  wonderful  schemes  received  approval 
and  support,  lleturning  to  New  France,  he  at  once  set  out  upon 
an  expedition  of  discovery,  with  Tonti  and  others.  Louis  Hen- 
nepin also  accompanied  the  expedition.      "La  Salle's  first  step," 


<V'  ',■   ■ 


r'  i 


EXPLOKATION  ADD  SETTLEMENT. 


99 


says  one  writer  "  was  to  send  forward  men  to  prepare  the  minds 
of  the  IndiaiLj  along  the  lakes,  for  his  coming,  to  soften  their 
hearts  by  well  chosen  gifts  and  words,  and  to  pick  up  peltries, 
beaver-skins  and  other  valuables;  and  upon  the  18th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1678,  he  himself  embarked  in  a  little  vessel  of  ten  tons,  to 
cross  Lake  Ontario.  This,  says  one  of  his  chroniclers,  was  the 
first  ship  that  sailed  upon  that  fresh  water  sea.  The  wind  was 
strong  and  contrary,  and  four  weeks  nearly  wer^  passsed  in  beat- 
ing up  the  little  distance  between  Kingston  and  Niagara.  Iloving 
forced  their  brigantine  as  far  toward  the  falls  as  was  possible,  our 
travellers  landed :  built  some  magazines  with  difhculty,  for,  at 
times  the  ground  was  frozen  so  hard,  that  they  could  drive  their 
stakes  or  posts  into  it  only  by  first  pouring  upon  it  boiling  water  ; 
and  then  made  acquaintance  with  the  Iroquois,  of  the  village  of 
Niagara,  upon  Lake  Erie.  Not  far  from  this  village.  La  Salle 
founded  a  second  fort,  upon  which  he  set  his  men  to  work  ;  but 
iinding  the  Iroquois  jealous,  he  gave  it  up  for  a  time,  and  merely 
erected  temporary  fortifications  for  his  magazines  ;  and  then  leav- 
ing orders  for  a  new  ship  to  be  built,  he  returned  to  Port  Fronte- 
nac,  to  forward  stores,  cables  and  anchors  for  his  forthcoming 
vessel.  Through  the  hard  and  cold  winter  days,  the  frozen  river 
l^-ing  before  them  "'like  a  plain  paved  with  fine  polished  marVtlc," 
some  of  his  men  hewed. and  hammered  upon  the  timbers  of  the 
Griffin,  as  the  great  bark  was  to  be  named,  while  others  gathered 
furs  and  skins,  or  sued  for  the  good  will  of  the  bloody  savages 
amid  whom  they  were  quartered  ;  and  all  went  merrily  until  the 
20th  of  January,  1G79.  On  that  day  the  chevalier  arrived  from 
below.  The  vessel  in  which  his  valuables  had  been  embarked, 
was  wrecked  through  the  bad  management  of  the  pilots ;  and 
though  the  more  important  part  of  her  freight  was  saved,  much  of 
her  provisions  went  to  the  bottona.  During  the  winter,  however, 
a  quantity  of  furs  was  collected,  with  which,  early  in  the  spring 
of  1G79,  the  commander  returned  to  Fort  Frontcnac  to  get  another 
outfi:,  while  Touti  was  sent  forward  to  scour  the  lake  coasts,  muster 
together  the  men  who  had  been  sent  before,  collect  skins,  and  ex- 
plore the  country.  In  thus  coming  and  going,  buying  and  trad- 
ing, the  si' •  mer  of  this  year  passed  away,  and  it  was  the  7th  o£ 
August  bciorc  the  GiifTin  was  ready  to  sail.       Then,  with  the  To 


m  m  .  ; 


1 


Ar  .■'',■•  ■.  1 


'm 

■- 

■     ■  i  1 ' 

:      :J 

1  1 

.5yA  Ul  : 


100 


TuTTLE's   CENTE^yiAL  XOUTIIWEST. 


Deums  and  tlae  discharge  of  arquebuses,  she  bcgau  her  voyage  up 
Lake  Erie. 

"  Over  lake  Erie,  through  the  strait  beyond,  across  the  lake 
they  named  St.  Clair,  and  into  Huron,  the  voyagers  passed 
most  happily.  In  Huron  they  were  troubled  by  storms,  dread- 
ful as  those  upon  the  ocean,  and  at  last  were  forced  t«)  take  refuge 
in  the  strait  of  Michilimackinae.  Tliis  was  upon  the  27th  of 
August.  At  this  place  La  Salle  remained  until  the  middle  of 
September,  founded  a  fort  there,  and  sent  men  therefrom  in  vari- 
ous directions  to  examine  the  countr3\  He  then  went  on  to 
Green  Bay,  the  "  Baie  des  Puans,"  of  the  French ;  and,  finding 
there  a  large  quantity  of  skins  and  furs  collected  for  him^  he  de- 
termined to  load  the  ('  illln  and  send  her  back  to  Niagi:ra.  Ac- 
cordingly, upon  the  ISth  of  September,  she  was  dispatched  under 
the  charge  of  a  pilot,  supposed  to  be  competent  and  trustworthy, 
while  La  Salle  himself,  with  fourteen  men,  proceeded  up  lake 
Michigan,  paddling  along  its  shores  in  the  most  leisurely  manner; 
Tonti,  meanwhile,  was  sent  to  find  stragglers,  with  whom  he  was 
to  join  thf  main  body  at  the  head  of  the  lake. 

"  From  the  19th  of  September  till  the  1st  of  November,  the 
time  was  occupied  by  La  Salle  in  his  voyage  up  the  sea  in  ques- 
tion. On  the  day  last  named,  he  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  of  the  Miamis,  or  St.  Josephs,  as  it  is  now  called.  Here  he 
built  a  fort  and  remained  for  nearly  a  month,  when  hearing  notli- 
ing  from  his  Grifiin,  he  determined  to  push  on  before  it  w'as  too 
late. 

"  On  the  3d  of  December,  having  mustered  all  his  forces,  thirty 
laborers  and  three  monks,  after  having  left  ten  men  to  garrison 
the  fort.  La  Salle  started  again  upon  '  his  ^reat  voj-agc  and  glori- 
ous undertaking.'  "' 

By  way  of  the  Illinois,  La  Salle  traversed  a  large  region  of 
country,  but,  the  loss  of  the  Griflin  and  all  his  property,  and  the 
want  of  reinforcements  and  supplies,  coiftpelled  him  to  return. 
He  saw  that  he  must  return  to  Canada,  raise  new  means  and  en- 
list new  men,  not,  however,  for  a  single  moment  relinquishing  his 
bold  project.  On  the  contrary,  he  determined  that  while  he  was 
on  his  return  a  small  party  should  visit  tlie  Mississippi  and  ex- 
plore that  stream  toward  its  source.     He  placed  Louiis  Hennepin 


at  th^ 
tions,l 
Tontij 
fricncl 

Tl 
founJ 
was  sj 
Duriii 
fcrcd 
abaml 
great  I 


1    !  ■ ''  ■-;'!■■  1  ]'':' 


ExPLOnATIOX  AXD    SETTLEMENT. 


101 


at  the  head  of  this  expedition,  and  started  him  out  with  instruc- 
tions, and  scanty  supplies,  on  the  List  day  of  February,  1680. 
Tonti,  and  the  few  men  that  remained,  were  left  to  cultivate  tho 
friendship  of  the  Indians,  at  Fort  Crevccocur. 

Through  great  hardships,  La  Salle  reached  Canada,  where  he 
found  his  affairs  in  a  bad  condition,  but  never  despairing,  ho 
was  soon  on  his  return  voyage  of  exploration,  with  new  supplies. 
During  his  absence,  the  little  band  he  had  left  on  the  Illinois  suf- 
fered extremely  —  so  much  so,  that  in  September,  1680,  Tonti 
abandoned  his  position,  escaping  from  the  hostile  Indians  with 
great  difficulty,  and,  after  much  fatigue  reached  the  lakes. 
When,  therefore,  La  Salle  reached  the  forsalccn  fort  on  the  Illi- 
nois, not  having  been  informed  of  the  troubles  of  Tonti  and  his 
associates,  he  was  at  the  point  of  despair.  He  was  again  forced 
to  return  to  Canada  to  secure  more  men  and  means.  In  June, 
1681,  he  met  Tonti  at  Mackinaw. 

Hennepin,  who  had  been  intru.sted  with  the  Mississippi  expedi- 
tion, reached  no  farther  than  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  river, 
when  he  was  taken  prisonei-  by  the  Sioux.  The  Indians  treated 
their  prisoners  with  some  kindness,  and  took  them  to  their  vil- 
lage, via.  St.  Anthony's  Falls.  These  falls  were  named  by  Hen- 
nepin at  the  time.  Some  time  after  Hennepin  was  rescued  by 
some  French  traders,  and  once  more  found  his  way  to  civiliza- 
tion, and  soon  after  to  his  native  France. 

\Vhen  La  Salle  met  Tonti  at  ^fackinaw,  in  1681,  he  went  down 
the  lakes  to  Fort  Frontenac,  to  make  the  needful  preparations  for 
prosecuting  his  western  discoveries;  in  August,  1681,  he  was  on 
his  v;ay  up  the  lakes  again,  and  on  the  3d  of  November,  at  the 
St.  Josephs,  as  full  of  confidence  as  ever.  "  The  middle  of  De- 
cember had  come,  however,  before  all  were  ready  to  go  forward ; 
and  then,  with  twcntj-'thrce  Frenchmen,  eighteen  eastern  Indians, 
ten  Indian  women  and  three  children,  he  started  by  the  way  of 
the  Chicago  river.  On  the  6th  of  April,  1682,  they  discovered 
the  three  passages  by  which  the  Mississippi  discharges  its  waters 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Here  they  took  possession,  formally,  of 
the  whole  Mississippi  valley,  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  France, 
with  great  show  and  acclaim,  raising  the  cross  as  an  enblem  of 
the  religion  of  France.     These  events  laid  the  foundation  for  the 


h 


m 


" 


tl ' 


tl 


I 


102 


Tuttle's  Cektenkial  XoilTinVEST. 


claims  of  France  to  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  according  to  the 
usages  of  European  powers,  these  claims  were  based  upon  good 
grounds.  After  accomplishing  the  design  of  the  expedition,  La 
Salle  returned.  It  is  not  our  plan  to  follow  La  Salle  throiigh  his 
other  unfortunate  expeditions.  "We  have  merely  referred  to  the 
expedition  of  Marquette  and  La  Salle  sufficiently  to  present  the 
most  important  features  connected  with  the  explort  tion  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.  It  is  no  part  of  our  plan  to  present  a  history 
of  the  Spanish  and  French  in  America,  or  even  a  history  of  the 
forms  of  French  government  that  were  extended  over  the  terri- 
tory. On  the  other  hand,  we  shall  be  content  to  notice,  briefly, 
some  of  the  principal  events  in  the  early  history  of  the  north- 
west, through  French  and  English  rules,  and  then  to  speak  more 
in  detail  of  tlie  events  In  the  history  under  the  United  States 
government. 

After  the  combined  expedition  of  Crozat  and  Cadillac,  which 
failed  in  its  search  for  gold  and  which  was  thwarted  in  its  en- 
deavor to  establish  a  trade  with  the  Spaniards,  came  the  enter- 
prise of  the  far  famed  Mississippi  company,  or  company  of  the 
west,  afterwards  the  "  Company  of  the  Indies."  This  company 
was  organized  to  aid  the  immense  banking  and  stock  jobbing 
speculations  of  the  notorious  John  Law,  a  Scotch  gambler  and 
speculator.  This  man  had  a  most  wonderful  idea  of  wealth,  one 
as  false  as  it  was  attractive.  His  enter[)rise  is  thus  spoken  of  by 
Rev.  J.  M.  Peck,  an  early  writer  of  western  history : 

"The  public  debt  of  France  was  selling  at  GO  to  70  per 
cent,  discount;  Law  was  autiiorized  to  establish  a  bank  of  circu- 
lation, the  shares  in  which  mdght  be  paid  for  in  public  stock  at 
par;  and  to  induce  the  public  to  subscribe  for  the  bank  shares, 
and  to  confide  in  them,  the  company  of  the  w^est  was  established 
in  connection  with  the  bank,  having  the  exclusive  right  of  trading 
in  the  Mississippi  country  for  twenty-five  years,  and  with  the  mo- 
nopoly of  the  Canada  beaver  trade.  This  was  in  September, 
1717.  In  1718,  the  monopoly  of  tobacco  was  also  granted  to  this 
favored  creature  of  the  state ;  in  1719,  the  exclusive  right  of 
trading  in  Asia  and  the  East  Indies  ;  and  soon  after,  the  farming 
of  the  public  revenue,  together  with  an  extension  of  all  these 
privileges  to  the  year  1770 ;  and,  as  if  all  this  had  been  insuffi- 


cient,l 

addecj 

west. 

to  o( 

was  ii 

lation 

ance 

valuel 

uphoil 


Exploration  and  Settlement. 


108 


Tf '       'i,    WY  \ 


I,    :  I 


cient,  the  exclusive  right  of  coining  for  nine  years  was  next 
added  to  the  immense  grants  already  made  to  tlie  company  ot  the 
west.  Under  this  hot-bed  system,  the  stock  of  the  company  rose 
to  uOO,  600,  800,  1,000,  1,500,  and  at  last  2,050  per  cent.  Tliis 
was  in  April,  1720.  At  that  time  the  notes  of  the  bank  in  circu- 
lation exceeded  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  and  this  abund- 
ance of  money  raised  the  price  of  everything  to  twice  its  true 
value.  Then  the  bubble  burst;  decree  after  decree  was  made  to 
uphold  the  tottering  fabric  of  false  credit;  but  in  vain.  In  Jan- 
nar}',  1720,  Law  had  been  made  minister  ot  finance,  and  as  such 
he  ])roeecded,  first,  to  forbid  all  persons  to  have  on  hand  more 
than  about  one  hundred  dollars  in  specie  ;  any  amount  beyond 
that  must  be  exchanged  for  paper,  and  all  payments  for  more 
than  twenty  dollars  were  to  be  made  in  paper;  and  this  proving 
insuflicient,  in  !N[arch  all  payments  over  two  dollars  were  ordered 
to  be  in  paper ;  and  he  wlio  dared  attempt  to  exchange  a  bill  for 
.specie,  forfeited  both.  Human  folly  could  go  no  further;  in 
A[)ril,  the  stock  began  to  fall ;  in  May,  the  company  was  re- 
garded as  bankrupt,  the  notes  of  the  bank  fell  to  ten  cents  on  the 
dollar,  and  though  a  decree  made  it  an  oUcnse  to  refuse  them  at 
par,  they  were  soon  worth  little  more  than  waste  paper.  Under 
the  direction  of  a  compan}'  thus  organized  and  controlled,  and 
closely  connected  with  a  bank  so  soon  ruined,  but  little  could  be 
hoped  for  a  colony  which  depended  on  good  management  to  de- 
velop its  real  resources  for  trade  and  agriculture.  In  1718,  colo- 
nists were  sent  from  Europe,  and  New  Orleans  laid  out  with 
much  ceremony  and  man}'  hopes;  but  in  January,  1722,  Charle- 
voix, writing  thence,  saj-s  :  "  If  the  eight  hundred  fine  houses, 
and  the  five  parishes,  that  were  two  years  since  represented  by 
the  journals  as  existing  here,  shrink  no'?  to  a  hundr  d  huts,  built 
without  order,  a  large  wooden  magazine,  two  or  three  houses  that 
would  do  but  little  credit  to  a  French  village,  and  half  of  an 
old  store  house,  which  was  to  have  been  occupied  as  a  chapel, 
but  from  which  the  priests  soon  retreated  to  a  tent,  as  preferfible; 
if  all  this  is  .so,  still  how  pleasant  to  think  of  what  this  city  will 
one  day  be,  and,  instead  of  weeping  over  its  decay  and  ruin,  to 
look  forward  to  its  growth  to  opulence  and  power."  And  again, 
"The  best  idea  you  can  form  of  New  Orleans,  is  to  imagine  two 


I' 

*        ;  ,,1 


i 

'A 

!   ;         1  -1 

^^^^K'^'' 

I 

li-i! 

104 


Tittle's  Centennial  Nostuwefst. 


hundred  persons  sent  to  build  a  city,  but  \vlio  have  encamped  on 
the  river  bank,  just  slieltercd  from  the  weather,  and  waiting  for 
houses.  They  have  a  beautiful  and  regular  plan  for  this  metrop- 
olis; but  it  will  prove  harder  to  execute  than  to  draw."  Such, 
in  substance,  w'crc  the  representations  and  hopes  of  the  wise  his- 
torian of  New  France,  respecting  the  capital  of  the  colony  of 
Law's  great  corporation  ;  and  it  may  be  certain  that  with  the 
chief  place  in  such  a  condition,  not  much  had  been  done  for  the 
permanent  improvenicnt  of  the  country  about  it.  The  truth  was, 
the  same  prodigality  and  foil}'-  which  prevailed  in  France  during 
the  government  of  John  Law,  over  credit  and  commerce,  found 
their  way  to  his  western  possessions ;  and  though  the  colony  then 
planted  survived,  and  the  city  then  founded  became  in  time  what 
had  been  hoped,  it  was  long  before  the  influence  of  tlie  gambling 
mania  of  1718,  1719  and  1720  passed  away.  Indeed  the  returns 
from  Louisiana  never  repaid  the  cost  and  trouble  of  protecting  it, 
and,  in  i7o2,  the  company  asked  leave  to  surrciulcr  their  privi- 
leges to  the  crown,  a  favor  which  was  granted  them." 

The  same  writer  informs  iis  that  "  Ujiper  Louisiana,  or  the  Illi- 
nois, was  probably  occupied  by  the  French,  without  interruption, 
from  the  time  of  tiie  first  visit  of  La  Salle,  in  1(579.  Of  neces- 
sity, their  missions  and  settlements  were  formed  along  the  routes 
of  travel  between  Canada  and  the  mouth  of  the  Mississi[)pi.  The 
only  mode  of  communication  used  was  by  canoes;  and  of  conse- 
quence only  the  navigable  rivers,  tributary  to  the  Mississippi  and 
to  the  St.  Lawrence,  interlocking  each  other,  were  explored. 
From  the  hostility  of  the  Iroquois,  the  earliest  missionaries  and 
traders  were  cut  oil  irom  the  lakes  Ontario  and  Erie;  and  their 
route  to  Superior  and  Green  Bay  was,  from  Montreal,  up  the  Ot- 
towa  river  to  lake  Nipissing,  and  down  the  Freiich  river  to  lake 
Huron.  The  route  followed  by  Marquette  was  from  ^Afaekinaw 
to  Green  Bay;  thence  uj)  the  Fox  river  of  Wisconsin  to  Winne- 
bago lake ;  thence  up  the  Waujiaca  to  a  portage  in  Portage 
county,  Wisconsin,  to  the  Wisconsin  river  and  to  the  Mississippi. 
The  route  followed  by  La  Salle  was  from  Niagara,  up  lakes 
Erie,  St.  Clair  and  Huron,  to  Mackinaw ;  thence  down  lake 
Michigan  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  St.  Josephs,  up  that  river  to 
a  portage  of  three  miles,  in  St.  Josephs  county,  Indiana,  to  the 


i 


EXPI.OIUTIOX  AXD  Sjrrri.L'MENT. 


10ft 


Kankakee  river;  tlieiicc  down  to  tlic  Illinois,  and  to  the  Missis- 
sippi. Another  route  was  established,  about  17in,  from  the  head 
of  lake  Erie  up  the  Maunice  to  the  site  of  Fort  Wayne;  thence 
by  a  portage  to  the  Waba^^h ;  thence,  by  way  of  that  river,  to 
the  Ohio  and  ^fississippi.  At  a  later  period  another  route  was 
opened.  It  passed  from  lake  Krie,  at  Prcsquille,  over  a  portage  of 
fifteen  miles  to  the  head  of  French  creek,  at  Waterford.  Pa.; 
thence  down  that  stream  to  the  Allegheny  and  to  the  Ohio. 
Along  these  lines  the  French  posts  were  confined  ;  and,  as  there 
were  no  agricultural  communities,  except  the  Illinois  settlement, 
in  the  west  during  the  whole  period  of  the  French  occupation, 
the  posts  were  either  trading  stations  or  forts,  built  for  the  j)ro- 
teetion  of  the  traders,  or  to  secure  the  French  asccndeuc}  over 
the  Indians.  At  the  most  northern  point  of  the  southern  j)enin- 
sula  of  Michigan,  and  nine  miles  southwest  of  the  island  of  that 
name.  La  Salle  founded  Fort  Mackinaw,  in  1079.  At  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  Josej)hs  river  he  built  Fort  Miami,  in  1679,  which  was 
burned,  however,  by  some  deserters  from  Tonti,  two  years  after- 
ward. In  lOSO,  he  built  Fort  Crc/ecamr  on  the  Illinois  river, 
near  the  site  of  Peoria.  In  the  same  year,  Touti  built  Fort  St. 
LoLii.s,  or  the  Hock  Fort,  in  La  Salle  county,  Illinois;  but  its  ex 
act  location  is  unknown.  These  posts  served  as  points  of  settle- 
ment for  the  traders  and  voyagers  who  followed  immediately  in 
the  track  of  La  Salle,  and  for  the  Jesuit  missionaries  that  accom- 
panied or  followed  him.  The  climate  and  soil  of  lower  Illinois 
were  inviting,  and  accordingly  the. first  settlements  were  made  in 
that  region.     The  exact  date  is  uncertain. 

"It  is  conjectured,  that  before  the  clo.se  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  traders  passed  dovvn  south  from  the  St,  Josephs  to  Eel 
river  and  Wabash ;  and  a  report  of  La  Salle  to  Fronteiiac,  made 
perhaps  in  1()82.  mentions  the  route  by  the  Maumee  and  Wabash, 
as  the  most  direct  to  the  Mississippi.  That  route  was  indeed  es- 
tablished in  171G  ;  but  of  the  date  of  the  settlements  on  the  lower 
Wabash,  there  is  no  certain  information.  The  uncertainty  that  is  - 
connected  with  the  settlement  of  Vincennes  is  a  case  in  point. 
Volney,  by  conjecture,  fi.xes  the  settlement  of  Vincennes  about 
1735;  Bishop  Brute,  of  Indiana,  speaks  of  a  missionary  station 
there  in  1700,  and  adds,  '  The  friendly  tribes  and  traders  called  to 


Tiry 


\  li- 

■1   -n  I 

•    u 

:.IM 

HI 


f 


106 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Xortiiwest. 


Catiiula  for  protection,  and  then  ^L  do  Vinccnncs  camo  with  a  ile- 
tachtncnt,  I  think,  of  Carignan,  and  wad  killed  in  1736.'  Mr. 
Bancroft  .sa3-s  a  military  establi-shnient  was  formed  there  in  1710, 
and,  in  1742,  a  settlement  of  lierd.smen  took  place.  Judge  Law 
regards  the  post  as  dating  back  to  1710  or  1711,  supposing  it  to 
be  the  same  with  the  Ohio  settlement,  and  quotes  also  an  Act  of 
Sale,  existing  at  Kaskaskia,  which,  in  January,  1735,  speaks  of 
M.  do  Vinsennc  as  'Comm.andant  uu  Poste  do  Ouabache.'  Again, 
in  a  ])etition  of  the  ohl  inhabitants  at  Yincennes,  dated  in  No- 
vember, 1703,  is  found  the  sctllemciit  spoken  of  as  having  been 
made  before  1742  ;  and  such  is  the  general  voice  of  tradition. 
On  the  other  hand,  Charlevoix,  wlio  records  the  death  of  Vincen- 
nes,  wiiich  took  place  among  the  Chickasaws,  in  1736,  makes  no 
mention  of  any  post  on  the  Wabash,  or  any  missionary  station 
there  ;  neither  does  he  mark  any  upon  his  map,  although  he  gives 
even  the  British  forts  upon  the  Tennessee  and  elsewhere.  Vivier, 
in  1750,  says  nothing  of  any  mission  on  the  Wabash,  although 
writing  in  respect  to  western  missions,  and  speaks  of  the  necessity 
of  a  fort  upon  the  'Ouabache.'  By  this,  it  is  true,  he  meant 
doubtless  the  Ohio,  but  how  natural  to  refer  to  the  post  at  Vin- 
cennes,  if  one  existed.  In  a  volume  of  'Memoircs'  on  Louisiana, 
compiled  from  the  minutes  of  M.  Dumont,  and  published  in  Paris, 
in  1753,  but  ])robably  prepared  in  1749,  though  there  is  a,i  ac- 
count of  the  Wabash  or  St.  Jerome,  its  rise  and  course,  and  the 
use  made  of  it  by  the  traders,  not  a  word  is  found  touching  any 
fort,  settlement  or  station  on  it.  Vaudreuil,  when  governor  of 
Louisiana,  in  1751,  mentions  even  then  no  post  on  the  Wabash, 
although  he  speaks  of  the  need  of  a  post  on  the  Ohio,  near  to 
where  Fort  Massac,  or  Massacre,  was  built  afterward,  and  names 
Fort  Miami  on  the  Maumee.  Still  further,  in  "  The  Present  State 
of  North  America,"  a  pamphlet  published  in  London,  in  1755, 
with  which  is  a  map  of  the  French  posts  in  the  west,  it  is  stated 
that,  in  1750,  a  fort  was  founded  in  Vincenncs,  and  that  in  1754, 
three  hundred  families  were  sent  to  settle  in  that  region."* 

The  company  of  the  west  was  formed  with  the  special  purpose 
of  developing  the  mineral  resources  of  Louisiana;  and  the  upper 
Louisiana  was  regarded  as  especially  rich  in  minerals.     To  open 
*  Western  Annals  —  Bancroft's  Ilistory  of  the  United  States. 


'!•<■■!  ' 


Tin:  FiiASca-UiuTisH  Colonial  Conflict. 


107 


and  work  tliem,  IMiilip  Francis  Eenault  was  sent  out,  in  1719, 
with  two  Imndrcd  mechanics,  miners  and  laborers.  On  his  way, 
Lo  bought,  in  the  name  of  the  company,  five  Imndrcd  slaves  at 
St.  Domingo,  for  working  the  mines,  and  arrived  at  the  Illinois 
in  1720.  This  was  the  first  introduction  of  slavery  into  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Northwest;  about  the  same  time  it  was  introduced 
into  the  southwest,  and  there  soon  acquired  a  permanent  estab- 
lishment. Of  course,  in  tiie  first  instance,  here  as  elsewhere,  it 
existed  without  law,  but  was  sanctioned  and  regulated  by  subse- 
quent legislation.  The '•  ordinance  for  the  government  and  ad- 
ministration of  justice,  police  discipline  and  trallio  in  negro 
slaves,  in  the  province  of  Louisiana,"  though  sufficiently  cruel  to 
disgiace  even  a  French  king  of  the  old  regime,  yet  compares  fa- 
vorably with  the  slave  codes  of  a  later  day. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


THE  FRANCO-BRITISH  COLONIAL  CONFLICT. 

French  Claims  to  all  Territory  Northwest  of  the  Ohio  —  English  Claims  to 
tlie  Same  Territory —  Measures  of  Both  Parties  to  Protect  their  Claimed 
Possessious  —  The  War  Clouds  Gathering  —  Military  3Iovement.s  —  En- 
glish, French  and  Indians. 

The  Fhencii,  however,  were  not  permitted  to  occupy  and  ex- 
tend their  western  settlements  without  opposition.  The  English 
who  occupied  the  Atlantic  seaboard  in  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  directed  their  attention  ♦^o  the  great  west,  and 
although  France  claimed  the  territory  by  t)ossession,  the  English 
disputed  their  professed  ownership.  Iii  1710,  Alexander  Siwts- 
wood,  the  governor  of  Virginia,  became  f'lly  awakened  as  to  the 
designs  of  the  French,  and  through  his  representations  the  assem- 
bly of  Virginia  was  brought  to  appropriate  money  to  explore  the 
Alleghanics,  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  a  suitable  passage  to 
the  valley  west  of  that  mountain  range.  An  expedition  was  suc- 
cessful in  carrying  out  the  designs  of  the  measure,  and  after  a 


^im 


•  .'I" 

I  > 

i  '  ^  ;  : 

t  ■ 


:■:■{ 


II 

fH^il 

1  m 

Ma^M 

108 


TuTTLE's  CeSTENNUL  NoHTini'EST. 


passage  was  tliscovcrecl,  scattering  Englirfhmen  began  to  ponetnito 
the  western  forests.  Colonization  companies  followed,  and  in  a 
short  time  there  were  several  settlements  on  the  Ohio.  These  opera- 
tions attracted  the  attention  of  the  l''reneh,  and  their  fears  wero 
nrouscd.  "  To  the  danger  of  the  Knglish  jiosse-ssions  in  the  west, 
Vandreuil,  the  French  governor,  had  been  long  alive.  Upon  tho 
10th  of  >ray,  174-1,  lie  wrote  home  representing  the  consequences 
that  must  come  from  allowing  the  British  to  build  a  trading- 
house  among  the  Creeks  ;  and,  in  November,  1748,  he  anticipated 
their  seizure  of  Fort  Prudhomme,  which  was  upon  the  Mississippi 
below  the  Ohio.  Nor  was  it  for  mere  siekl}'  mi.-^sionary  stations 
that  tho  governor  feared  ;  for,  in  the  year  last  named,  tho  Illinois 
settlements,  few  as  they  were,  sent  Hour  and  corn,  the  hams  of 
hogs  and  bears,  pickled  pork  and  beef,  myrtle  wa.v,  cotton,  tallow, 
leather,  tobacco,  lead,  iron,  copper,  some  little  bullalo  wool,  venison, 
poultry,  bear's  grease,  oil,  skins,  and  coarse  furs  to  the  New 
Orleans  market.  Even  in  17-10,  from  Jlvc  to  six  hundred  barrels 
of  flour,  according  to  one  authority,  and  two  thousand  according 
to  another,  'went  thither  from  Illinois,  convoys  annually  going 
down  in  December  with  the  produce.  Having  these  fears,  and 
seeing  the  danger  of  the  late  movements  of  the  British,  Gallisoniere, 
then  governor  of  Canada,  determined  to  place  along  the  Ohio, 
evidences  of  the  French  claim  to,  and  pos.session  of  the  country  ; 
and  for  that  purpose,  in  the  summer  of  1749,  sent  Louis  Celeron 
with  a  party  of  soldiers,  to  place  plates  of  lead,  on  which  were 
written  the  claims  of  France,  in  the  mound.s,  and  at  the  mouths 
of  the  rivers." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  inscription  on  the  plate  deposited 
at  Vanango :  "In  the  year  1749,  reign  of  Louis  XV,  king  of 
France,  we  Celeron,  commandant  of  a  detachment  by  Monsieur 
the  ^[arquis  of  Gallisoniere,  commander-in-chief  of  New  France, 
to  establish  tranquillity  in  certain  Indian  villages  of  these  cantons, 
have  buried  this  plate  at  the  confluence  of  the  Toradakoin,  this 
twenty-ninth  of  July,  near  the  river  Ohio,  otherwise  Beautiful 
River,  as  a  monument  of  renewal  of  possession  which  we  have" 
taken  of  the  said  river,  and  all  its  tributaries  ;  and  of  all  the  land 
on  both  sides,  as  far  as  the  sources  of  said  rivers  ;  inasmuch  as  the 
preceding  kings  of  France  have  enjoyed  it,  and  maintained  it  by 


inf 


■r? 


TiiK  Fit.isro-liniTisii  Colonial  Conflict. 


109 


tlicir  arms  ami  by  treaties;  especially  by  those  of  Ilyswiek, 
Utreeht,  and  Aix  La  ('liappclle." 

Oil  the  other  hand  tlio  lOiiglish  laid  claim  to  the  same  territory. 

The  Freiieli  labored  hard  to  make  good  their  title  to  the  valley 
of  the  Ohio,  and  took  active  steps  to  fortify  themselves  in  the 
possession  of  the  territory.  It  was  now  plain  that  the  Frcn^-h  and 
English  had  i.^irly  entered  into  a  contest  for  the  Mississippi  val- 
ley ;  a  contest  that  could  not  be  settled  save  by  an  appeal  to  the 
sword.  "  To  that,  however,"  says  an  early  writer,  "  neither  party 
desired  an  immediate  appeal,  but  both  sought  rather  to  establish 
and  fortify  their  interests,  and  to  conciliate  the  Indian  tribes.  In 
the  fall  of  1750,  the  Ohio  company  sent  out  Christopher  Gist  to 
explore  the  regions  west  of  the  mountains.  lie  was  instructed  to 
cxamiiu!  the  passes,  to  trace  tlic  courses  of  the  rivers,  to  mark  the 
the  falls,  to  seek  for  valuable  lands,  to  observe  the  strength,  and 
to  conciliate  the  friendship  of  the  Indian  tribes.  lie  visited  Logs- 
town,  where  he  was  received  with  jealousy,  passed  over  to  the 
[Muskingum,  where  ho  found  a  village  of  the  Ottawaa  friendly 
to  the  French,  and  a  village  of  the  Wyandots  divided  in  senti- 
ment. There  he  met  Croghan,  who  had  been  sent  out  by  Penn- 
sylvania, and  in  concert  tliey  held  a  council  with  the  chiefs,  and 
received  assurance  of  the  friendship  of  the  tribe.  Next,  they  pas- 
sed to  the  Shawnee  towns  on  the  Scioto,  received  assurances  of 
friendship  from  them,  and  then  crossed  the  [Miami  valley,  "  Noth- 
ing," said  they,  "is  wiinting  but  cultivation  to  make  it  a  most  de- 
lightful countr}'."  They  crossed-  the  Great  Miami  on  a  raft  of 
logs,  and  visited  Piqua,  the  chief  town  of  the  Piekawillanics,  and 
here  they  made  treaties  with  the  Piquas  and  representatives  of 
the  Weas  (Ouias),  and  Piankeshaws.  While  there,  a  deputation 
of  the  Ottawas  appeared  t(  solicit  an  alliance  of  the  Miami  con- 
federacy with  the  French.  "'hey  were  repulsed,  however,  by  the 
address  and  promises  of  the  English  agents,  and  the  chiefs  of  the 
tribe  sent  back  a  message  with  Gist,  that  their  friendship  should 
stand  like  the  mountains.  Croghan  returned,  Gist  followed  the 
Miami  to  its  mouth,  passed  down  the  Ohio  river  until  within  fif- 
teen miles  of  the  falls,  then  returned  by  way  cf  the  Kentucky 
river,  and  over  the  highlands  of  Kentucky  to  Virginia,  in  May, 
1751,  having  visited  the  Mingoes,  Delewares,  Wyandots,  Shaw- 


;    1    '■h\ 


U  L 


lit 


110 


Tuttle's  Centexxial  Northwest. 


anccs  and   ^liamis.  proposed  a  union  among  the  tribes,  and  ap- 
pointed a  general  council  at  Logstovvn,  to  form  an  alliance  among 
themselves  and  with  Virginia.     Meanwhile,  some  traders  had  es- 
tablished  themselves  at  Larimie's  store,  or  Pickawillany,  some 
forty-seven  miles  north  of  the  site  of  Dayton,  Ohio.     A  party  of 
French  and  their  Ottawa  and  Chippewa  allies  demanded  them  of 
the   Miami.s  as  unauthorized  intruders  on  French   lands.     The 
Miamis  refused,  a  battle  ensued,  fourteen  of  them  were  killed, 
the  traders  were  taken  and  carried  to  Canada,  or,  as  one  account 
says,  burned.     It  is  probable  those  traders  were  from  Pcnnsyl 
vania,  since  that  province  made  a  gift  of  condolence  to  the  Twig- 
twees  for  those  slain  in  their  defense.     Blood  had  now  been  shed, 
and  both  parties  became  more  deeply  interested  in  the  progress 
of  events  in  the  west.     The  English,  on  their  part,  determined  to 
purchase  from  the  Indians  a  title  to  the  lands  they  wished  to  oc- 
cupy, and,  in  the  spring  of  1752,  Messrs.  Fry,  Lomax  and  Patten, 
were  sent  from  Virginia  to  hold  a  conference  with  the   natives  at 
Logstown,  to  learn  what  th.ey  objected  to  in  the  treaty  of  Lancas- 
ter, of  which  it  was  said  they  complained,  and  to  settle  all  difRcul- 
ties.     On  the  9th  of  June,  the  commissioners  met  the  red  men  at 
Logstown,  a  little  village,  seventeen  miles  below  Pittsburgh,  upon 
the  right  bank  of  the   Ohio  descending'.     It  had  been   a  trading 
I)oint,.but  had  been  abandoned  by  the  Indians  in  1750.     Here  the 
Lancaster  treat}'  was  produced,  and  the  sales  of  the  western  lands 
insisted  upon  ;  but  the  chiefs  said  that-'  they  had  not  heard  of 
any  sale  west  of  the  warrior's  road,  which  ran  at  the  foot  of  the 
Alleghen}^  ridge.'     The  commissioners  then  oITcred  goods  for  a 
ratification  of  the  Lancaster  treaty  ;  spoke  of  the  proposed  settle- 
ment by  the  Ohio  Compan}' ;  and  used  all  their  persuasions  to 
secure  the  land  wanted.     On  the  lltli  of  June,  the  Indians  re- 
plied :     They  recognized  the  treaty  of  Lancaster,  and  the  author- 
ity of  the  Six  Nations  to  make  it,  but  denied  that  they  had  any 
knowledge  of  the  western  lands  being  conveyed  to  the  English  by 
that  deed,  and  declined  having  anything  to  do  with  the  treaty  of 
174:4.     '  However,' said  the  savages,  'as  the  French  have  already 
struck  the  Twigtwees,  we  shall  be  plea.sed  to  have  your  assistance 
and  protection,  and  wish  you  would  build  a  fort  at  once  at  the 
forks  of  the  Ohio.'     But  this  permission  was  net  what  the  Vir- 


\ 


The  FnAXCG-BniTisH  Coloxtal  Conflict. 


Ill 


ginians  wanted;  tlicy  took  aside  ^Nfontour,  the  interpreter,  wlio 
was  a  son  of  the  famous  Catharine  Montour,  and  a  chief  amon<:j 
the  Six  Nations,  and  persuaded  him  to  'isc  liis  iniluence  w'"th  his 
fellows.  By  that  means  they  were  induced  to  treat,  and  upon  the 
13th  of  June,  they  all  united  in  signing  a  deed,  confirming  the 
Lancaster  treaty  in  its  full  extent,  consenting  to  a  settlement 
southeast  of  the  Ohio,  and  covenanting  that  it  should  not  be  dis- 
ti'vbed  by  them.  By  such  means  was  obtained  the  first  treaty 
witli  'the  Indians  in  the  Ohio  valley." 

And  now  while  all  was  at  peace  in  Europe  between  France  and 
England,  events  in  the  west  were  shaping  for  a  contest  between 
the  colonies.  While  the  English  were  surveying  the  country  on 
the  Ohio,  laying  out  a  town  and  preparing  for  the  settlement  of 
the  country,  the  French  were  gathering  cannon  and  stores  upon 
lake  Erie,  and  disregarding  treaties,  were  b'.sily  at  work  gaining 
the  good  will  and  wishes  of  the  natives.  But  during  all  this 
time  the  Indians,  for  the  most  part,  were  unable  to  comprehend 
the  cause  for  a  onarrel  between  the  European' colonists.  The 
French  became  very  industrious  in  their  work  of  fortif^dng  the 
country.  They  built  a  line  of  forts  from  lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio. 
These  were  I'l^csfpiile,  Lc  Bceuf  and  Yanango.  In  May,  1753, 
the  governor  of  Pennsylvania  called  the  atfentionof  the  assembly 
of  that  state  to  the  movements  of  the  French.  That  body  there- 
upon voted  six  hundred  pounds  for  distribution  among  the 
tribes,  besides  two  hundred  for  presents  of  condolence  to  the 
Tvvigtwee?. 

From  this  time  the  Fi'ench  regarded  the  English  as  encroacliing 
upon  their  territory,  and  the  latter  looked  upon  the  advancing 
settlements  of  the  former  with  precisely  the  same  feelings.  It  was 
during  this  eonditi  m  of  things  on  the  frontiers,  and  while  the 
hostile  feeling  thus  i)revailed,  that  George  "Washington,  then  in 
his  twenty-second  year,  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Dinwiddie  to  visit 
the  western  outposts,  demand  of  the  French  commandant  his  de- 
signs, and  to  observe  the  extent  and  disposition  of  his  forces. 
AVashington  was  informed  by  the  French  authorities  in  the  west, 
that  they  eonsideir  1  themselves  the  rightful  owners  of  the  coun- 
try, and  that  they  would  not  yield  it  to  any  authority.  This. in- 
telligence aroused  the  anger  of  the  provinces,  and  measures  con- 


■^ 


112 


Tittle's  Centexnial  Northwest. 


m 


sistoiit  \\h\i  iiij^tructions  fron)  the  British  colonial  secretary  were 
taken  to  repel  the  French,  who  were  already  pushing  their  stock- 
ades fur  u])  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  The  legislating  authorities  of 
tiic  several  provinces  were  slow  to  provide  the  necessary  meas- 
ures, a  number  of  questions  coming  up  to  hinder  the  progress  of 
their  work.  Boundaries  were  indefinite,  and  some  were  disposed 
to  admit  the  clairas  of  the  French.  Xevertheless  the  necessary 
measures  \\s.rc  at  length  carried  throueh,  at  least  in  some  of  the 
provinces.  }.!eanwhile,  the  French  forces  were  gathering  in  the 
western  forests,  and  all  along  the  border  the  scene  was  one  of  com- 
motion and  pi'cparation  for  battle. 

During  this  time  Gov.  Hamilton,  in  Pliiladelphia,  had  sum- 
moned the  assembly,  ''and  asked  them  if  they  meant  to  help  the 
king  in  the  defense  of  his  dominions;  and  had  desired  them, 
above  all  things,  to  do  whatever  thc\"  meant  to  j)erform,  (|uickly. 
The  assemblv  debated,  and  resolved  to  ai<  the  kinsi;  with  a  little 
mone}^,  and  tl.cn  debated  again,  and  voted  not  to  aid  him  with 
any  monej'  at  all,  for  some  would  not  give  less  than  ten  thousand 
pounds,  and  others  would  not  give  more  than  live  thousand 
pounds;  and  so,  nothing  being  practicable,  they  adjourned  upon 
the  10th  of  April,  until  the  loih  of  May.  In  New  Yt)rk,  a  little, 
and  only  a  little,  better  spirit  was  at  work;  nor  was  this  strange, 
as  hpr  direct  interest  was  much  less  than  that  of  rennsylvunia. 
Five  thousand  pounds,  indeed,  were  voted  to  Viiginia  ;  but  the 
assembly  questioned  the  invasion  of  his  majesty's  dominions  by 
the  French,  and  it  was  not  till  June  that  the  money  was  sent  for- 
^vard.  The  old  dominion,  however,  was  all  alive.  As,  under  the 
provincial  law,  the  militia  could  not  be  called  forth  to  march 
mr  re  than  live  miles  bejond  the  bounds  of  the  colon}',  and  as  it 
was  doubtful  if  the  French  were  in  Virginia,  it  was  determined  to 
rely  upon  volunteers.  Ten  thousand  pounds  had  been  voted  by 
the  assembly;  so  the  two  companies  were  now  increased  to  si.x, 
and  Washington  was  rai.sed  to  the  raidc  of  lieutenant  colonel,  and 
made  second  in  command  under  Joshua  Fry.  Ten  cannon,  lately 
from  England,  were  forwarded  from  Alexandria ;  wagons  were 
got  ready  to  carry  westward,  provisions  and  stores  Lhrough  the 
heavy  spring  roads  ;  and  everywhere  along  ihc  Potomac  men  were 
enlisting  under  the  governor's  proclamation,  which  promised  to 


«i 


m  %^ 


i  ^i' 


Vi 


r 


i 


those  t 
of  laiK 
gmvo  1 
oil  tlic 
king  li;i 
were  g;i 
crock, 
fortj-oi: 
tliat  poi 
lookiiu 
no  cneii 
an  old 
the  new- 
ten  mile 
that  will 
was  ri,«iii 
tlie  valle 
liad  chai' 
three  hu 
noil  and  i 
imniediat 
advice  of 
iiig  him 
his  feeble 
was  alike 
the  next i 
AVhcii 
ingtoii.    h 
inarch  to 
Maryland 
tlie  'Jth  of 
the  I'Vcnc 
time  Fivn 
the  Indian 
27t!i,  Wa: 
then  lived 
of  French 
was  also  ii 


The  Fji^iXco-Bjutisii  Coloxul  Conflict. 


113 


those  that  should  serve  in  that  war,  two  liundrod  thousand  acres 
of  land  on  the  Ohio;  or,  already  enlisted,  were  gatheiing  into 
grave  knots,  or  marching  forward  to  the  field  of  action,  or  helping 
on  the  thirty  cannon  and  eighty  barrels  of  gunpowder,  which  the 
king  had  sent  out  for  the  western  forts.     Along  the  Potomac  they 
were  gathering,  as  far  as  to  Wills'  creek,  and  far  beyond  Wills' 
creek,  whither  Trent  had  come  for  assistance  ;  his  little  band  of 
forty-one  men  was  working  away,  in  hunger  and  want,  to  fortify 
that  point  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio,  to  which  both  parties  were 
looking  with  dee})  interest.     A  few  Indian  scouts  were  seen,  but 
Tio  enemy  seemed  near  at  hand  :  and  all  was  so  quiet  that  Frazier, 
an  old  Indian  trader,  who  had  been  left  by  Trent  in  command  of 
the  new  fort,  ventured  to  his  home  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle  creek, 
ten  miles  up  the  Monongahcla.     But,  though  all  was  so  quiet  in 
that  wilderness,  keen  e3-eri  had  seen  the  low  entrenchment  that 
was  rising  at  the  forks,  and  swift  feet  had  borne  the  news  of  it  up 
the  valley  ;  and,  upon  the  17th  of  April,  Ensign  Ward,  who  then 
had  charge  of  it,  was  astonished  at  the  sight  of  sixty  batteaux  and 
three  hundred  canoes,  filled  with  men,  and  laden  deep  with  can- 
non and  stores,  on  the  Allegheny.    The  commandant,  Contrecanir, 
immediately  sent  in  a  summons  to  surrender  the  fort.     By  the 
advice  of  the  half  king.  Ward  sought  to  evade  a  reply,  by  referr- 
ing him  to  his  superior,  Frazier.     It  was  in  vain  ;  resistance  by 
his  feeble  band  bcliind  u.Tini.shed  works,  against  a  thousand  men, 
was  alike  useless;  and  Ensign  Ward  surrendered  his  works,  and 
the  next  day  passed  up  the  Monongiihcla." 

When  the  news  of  the  surrender  uf  the  Forks  reached  Wash- 
imi'ton.  he  was  at  Wills'  creek,  with  three  comoanies,  on  his 
march  to  llcdslonc.  He  sent  back  to  Pcnn.sylvania,  Virginia  and 
Maryland  for  reinforcements,  and  advanced  to  Eedstone.  On 
the  i)th  of  May  he  reached  Little  ^Meadows,  where  he  learned  that 
the  French  had  been  reinforced  by  eight  hundred  men.  At  this 
time  French  spies  and  agents  were  scouring  the  forests,  bribing 
the  Indians  and  observing  the  operations  of  the  English.  On  the 
27th,  AVashington  arrived  at  Great  ^leadows,  wh.ere  Gist,  who 
then  lived  on  Eedstone  creek,  informed  him  that  a  scouting  party 
of  French  had  been  at  his  house  the  day  previous.  Washington 
was  also  informed  that  the  French  were  encamped  in  force  not 


i 


I 


lU 


Tittle's  Cextennial  Northwest. 


far  distant,  and  lie  hastened  to  join  a  party  of  friendly  Indians 
against  them.  The  French  were  discovered  in  an  obscure  place, 
surrounded  by  rocks.  The  English  and  Indians  arrayed  for  an 
attack.  The  French  discovering  their  ajiproaeh,  ran  to  their 
arms;  a  conflict  ensued.  "The  firing  lastetl  about  liftccn  min- 
utes, when  the  French  surrendered ;  Jumonville,  their  comman- 
der, and  ten  of  his  men,  were  slain,  twenty-two  were  taken  pris- 
oners, one  escaped  and  carried  the  tidings  of  the  skirmish  to  Fort 
du  Quesne.  Washington's  loss  was  one.  man  killed  and  two 
wounded.  The  Indians  received  no  loss.  The  French  aftcrwirds 
claimed  that  this  was  an  unauthorized  attack ;  and  that  Jumon- 
ville was  sent  in  the  character  of  an  ambassador,  to  warn  the 
English  to  depart  from  lands  claimed  by  them.  The  c-  .urn- 
stances  of  the  case,  however,  proved  the  fact  that  they  concealed 
themselves,  and  rcconnoitered  Washington's  camp ;  and  the  fact 
that  they  had  instruction  from  Contrcca.'ur  with  tliem  to  examine 
the  country  as  far  as  the  Potomac,  is  appealed  to  by  him  as  the 
proof  that  they  were,  as  he  had  been  informed,  not  messengers, 
but  spies,  and  hence  enemies,  according  to  the  usages  of  war. 
Deserters  from  Fort  du  Quosnc,  who  afterward  joined  Washing- 
ton, confirmed  the  fact  that  Jumonville  and  his  party  were  sent 
as  spies,  and  directed  to  show  a  summons  which  they  bore,  only 
if  the}''  were  overpowered.  Washington  immediately  returned  to 
the  Great  Meadows,  and  threw  up  a  fortification,  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  of  Fort  Necessity,  and  then  proceeded  to  cut  a 
road  through  the  wilderness  to  Gist's  plantation." 

After  this,  Washington,  with  his  provincials,  retired  to  Great 
Meadows,  where  they  strengthened  the  little  fortification  that  had 
been  erected  there,  and  prepared  to  make  a  bold  stand  against  the 
French,  who  were  understood  to  be  approaching  in  great  num- 
bers. On  the  third  of  ^lay,  1754,  the  French  and  Indians  ap- 
peared and  commenced  an  attack  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  rain. 
This  they  continued  until  late  the  following  evening,  when  terms 
of  capitulation  were  agreed  upon,  and  Washington  retired  to 
Wills'  creek,  where,  immediately  afterwards,  Fort  Cumberland 
was  erected. 


-ppf 


The  Franco-British  Colonial  Conflict. 


115 


CHAPTER    X.      ' 

THE  FRANCO.BltlTISII  COLONIAL  CONFLICT. 

French  and  English  Colonics  Preparing  for  War  —  Tlie  Contest  —  The  Fall 
of  Canada — Taking  Possession  of  the  Western  Outposts — Pontiac  Ap- 
pears. 

A1.TI10UGII  THE  year  of  1755  opened  with  promises  of  peace,  it 
soon  brought  results  of  war.  France,  in  January,  proposed  to  re- 
store everything  to  the  state  it  was  in,  before  the  last  war,  and  to 
refer  all  claims  to  the  commissioners  at  Paris,  to  which  Endand, 
on  the  22d  of  the  same  month,  replied  that  the  west  of  North 
America  must  be  left  as  it  was  at  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  "  On  the 
Gth  of  February,  France  made  answer,  that  the  old  English  claims 
in  America  were  untenable;  and  offered  a  new  ground  of  com- 
promise, tliAt  the  English  should  retire  east  of  the  Allcghenies, 
and  the  French,  west  of  the  Ohio.  This  offer  was  long  considered, 
and  at  length  was  agreed  to  by  England,  on  the  7th  of  March, 
provided  the  French  would. destroy  all  their  forts  on  the  Ohio  and 
its  branches  ;  which  the  French  government  refused  to  do.  While 
all  this  negotiation  was  going  on,  other  things  had  also  been  in 
motion.  Gen.  Braddoek,  with  his  gallant  troops,  crossed  the  At- 
lantic, and,  on  the  20th  of  February,  landed  in  Virginia,  com- 
mander-in-chief of  all  the  land  forces  in  America;  and  in  the 
north,  preparation  was  made  for  an  attack  on  Crown  Point  and 
Niaga'  ..  In  France,  too,  other  work  had  been  done  than  negoti- 
ation ;  at  Brest  and  llochclle,  shijts  were  fitting  out.  awl  troops 
and  stores  being  collected.  England  had  not  been  asleep,  and 
Boscawen  had  been  busy  at  Plymouth,  hurrying  on  the  workmen, 
anel  gathering  the  sailors.  In  March,  the  two  European  neigh- 
bors were  seeking  to  quiet  all  troubles ;  in  April,  the  fleets  of 
both  were  crowding  sail  acres  the  Atlantic,  and,  in  Alexandria, 
liraddoek,  Shirley,  and  their  fellow  ofiiccrs,  were  taking  counsel 
as  to  the  summer's  campaign.     In  America,  four  jxjints  were  to 


11 M' 


r^fT 


H 


K 


11 


116 


TuTTLffs  Centennial  XonriDrEST. 


be  attacked :  Fort  Du  Qucsnc,  Crown  Point,  Niagara,  and  the 
French  posts  in  Nova  Scotia.  On  the  20th  oE  April,  Braddoek 
left  Alexandria  to  march  upon  Du  Qucsnc,  whither  he  was  ex- 
pressly ordered,  though  the  officers  in  America  thought  New 
York  should  be  the  main  point  for  regular  operations.  The  ex- 
l)cditioii  for  Nova  Scotia,  consisting  of  three  thousand  ^lassachu- 
sctts  men,  left  Boston  on  the  20th  of  May ;  while  the  troops 
which  Gen.  Shirley  was  to  lead  against  Niagara,  and  the  provin- 
cials which  William  Johnson  was  to  head  in  the  attack  upon 
Crown  Point,  slowly  collected  at  Albany.  The  fearful  and  de- 
sponding colonists  waited  anxiously  for  news  till  midsummer ; 
and,  when  the  news  came  that  Nova  Scotia  had  been  conquered, 
and  that  Boseawen  had  taken  two  of  the  French  men  of  war,  and 
lay  before  Louisburg,  hope  and  joy  spread  everywhere."  But 
this  rejoicing  was  soon  crushed  by  news  of  Braddock's  defeat. 
"  The  defeat  of  Braddoek,  and  the  failure  of  the  expedition,  left 
the  whole  western  frontier  of  the  English  colonics  exposed  to  the 
hostile  incursions  of  the  French  and  Indians.  At  that  time  the 
Avcstern  settlements  extended  only  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna, the  Potomac,  the  Shenandoah,  James  and  Roanoke 
rivers.  Settlements,  indeed,  had  been  made  between  17-15  and 
1750,  near  the  sources  of  the  Cumberland,  Clinch,  and  IIoLstou 
rivers'.  These  were  broken  up,  and  the  settlers  compelled  to  re- 
tire be3-ond  the  mountains,  by  the  Cherokecs.  The  valley  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  was  desolated  by  theShawanees,  and  to  avenge  their 
inroads  in  Virginia,  Gov.  Dinwiddle,  in  January,  1756,  dispatched 
Col.  Lewis  to  destroy  their  towns  on  the  Scioto,  and  to  build  a 
fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Sandy,  as  a  barrier  against  their 
incursions." 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  doings  of  1755  were  not  peaceful ; 
nevertheless,  war  had  not  yet  been  declared,  nor  was  it  until  May 
following.  The  whole  northwestern  frontier  was  now  let  loose, 
and  French  and  Indians  roamed  in  search  of  conquest.  The 
cause  of  England  languished  in  the  northwest,  as  elsewhere,  until 
the  great  Pitt  was  made  prime  minister  of  Great  Britain.  In  the 
year  1758  there  was  a  great  revival  of  English  forces,  and  on  sea 
and  on  land,  Britain  regained  what  she  had  lost.  In  North  America, 
Louisburg  yielded  before  Boscavren,  Fort  Frontenac  was  taken 


hy  Brad.-^ 
of  Forbci 
When 
terinined, 
French  ii 
over  the 
was  Chri: 
years  anu 
He  was 
neutral  si 
Entilish. 
the  Frcnc 
favorable 
struggle  o 
and  the  cc 
Withou 
})lannod  e> 
that,  with 
British  ga 
of  North  J. 
after  the  s 
"  the  famil 
Spain,  in  v 
los.se.s,  in  tl 
peso   the  g 
war  only  c 
ingly  ncgot 
1702,  i.rclii 
ficd  at  Pa 
Havana,  Sj^ 
West  Flor 
family  com 
west  of  the 
The  war 
reduced.    C 
the  victoric 
take   posses 
obt,Jnately 


The  FitAxco-BniTisir  Colonial  Conflict. 


117 


b_y  Bradstrcct,  [intl  Da  Qucsnc  was  alKiinloiiod  upon  the  approach 
of  J<\)rbcs  tlirougli  Pennsylvania. 

Wlieu  tlie  expedition  under  Forbes  lirst  set  out,  thcEngbsli  dc- 
tennined,  besides  sending  niilitary  forecs  into  tlic  northwest  to  repel 
Freneh  insolence,  to  send  emissaries  for  the  purpose  of  winning 
over  tlie  Indians  to  the  English  cause.  The  first  of  these  sent 
was  Christian  Frederick  Post,  a  man  who  had  lived  seventeen 
years  among  the  Indians,  and  who  had  married  one  of  the  natives. 
lie  was  quite  successful.  Many  tribes  were  induced  to  take  a 
neutral  stand,  and  others  were  })crsuadcd  to  take  sides  with  the 
Engli.sli.  However,  the  success  of  the  British  in  1758,  in  driving 
the  French  and  their  allies  from  Du  Quesne,  and  in  making  a 
favorable  im})rcssion  on  the  natives,  opened  the  way  for  the  great 
struggle  of  1750,  which  terminated  with  the  fall  of  all  Canada, 
and  the  complete  reduction  of  French  power  in  America. 

"Without  attempting  to  give  here  an  account  of  the  three  well 
planned  expeditions  against  Canada  in  1759,  it  will  suffice  to  say 
that,  with  the  fall  of  Wolfe,  the  French  were  defeated,  and  the 
British  gained  the  supremacy  in  the  wliolo  of  the  northern  part 
of  North  America.  Negotiations  for  peace  followed  immediately" 
after  the  surrender  of  Canada.  They  were  not  successful,  and 
"the  family  compact"  was  entered  into  between  France  and 
Spain,  in  wliich  both  parties  were  bound  to  share  and  balance  all 
losses,  in  the  war  which  it  was  declared  was  to  be  waged  to  op- 
pose the  growing  power  of  England.  The  continuance  of  the 
war  only  contributed  to  the  successes  of  England,  and  accord- 
ingly negotiations  were  reopened,  and  on  the  third  of  November, 
17(52,  preliminaries  were  agreed  to  and  signed,  and  afterward  rati- 
fied at  Paris,  in  February,  1763.  To  secure  the  restoration  of 
Havana,  Spain  was  obliged  to  cede  to  Great  Britain  East  and 
"West  Florida.  To  compensate  Spain,  under  the  terms  of  the 
family  compact,  France  ceded,  by  a  secret  article,  all  Louisiana 
west  of  the  ^Mississippi,  to  Spain. 

The  war  had  now  ceased,  and  the  French  had  been  completely 
reduced.  Canada,  with  all  its  dependencies,  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  victorious  English,  but  it  still  remained  for  the  English  to 
take  possession  of  the  western  outposts  where  the  French  still 
obtJnately  remained,  and  where  they  were  supported  by  power- 


i 


111 


!   Ii 


1 


118 


Tuttle's  CENTEyyiAL  XonrrnvEST. 


II 


I! 


fs  : 


fill  Indian  tribes,  hostile  to  the  British,  ami  still  friendly  to  the 
overpowered  Frenchmen.     Tliis  was  by  no  means  an  easy  task. 
It  was  obviously  a  dangerous  undertaking  "  to  extend  the  author- 
ity of  England  over  the  uncivilized  regions  of  the  west,  to  allay 
the  hostilit}'  and  conciliate  the  friendship  of  its  barbarous  inhabi- 
tants, and  thus  to  secure  what  they  had  so  liurdly  earned  —  the 
blessings  of  peace  to  tlie  exhausted  colonies,  and  the  fruits  of  its 
great  conquest  to  the  English  crown.     The  great  importance  of 
the  work  was  overlooked   by  those  to  whom  its  execution  was 
intrusted.     On  the  12lh  of  September,  17G0,  Major  liobert  Rog- 
ers  received  orders  from   Gen.   Amherst,    to  ascend    the  lakes, 
and  talvc  ix)ssess;ou  of  the  French  fort  in  the  northwest,     llogers 
was  well  litted  for  the  task.     On  the  borders  of  New  Hampshire, 
with  Putnam  and  Stark,  he  had  earned  a  great  reputation  as  a 
partisan  oflicer;  and  liogers'  rangers,  armed  with  rifle,  tomahawk 
and  knife,  had  rendered  much  service,  and  won  a  great  name. 
Later,  that  reputation  wiis  tarnished  by  greater  crimes.    Tried  for 
an  attempt  to  betray  Afackinaw  to  the  Spaniards,  he  abandoned 
the  country,  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Dey  of  Algiers.     At 
the  war  of  independence,  lie  enteicd  the  American  service,  was 
detected  as  a  spy,  passed  over  to  the  British,  and  was  banished 
by  an  act  of  his  native  state.     Such  was  ihe  man  who  was  sent 
to  plant  the  British  fiag  in  the  great  valley.     Immediately  upon 
receiving  his  orders,  he  set  out  to  ascend  the  St.  Lawrence  with 
two  hundred  men  in  fifteen  boata    On  the  7th  of  November  they 
landed  at  the  mouth  of  Cuyahoga  creek.    IIci''  they  were  met  by 
a  party  of  Indians,  who  were  dej)utcd  to  them  to  say  that  Pontiae, 
the  great  chief  of  the  Ottawas,  was  near,  and  to  demand  that  they 
should  advance  no  further  till  they  should  receive  his  permission. 
During  the  day  the  great  chief  appeared,  and  imperiously  de- 
manded why  the  army  was  there  without  his  consent,     llogers 
replied  that  Canada  had  been  conquered,  and  that  he  was  on  his 
way  to  occupy  the  French   posts,  and  to  restore  peace  to  the 
Indians.     Pontiae  only  replied  that  he  would  stand  in  his  path 
till  morning.     On   the  next  day  he  delivered  a  formal  re]jly  to 
the  English  officer,  that  ho  consented  to  live  at  peace  with  the 
English  as  long  as  they  treated  him  with  due  deference.     The, 
calumet  was  smoked,  and  an  alliance  made.    Pontiae  accompanied 


T^ 


BoRDEii  Wars. 


110 


liis  new  fricinls  to  Detroit.  On  the  way  a  Land  of  Indians,  sent 
out  by  the  governor  of  Detroit,  were  waiting  to  destroy  them. 
Tiic  influence  of  Pontiac  was  interposed,  and  tlie  lioatile  Indians 
were  indueed  to  ally  themselves  with  the  English.  A  messenger 
was  dispatched  to  Beletrc,  the  governor,  to  demand  the  surrender 
of  Detroit.  lie  refused,  avowed  his  intention  to  defend  the  post, 
and  .nought  to  arouse  the  Indians.  It  was  in  vain.  Ilogers  ar- 
rived below  the  village.  Captain  Campbell  was  dispatched  with 
an  order  from  Vaudreuil,  commanding  the  surrender,  and  Beletro 
was  compelled  to  obey.  On  the  29th  of  November,  17G0,  tiio 
colors  of  France  were  taken  down,  and  the  royal  standard  of 
]']ngland  ])lantcd  within  the  fort ;  and  the  garrison  and  iidiabi- 
tants,  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  Indians,  who  looked  on  the  strange 
scene  with  mingled  awe  of  the  English  power,  and  astonislunei:t 
at  their  forbeai'ance.  The  lateness  of  the  season  prevented  fur- 
ther operations,  but  early  in  the  next  year,  Mackinaw,  Green 
Bay,  Ste  Marie,  St.  Jose})lis,  and  Ouiatenon  were  surrendered, 
and  nothing  remained  to  the  French  but  the  settlements  of  the 
Illinois."*  For  a  time  after  the  occupancy  of  these  western  out- 
posts by  the  British,  tlic  Indians  eithei*  remained  neutral  or  were 
confessed  friends  to  the  British  interests,  but  through  the  inso- 
lence of  the  English,  and  the  misrepresentations  of  the  French, 
they  were  soon,  as  we  shall  see,  in  arms  against  them. 


CIIAPTER  XI. 

BORDER  WARS. 

A  Review  of  the  Western  Outposts  in  1759 —  Condition  of  tlie  Imlian  Tribes — 
Slictch  of  rontinc— History  of  the  Pontiac  War  — Slcetcli  of  the  Fall 
of  the  Nine  Western  Outposts. 

Let  us  pause  in  the  current  of  events  to  glance  at  the  western 
outposts,  or  tlic  northwest,  in  1700,  when  the  British  took  jiosses- 
sion  of  the  territory.     "One  vast,  continuous  forest,"  says  Francis 

*  Compiled  from  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  and  from  Peck's  and 
Perkins'  compilations.  * 


my\' 


120 


TlTTLf's  CfS'TENXIAL  NoiiTnWEST. 


Purkman,  "sliadowcJ  the  fertile  soil,  covering  the  land  as  the 
grass  covers  the  garden  lawn,  sweeping  over  hill  and  hollow,  in 
endless  i  idulation,  bnryiiig  mountains  in  verdure,  and  niantling 
"brooks  and  river;-  from  the  liyht  of  day.  Green  intervals  doited 
with  browsing  deer,  and  broad  jjlains  blackeneil  with  bullalo, 
broke  the  sameness  of  the  woodland  seenery.  Unnumbered  rivers 
seamed  the  forest  with  their  devious  windings.  Vast  lakes  washed 
its  boundaries,  wdiero  the  Indian  voyager,  in  his  birch  canoe, 
could  descry  no  land  beyond  the  world  of  waters.  Yet  this  pro- 
lific wilderness,  teeming  with  waste  fertility,  was  but  a  hunting 
ground  and  a  battle  field  to  ti  few  fierce  hordes  of  savages.  Here 
and  there,  in  some  rich  meadow  opened  to  the  sun,  the  Indian 
squaws  turned  the  black  mold  with  their  rude  implements  of 
bone  or  iron,  and  sowed  their  scanty  stores  of  maize  and  beans. 
Human  labor  drew  no  other  tribute  from  that  ine.\haustable  soil." 
The  population,  consisting  almost  entirely  of  Indians,  was  so  thin 
and  scattered  that  sometimes  one  might  travel  for  whole  weeks 
Avithout  meeting  a  human  form.  Kentucky  was  but  a  '".^kirmi.sh- 
ing  ground  for  the  hostile  tribes  of  the  north  and  south  ;  "  while 
in  many  parts  of  the  lake  region  hundreds  of  square  miles  were 
inhabited  only  by  wild  beasts.  At.  the  clo.se  of  the  French  war, 
the  Indian  population  of  the  who'c  Viorthwest  did  not  exceed  thir- 
ty thousand.  Out  of  this  number  there  were  not  more  than  ten 
thousand  fighting  men.  Yet  tlii".  trmy,  when  detached  and  .scat- 
tered after  the  Indian  customs  of  warfare,  was  all  that  the  English 
could  master.  The  condition  of  the  savages  had  changed,  al- 
though, perhap.s,  it  was  but  little  improved.  Onondaga,  the  cap- 
ital of  the  Iroquois,  where  their  council  fires  had  been  kindled 
from  time  out  of  mind,  w^as  no  longer  a  place  of  great  importance. 
The  ancient  council  house  of  bark  was  still  to  be  seen,  but  its 
deserted  appearance  bespoke  the  fall  of  the  Six  Nation.s.  Their 
other  villages  presented  a  similar  spectacle.  Everywhere  civili- 
zation had  w^orked  evil  foi"  the  savages.  It  was  true  that  the  use 
of  firearms  aided  them  in  the  chase,  but  all  the  advantage  of  the 
arts  could  not  atone  for  the  evils  of  rum.  "  High  up  the  Susque- 
hanna were  seated  the  Northcokes,  Conoys,  and  Mohicans,  with  a 
portion  of  the  Delawares.  Detached  bands  of  the  western  Iro- 
quois dwelt  upon  the  headwaters  of  the  Alleghenj^,  mingled  with 


in 


their  nei;. 
this  streai 
upon  the 
tercd  tow 
one  large 
ed  to  fi'sti 

Along 
westward 
the  Miui 
early  met 
of  drinkii 
degenerac 
adapted  it; 
than  the  A 
iJutroit,  an 
tidy  ai)p'';i 
try,  ami  th 
settlement- 
strip  of  la 
time  Albav 
from  this  \) 
or  the  wild, 
These  hare 
!Mohawk,  p 
and  Fort  W 
the  river  n 
creek,  carrj 
following  il 
this  point 
western  ex 
Fort  Brew 
town  of  the 
vast  naviga 

The  prin 
try  was  fro 
and  descem 
been  establ 
fur  traders 


lioitDEU    WaHS. 


12i 


their  neighbors,  the  Dcliiwarcs,  who  liad  several  villages  upon 
this  stream.  The  great  body  of  the  latt<M'  nation,  however,  lived 
upon  the  Beaver  ei'ceks  and  the  ^[uskingnin  in  numerous  scat- 
tered towns  and  hamlets."  In  each  village  might  have  been  seen 
one  large  building  of  better  style  than  the  rest.  This  was  devot- 
ed to  festivals,  dances,  and  public  meetings. 

Along  the  Scioto  were  the  lodges  of  the  Shawanocs.  To  the 
westward,  along  the  bai:'.  s  of  the  Wabash  and  the  Maiimee  dwelt 
the  Miamis.  The  Illinois  were  scattered  and  dcgrad(;d.  Having 
early  met  the  French  traders,  they  became  addicted  to  the  habit 
of  drinking,  and  soon  sank  from  their  native  purity  into  a  wretched 
degeneracy.  There  was  no  tribe  in  the  whole  lake  region  which 
adapted  itself  to  the  customs  of  civiii>cation  with  belter  results 
than  the  Wj'andot  family.  At  this  time  their  villages  along  the 
Detroit,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Sandusky,  presented  a  clean  and 
tidy  appf'arancc.  They  were  husbandmen  of  considerable  indus- 
try, and  their  name  ranked  high  in  war  and  policy.  The  English 
settlements  were  scattered  along  the  eastern  seaboard  on  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  bordered  on  the  west  by  a  dense  forest.  At  this 
time  Albany,  N.  Y.,  was  by  far  the  largest  frontier  town.  It  was 
from  this  place  that  traders  or  soldiers  bound  for  the  lake  region, 
or  the  wilds  of  the  great  west,  set  out  on  their  hazardous  journey. 
These  hardy  adventurers  would  embark  in  a  cunoc,  ascend  the 
Mohawk,  ]Kiss  the  old  dutch  town  of  Schenectady,  Fort  Hunter 
and  Fort  Herkimer,  finally  reaching  Fort  Stanwix,  at  tlie  head  of 
the  river  navigation.  Tlicy  would  then  pass  overland  to  Wood 
creek,  carrying  their  canoes.  Here  they  would  embark,  and  by 
following  its  winding  course,  arrive  at  the  Royal  Blockhouse.  At 
this  point  tlic}-  entered  the  waters  of  the  Oneida.  Crossing  its 
western  extremity,  and  })assing  under  the  w^ooden  ramparts  of 
Fort  Brewerton,  they  would  descend  the  river  Osweao,  to  the 
town  of  the  same  name,  on  the  banks  of  lake  Ontario.  Here  the 
vast  navigation  of  the  lakes  would  be  open  before  them. 

The  principal  trail  from  the  middle  colonies  to  the  Indian  coun- 
try was  from  Philadelphia  westward,  mounting  the  Allcghenies, 
and  descending  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  As  soon  as  peace  had 
been  established,  after  the  war  between  the  colonies,  adventurous 
fur  traders  hastened  over  the  mountains,  hoping  to  become  rich 


! 


I.  ■. 


1    ?   ^!   I 


'i 


122 


TuTTLFfs  Cextennial  Kortiiwest. 


in  the  traffic  of  the  wilderness  markets,  and  forgetting  tlie  dangers 
with  which  tiicy  were  surrounding  themselves.  Tliese  pioneer 
inorchants  would  transport  their  merchandise  on  the  backs  of 
horses,  threading  the  forests  and  fording  streams  for  many  miles 
into  the  uidcnown  wilderness  of  the  Indian  country.  Tliey  were 
a  rougli,  bold,  yet  happy  set  of  men,  and  often  as  fierce  and  as 
fond  of  war  and  adventure  as  liie  savages  themselves.  They 
wore  but  little  dress.  A  blanket  coat,  or  a  frock  of  smoked  deer 
skin,  a  rifle  on  the  shoulder,  and  a  knife  and  tomahawk  in  the 
belt,  formed  their  ordinary  equipment.  The  principal  trader, 
"  the  owner  of  the  merchandise,  would  fix  his  headquarters  at 
some  large  Irdir.n  town,  whence  he  would  dispatch  his  subordi- 
nates to  the  surrounding  villages,  with  a  suitable  supply  of  blan- 
kets and  red  clolh,  guns  and  hatchets,  liquor,  tobacco,  paint, 
beads  and  hawk's  bills."  This  traffic  was  attended  with  every 
description  of  irregularity,  Eivalism,  robbery  and  murder  were 
frequent  results  ;  and,  when  it  is  considered  that  these  adventur- 
ers were  in  a  country  where  ncitl  -^r  law  nor  morals  had  any  foot- 
hold, such  conduct  will  hardly  be  wondered  at.  A  visit  to  the 
more  remote  tribes  of  the  Mississippi  valley  was  attended  with 
still  greater  risk.  ISTo  Englishman,  however,  attempted  this  haz- 
ardous journey  without  losing  his  scalp,  until  several  years  after 
the  cOTiquest  of  Canada.  The  traveler  bound  to  this  region  gen- 
erally descended  the  Ohio  in  a  canoe.  "  lie  might  float,'"  .says 
Francis  I'arkman,  "  for  more  than  eleven  hundred  miles  down 
this  liquid  highway  of  the  wilderness,  and,  except  the  deserted 
cabins  of  Logstown,  a  little  below  Fort  Pitt,  the  remnant  of  a 
Shawnee  village  at  t)ie  moutli  of  the  Scioto,  and  an  oecasionul 
hamlet  or  solitary  wigwam  aloig  the  luxuriant  banks,  he  would 
discern  no  trace  of  human  habitancy  through  all  this  vast  ex- 
tent." The  body  jf  the  Indian  po])u]ation  lay  to  the  north  on 
the  tributaries  of  this  river,  but  scattering  war  parties  were  often 
to  be  encountered  in  this  region.  The  traveler  needed  to  exercise 
the  greatest  caution.  If,  perchance,  he  observed  the  blue  smoke 
curling  above  the  green  bosom  of  the  forest,  betraying  the  camp- 
ing ground  of  some  war  party,  his  light  canoe  was  drawn  into  some 
hiding  place  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  When  darkness  clc-od  in, 
the  adventurer  would  again  embark  and  float  along  in  safety. 


"  In  tl 

to  be  see 

cennes. 

the  Wab, 

From  thi 

where  st( 

was   aftci 

scend  the 

dusky  on 

troit,  he 

the  north 

Forts  Prc.- 

pointed  oi 

be  found  h 

ment  of  tli 

their  milit; 

to  pro.^ccu 

We  Lav 

British  too 

the  French 

tliough  the 

gage  in  wa 

mencing  it. 

to  which  til 

and  see  the 

was  not  to 

brave  and 

aries  and  fi 

but  little  ca 

part,  satisfu 

with  telling 

the  Englisli 

league  ai'oui 

sources  of  tl 

he  was  trer 

Thus  the  rei 

race,  and  lifi 

*( 


Border  Wars. 


123 


"  In  tlu'  southern  portion  of  the  present  state  of  Illinois  were 
to  be  seen  tlie  old  French  outposts,  Kaskaakia,  Cahokia  and  Yin- 
cenncs.  From  the  latter  the  traveler  could  paddle  his  canoe  up 
the  Wabash  until  he  reached  the  little  village  of  Ouatauon. 
From  this  point  a  trail  1  ^d  through  the  forest  to  the  Maumee, 
"svhere  stood  Fort  Miami.  This  is  the  spot  wii^re  Fort  Wajna 
was  afterward.,  built.  From  this  fort  the  traveler  might  de- 
scend the  Maumee  river  to  Lake  Erie.  Ilere  he  would  have  San- 
dusky on  the  right,  or,  further  north,  through  the  strait  of  De- 
troit, he  would  pass  Fort  Detroit  and  enter  the  watery  wastes  of 
the  northern  lakes.  Farther  cast,  west  (-f  the  Alleghan}',  were 
Forts  Presque  Isle,  Lo  Boeuf  and  Yenan^o.  I  have  thus  brielly 
pointed  out  the  western  outposts  of  civilization  as  they  were  to 
be  found  soon  after  the  conquest  of  Canada,  or  at  tiie  commence- 
ment of  the  Pontiac  war.  We  will  now  glance  at  the  Indians  in 
tluur  military  capacity,  and  see  to  what  extent  they  were  pi-epared 
to  pro.^ccute  the  war  into  which  they  were  about  to  plunge."  * 

We  have  already  observed  that  the  Indians,  soon  after  the 
British  took  possession  of  the  western  outposts,  were  instigated  by 
the  French  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  the  new  comers,  and  al- 
though the  Indians  of  the  northwest  were  poorly  qualified  to  en- 
gage in  war  with  the  English,  they  had  good  reasons  for  com- 
mencing it.  A  defeat  could  not  be  much  worse  than  the  insults 
to  which  tliey  were  every  day  subjected,  and  to  stand  quietly  by 
and  sec  their  best  hunting  grounds  invaded  by  English  settlers, 
was  not  to  be  endured  by  Indian  warriors  wlio  could  boast  as 
brave  and  sagacious  a  leader  as  Pontiac.  The  French  mission- 
aries and  fur  traders,  who  had  formerly  come  among  them  gave 
but  little  cause  for  alarm.  These  adventurers  were,  foi  the  most 
])art,  satisfied  with  the  proceeds  of  a  tralilc  with  the  savages,  or 
with  telling  them  the  story  of  the  Cross ;  but  it  was  not  so  with 
the  English.  He  was  essentially  a  husbandman,  and  for  half  a 
league  around  his  little  hut  he  claimed  exclusive  rights  to  the  re- 
sources of  the  territory.  When  the  Indian  invaded  these  limits, 
he  was  treated  with  a  liaughty  opposition,  and  ordered  away. 
Thus  the  red  men  beheld  the  rapidly  ai)proachii)g  ruin  of  their 
race,  and  hastened  to  avert  it.  Pontiac,  whose  poietrating  mind 
*  Compiled  from  Tuttle's  History  of  the  Border  Wars. 


I! 


IT 


III 


'".ii 


124 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


\m 


could  reach  farthest  into  tlie  annals  of  coming  events,  warned 
those  around  him  of  the  danger  of  allowinpr  the  Enn;lisli  to  make 
permaiient  settlements  in  their  country,  and  counseled  the  tribes 
to  unite,  in  one  great  effort,  against  their  common  foe.  lie  did 
i^ot  support  the  common  idea  which  piovaded  among  the  infuria- 
ted Indians,  of  driving  the  English  into  tlio  Atlantic  Ocean,  for 
he  well  knew  their' miUtary  skill  and  power;  but  being  per- 
suaded by  the  French  that  the  Sing  of  France  was  at  that  tin  . 
advancing  up  the  St.  Lawrence  ^vith  a  mighty  army,  he  resolvcw 
to  lead  his  warriors  to  battle  with  a  view  to  restorin;?  t'" :  French 
power  in  Canada,  and  to  check  the  English  in  their  progress  west- 
ward. Resolved  on  this  course,  Pontiac,  at  the  close  of  the  year 
1762,  sent  out  deputies  to  all  the  tribes.  "  Tliey  visited  the  country 
of  the  Ohio,"  says  Parkman,  "passed  northward  to  the  region 
of  the  upper  lakes,  and  the  wild  borders  of  the  river  Ottawa,  and 
far  southward  to  the  mouth  of  the  ISIississippi.  Bearing  with 
them  the  belt  of  wampum,  broad  and  long  as  the  impoi'tance 
of  the  message  demanded,  and  the  tomahawk  stained  red  in  token 
of  war,  they  went  from  camp  to  camp,  and  village  to  village. 
Wherever  they  appeared  the  sachems  and  old  men  assembled  to 
heai  the  words  of  the  great  Pontiac.  Then  the  head  chief  of  the 
embassy  flung  down  the  towahawk  on  the  ground  before  them, 
and  boldiiig  the  war  belt  in  his  hand,  delivered  with  vehement 
gesture,  word  for  word,  the  speech  with  which  he  was  charged." 
Evei-ywhere  the  speech  was  received  with  approval,  the  hatchet 
taken  up,  and  the  auditors  stood  pledged,  according  to  the  Indian 
custom,  to  aid  in  the  projected  war.  The  onslaught  was  to  begin 
in  the  following  month  of  May.  Each  tribe  was  to  surj.rise  the 
garrison  in  his  own  Immediate  neighborhood,  slaughter  the  sol- 
diers, and  then  with  a  united  effort  all  were  to  tu-u  against  ii;-- 
defenseless  frontier  settlements.  The  reader  will  here  be  anxious 
to  know  the  names  of  those  nations  who  thus  eagerly  united  un- 
der Pontiac  against  the  English.  With  a  few  unim})ortar.t  ex- 
ceptions, they  comprised  the  whole  Algonquin  family,  th»  Wyan- 
dots,  the  Senecas,  and  several  tribes  of  tl  •:'  lon-or  .\riK>/ vij^;pi. 
Of  ihe  Six  Nations,  the  Senecas  were  the  only  ms'^ion  wh'j  lo  icd 
in  the  league.  The  other  five  nations  remained  neutral,  it  is^^aid, 
through  the  timely  influence  of  Sir  William  Johnson. 


*,' 


I 
I 


i 


Bohder  WxiRS. 


125 


Although  on  the  very  eve  of  an  outbreak,  the  savages  con- 
cealed their  dosign  with  impenetrable  secrecy.  They  continued 
to  visit  the  various  forts,  and  to  solicit  tobacco,  ammunition  and 
whisky  in  their  usual  manner.  Now  and  then,  enraged  by  Eng- 
lish insolence,  they  would  threai,?n  the  oflflcers  with  the  approaching 
slaughter,  but  beyond  this,  and  with  a  single  exception,  the  great 
conspiracy  was  unknown  to  tlie  English  until  it  burst  forth  in 
death  and  devastation.  "  On  one  occasion,"  sa3^s  the  author  from 
whom  I  have  just  quoted,  "  the  plot  was  nearly  discovered. 
Early  in  ^NFaich,  1763,  Ensign  Holmes,  commanding  at  Fort 
Miami,  was  told  by  a  friendly  Indian,  that  the  warriors  in  a 
neighboring  village  had  lately  received  a  war  belt,  with  a  mes- 
sage urging  them  to  destroy  him  and  his  garrison,  and  that  this 
they  were  preparing  to  do."  The  commandr.nt  summoned  the 
Indians  together  and  openly  charged  them  with  their  design. 
They  confessed  to  the  truthfulness  of  the  report,  declared  that  the 
plot  had  originated  with  a  neighboring  tribe,  and  promised  to 
abandon  it.  Holmes  communicated  information  of  this  affair  to 
Mai.  Gladwyn,  of  Detroit,  \\\\o  regarded  it  merely  in  the  light  of 
a:  -jdinary  Indian  outbreak,  and,  believing  that  it  would  soon 
I  t;-  :■  a  /,  he  took  no  notice  of  it.  AVith  the  approach  of  spring, 
tlj  •  ■'■  ms,  returning  from  the  chase,  began  to  congregate  in 
smai.  parties  around  the  dillerent  forts.  They  were  unusually  re- 
served, seldom  going  into  the  forts,  and  encarn2)in<.>  a  short  tlis- 
tance  from  them,  in  the  edges  of  the  woods.  The;"  were  now  rap- 
idly preparing  to  strike  the  blow  so  long  meditrted  by  Pontiac, 
and  the  hour  of  treachery  and  massacre  was  nigh.  They  were  by 
no  means  prepared  for  a  successful  war  on  their  part,  but,  true  to 
the  Indian  character,  they  loved  the  war  path,  and  all  were  now 
axious  to  enter  upon  it.  "While  there  was  little  risk  that  they 
=  juid  capture  any  strong  and  well  fortified  fort,  or  carry  any  im- 
;■  .:„j..t  position,  there  was,  on  the  other  hand,  every  reason  to 
apprehend  widespread  havoc,  and  a  destructive  war  of  detail. 
That  the  war  might  be  carried  on  with  vigor  and  effect,  it  was  the 
part  of  the  Indian  leaders  to  work  upon  the  passions  of  their  peo- 
j)le,  and  keep  alive  the  feeling  of  irritation  ;  to  whet  their  native 
appetite  for  blood  and  glory,  and  cheer  them  on  to  the  attack ;  to 
guard  against  all  that  might  quench  their  ardor,  or  abate  their 


IP 


126 


TuTTLBfs  Centenkial  Nobtiuvest. 


fierceness  ;  to  avoid  pitched  battles  ;  never  to  fight  except  under 
advantage,  and  to  avail  themselves  of  ail  aid  which  surprise, 
craft  and  treachery  could  aflord."  The  English  colonies,  at  this 
time,  having  just  emerged  from  a  long  and  co.stl  v  war  with  Can- 
ada, were  wot  in  a  position  to  meet  this  Indian  outbreak  without 
suffering  lai,  ■  !"  m  its  consequences.  Their  little  army  was 
disorganized,  a.  jre  remained  hardly  troops  enough  to  garri- 

soa  the  feeble  wesL^rn  outposts  against  which  Pontiac's  '■-ar  was 
now  to  be  desperately  waged.  Sir  William  Johnson  stood  at  the 
head  of  this  inadequate  force.  He  was  then  ripe  in  military  re- 
nown, and,  withal,  well  qualified  for  the  task  which  was  thus  un- 
expectedly thrust  upon  him.  "The  command."  says  an  able 
writer,  "  could  not  have  been  intrusted  to  better  hands,  and  the 
results  of  the  war,  lamentable  as  they  were,  would  have  been 
much  more  disastrous  but  for  his  promptness  and  vigor,  and, 
above  all,  his  judicious  selection  of  those  to  whom  he  confided 
the  execution  of  his  orders." 

At  this  period  the  western  wilderness  presented  an  interesting 
scene.  Everywhere  Indians  were  preparing  for  the  war.  The 
war  dance  was  cele''orated  in  a  hundred  villages,  and  chiefs  and 
warriors,  painted  and  adorned,  stood  ready  for  the  onset.  To 
begin  the  war,  however,  was  reserved  by  Pontiac  ns  his  own 
special  privilege.  In  the  spring  of  17G3,  his  great  conspiracy 
was  mature,  and  lie  summoned  the  chiefs  and  warriors  of  all  the 
tribes  in  the  newly  formed  league  to  a  war  council.  The  sachems 
met  on  the  baaks  of  the  Ecorces  river,  Detroit,  near  whither 
Pontiac  had  gone  to  welcome  them.  Band  after  band  of  painted 
warriors  came  straggling  in  until  the  forest  was  alive  with  rest- 
less savages,  for  nearly  a  mile  up  and  down  the  little  stream.  It 
was,  indeed,  an  important  event  for  the  red  man.  At  frequent 
intervals  during  the  year  just  passed,  they  had  heard  the  words  of 
the  great  Ottawa  chief,  as  delivered  by  his  deputies.  Now  they 
had  met  ^^his  wonderful  man,  face  to  face.  lie  who,  through  his 
diligent  ."embassadors,  had  united  all  the  tribes  of  the  Algonquin 
family  under  a  confederacy,  equal  in  democratic  scope  to  that  of 
the  far  famed  Six  Nations,  was  now  to  speak  to  many  of  his  sub- 
jects for  the  first  time.  He  was  to  tell  them,  in  true  Indian 
eloquence,  the  story  of  their  approaching  ruin ;  ho  was  to  uncover 


mcsseno'ci 


Ifl 


Boeder  Wabs. 


127 


the  selfish  policy  of  the  English,  and  point  to  the  only  means  by 
which  they  could  revive  their  declining  prowess  ;  he  was  to  stand 
before  his  savage  auditors  and  verify,  by  matchless  power  of  word 
and  gesture,  the  thrilling  story  of  his  greatness,  which  had  been 
passed  from  village  to  village  on  the  tongues  of  his  light  footed 
messengers;  he  was  this  day  to  prove  himself  the  mightiest 
among  a  thousand  haughty,  jealous  savage  warriors.  Truly,  the 
occasion  was  an  exciting  one  for  the  assembled  tribes.  All  waited 
patiently  to  hear  the  words  of  the  famous  Oitavva  chief. 

This  council  took  place  on  the  27th  of  April,  1763.  "On  that 
morning,"  says  a  reliable  writer,  "several  old  men,  the  heralds  of 
the  camp,  passed  to  and  fro  among  the  lodges,  calling  the  war- 
riors in  a  loud  voice  to  attend  the  meeting.  In  accordance  with 
the  summons,  they  came  issuing  from  their  cabins  —  the  tall, 
naked  figures  of  the  wild  Ojibwas,  with  quivers  slung  at  their 
backs,  and  light  war  clubs  resting  in  the  hollow  of  their  arms ; 
Ottawas,  wrapped  close  in  their  gaudy  blankets ;  Wyandots,  flat- 
tering in  painted  shirts,  their  heads  adorned  with  feathers  and 
their  leggins  garnished  with  bells."  All  were  soon  seated  in  a 
wide  circle  upon  the  grass,  row  within  low,  a  mighty  and  warlike 
assembly.  Each  savage  countenance  wore  an  expression  of  gravity. 
Pipes,  with  ornamented  stems,  were  lighted  and  passed  from  hand 
to  hand,  until  all  had  "smoked  together  in  harmon3^" 

Then  Pontiac  came  forth  from  his  lodge,  and  walked  forward 
into  the  mid.st  of  the  council.  He  was  a  man  of  medium  height, 
with  a  grandly  i)roportioned  muscular  figure,  and  an  address  well 
calculated  to  win  the  admiration  and  respect  of  the  savage  heart. 
Ilis  complexion  was  rather  dark  for  an  Indian,  and  his  features 
w^ore  a  bold  and  stern  expression,  while  his  bearing  was  imperi- 
ous and  peremptory.  His  only  attire  was  that  of  the  primitive 
E'^-age  —  a  scanty  cincture  girt  about  his  loins,  and  his  long, 
black  hair  flowing  loosely  at  his  tack  —  excepting  the  plumes 
and  decorations  of  the  war  dress.  "  Looking  around  upon  his 
wild  auditors,''  says  Parkman,  "  he  began  to  speak,  with  fierce 
gesture  and  loud,  impassioned  voice;  and  at  every  pause,  deep 
guttcral  ejaculations  of  assent  and  approyal  responded  to  his 
words." 

At  this  point  we  will  turn  for  a  moment  to  glance  at  this  won- 


f'ff^ 


128 


TuTTLe's  CeXTENNTAL  NoiiTTIWEST. 


dcrful  man.  Pontiac  was  tlie  son  of  an  Ottawa  chief,  and  l)y  his 
valorous  deeds,  matchles?  eloquence  and  great  force  of  character, 
had  become  exceedingly  popular  and  influential  among  all  the 
tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  lakes.  The  Ottawas,  Ojibwas 
find  Pottawattomies  were,  at  this  time,  united  under  a  confederacy 
of  which  he  was  both  civil  and  military  leader  ;  but  his  authority 
extended  far  be3-ond  these  tribes,  and  was  almost  unbounded 
wherever  his  voice  could  be  lieard.  lie  did  not  ov/e  his  greatness 
to  the  fact  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  chief,  for  among  the  Indians 
many  a  chief's  son  sinks  into  insignificance  among  the  common 
rabble  of  his  tribe,  while  the  offspring  of  a  comnion  warrior  may 
succeed  to  his  place.  Personal  merit  alone  can  win  the  respect 
rnd  obedience  of  the  Indians.  In  the  eyes  of  his  numerous  fol- 
lowers, no  other  person  possessed  more  of  this  than  Pontiac. 
Courage,  resolution,  wisdom,  eloquence  and  good  address  had 
been  the  principal  passports  to  his  fame  and  distinction.  Ilis  in- 
tellect was  far-n^aching,  forcible  and  capacious.  Ilis  energy  and 
force  of  character,  his  great  subtlety  and  craftiness,  conspired  to 
elicit  the  greatest  admiration  and  respect  from  his  wild  and  reck- 
less followers.  Although  possessed  of  all  these  high  qualities, 
Pontiac  was  a  thorough  savage,  and,  as  wc  shall  see,  capable  of 
deeds  of  the  blackest  treachery.  He  was  now  in  his  fiftieth  year, 
and  in  the  prime  of  life.  His  mental  and  physical  powers  were 
\inimpaired,  and  he  stood  forth  the  giant  of  his  tribe  in  both  in- 
tellect and  endurance.  In  short,  he  was  in  every  respect  ciualilied 
to  lead  his  savage  people  into  the  bloody  contest  wdiich  followed. 
•When  deeds  of  lofty  magnanimity  best  suited  his  purpose,  Pon- 
tiac could  respond  from  the  generosity  of  his  own  nature,  while, 
from  the  same  source,  he  could  supply  the  foulest  stratagem.s. 
During  the  long  wars  that  had  passed,  he  had  been  the  constant 
friend  and  ally  of  the  French,  and  had  led  his  warriors  to  battle 
on  many  a  hard-fouglit  field  in  the  interests  of  this  people  against 
the  English.  lie  commanded  the  Ottawa  braves  at  the  memora- 
ble defeat  of  Braddock,  and  in  this  contest  he  fully  set  forth  his 
rare  military  skill  and  great  craftiness.  He  had  served  the  French 
olhcers  in  various  capacities,  and  especially  did  he  render  them 
valuable  aid  as  a  leader  of  Indian  warriors  in  the  hour  of  their 
greatest  peri)      Ft-ir  these  deeds  he  had  received  many  marks  of 


It 

[tie 
Inst 
\rcL- 
his 
fell 
Kin 
Icii" 
of 


ki 


« 


P 

1*1 


r 


u 


esteem 
forces,  \v 
He  g.i 
towards 
trnstcd  tl 
suits  \vl 
British 
that  w'oul 
tl  erne  tits 
Guiada,  a 
ter  them 
had  been 
wouhl  not 
altogether, 
that  he  ha 
in  token  tl 
on  his  wa} 
store  Canac 
A  plan  c 
Pontiac,  bu 
part  of  the 
made  know 
not  made  a\ 
upon  which 
number  of  I 
sixty  of  his 
})urpose,  uni 
asked  to  he 
gate  was  th: 
entered,  he  i 
of  surprise, 
rison  were  ui 
passed  on  tc 
ready  to  rece 
flict.     The  c 
wampum  be' 
smoke  the  p 
with  his  Ens 
9 


.-tl  ■■■MijtigBBw^^ 


Border  Wars. 


129 


esteem   fi-om  Montcalm,  the   brave  commander  of   the  French 
forces,  who  fell  while  defending  Quebec  in  1759. 

lie  gave  a  full  and  eloquent  exposure  of  the  English  policy 
towards  the  Indians;  spoke  of  the  French  in  high  terms,  and  con- 
trasted them  with  the  "red  coats."  lie  recounted  the  many  in- 
sults which  he  and  his  followers  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the 
British  commandant  at  Detroit,  and  ^^bly  set  forth  the  danger 
that  would  arise  were  the  English  allowed  to  continue  their  set- 
tlements in  the  west.  lie  said  that  their  enemies  had  conquered 
C.mada,  and  were  now  about  to  turn  upon  the  Indians  and  slaugh- 
ter them  without  mercy.  Already  their  best  hunting  grounds 
had  been  invaded  by  their  settlers,  and,  if  this  was  continued,  it 
would  not  be  long  before  they  would  be  crowded  from  their  homes 
altogether.  Then  he  took  up  a  broad  belt  of  wampum,  saying 
that  he  had  received  it  from  his  great  father,  the  king  of  France, 
in  token  that  he  had  heard  the  voice  of  his  red  children,  and  was 
on  his  way  to  aid  them  in  a  war  against  the  English,  and  to  re- 
store Canada  to  the  French,  i 

A  plan  of  attack  upon  the  western  outposts  was  projected  by 
Pontiac,  but  through  the  instrumentality  of  an  Ojibwa  girl,  that 
part  of  the  plan  contemplating  the  destruction  of  Detroit  was 
made  known  to  the  commandant  at  that  post.    The  garrison  were 
not  made  aware  of  the  plot  until  the  evening  previous  to  the  day 
upon  which  it  was  to  be  executed.     Early  on  the  day  set,  a  great 
number  of  Indians  thronged  around  the  fort.    "  Soon  Pontiac,  with 
sixty  of  his  warriors,  each  carrying  his  gun,  shortened  for  the 
jiurposc,  under  the  folds  of  his  blanket,  appeared  at  the  gate,  and 
asked  to  hold  a  council  with  his  father,  the  commandant     The 
gate  was  thrown  open  and  they  were  admitted.      When  Pontiac 
entered,  he  involuntarily  started  back,  and  uttered  an  exclamation 
of  surprise.    He  saw  at  a  glance  the  ruin  of  his  plan.     All  the  gar- 
rison were  under  arms,  and  so  posted  as  to  inclose  the  band.    They 
passed  on  to  the  council  house,  and  there  were  all  the  ofhcers 
ready  to  receive  them,  armed  and  too  plainly  prepared  for  the  con- 
flict.    The  chiefs  were  seated.     Pontiac  arose  to  speak  with  the 
wampum  belt  in  his  hand.     He  professed  that  he  had  come  to 
smoke  the  pipe  of  peace,  and  brighten  the  chain  of  friendship 
with  his  English  brothers,  and,  though  conscious  that  he  was 


Is! 

,1'    ^ 


^^l  Mi'l 


■^  u :: ! 


t 


-ir^ 


II 


\ 


I 


I 
\ 

\ 


!l    It 


■;! 


180 


TuTTLliS  CKXTEXyiAL  NoETinVEST. 


detected,  lie  raised  the  belt  and  was  about  to  give  the  fatal  signal. 
At  tluit  instant  Gludvviu  waived  liis  hand;  tlie  drums  beat,  the 
officers  drew  their  swords,  the  soldiers  presented  their  arms,  and 
Pontiac   sat  down   ovcrwhelu.yd  with   astonishment.      Gladwin 
briefly  and  sternly  replied  that  he  should  enjoy  his  friendship  as 
long  as  he  merited  itj  and  should  be  punished  as  soon  as  he 
deserved  it;  and  the  chiefs,  enraged  and  mortified,  were  allowed 
to  withdraw.     The  next  morning  rontiue  returned  witli  three 
only  of  his  chiefs;  they  were  admitted,  smoked  the  peace  pipe, 
and  renewed  their  hollow  pledges  of  friendship.     On  the  next 
again,  Pontiac,  with  a  great  multitude  of  his  warriors,  appeared 
at  the  gate  and  demanded  admittance.     He  was  told  that  he  only 
might  come  in.    He  replied  that  all  his  warriors  wished  to  smoke 
the  pipe  of  peace.      Gladwin  replied    that  none  of  his  rabble 
should  enter  the  fort,  and  Pontiac  turned  away.     At  once  the 
Indians  fell  upon  and  murdered  the  few  English  who  were  with- 
out the  fort.     Immediate  preparations  were  made  for  a  siege,  and 
the  next  day  the  attack  began.     Conviitced,   however,   that  the 
affair  was  only  a  sudden  impulse  of  passion,  Gladwin,  through 
a  Canadian,  proposed  to  redress  any  grievances  the  Indians  had. 
Pontiac  dissembled,  and  asked  that  a  deputation  of  officers  might 
be  sent  to  treat  with  him.     Maj.  Campbell  and  Lieut.  McDougal, 
were;  sent,  but  were  detained  as  prisoners.      The  Indians,  foiled 
in  their  efforts  to  obtain  possession  of  the  fort,  sat  down  before  it 
and  commenced  a  regular  siege.     All  Pontiac's  skill  and  talent 
were  employed   in  governing  and  directing  the  motley  bands 
around  him.      The  Canadian   inhabitants   complained  .th^.t   his 
Indians  were  robbing  them  of  their  provisions.     Pontiac  claimed 
that  he  was  fighting  their  battles,  and  that,  therefore,  they  ought 
to  contribute  to  the  support  of  his  army,  but  forbade  all  depre- 
dations upon  their  propcrt}'.    To  provide  for  his  bands,  he  levied 
a  fixed  contribution  on  the  Canadians,  organized  a  commissariat, 
and  issued    promissory  notes,   drawn  on  bark  of    the  papyrus 
birch,  and  signed  with  the  figure  of  an  otter,  for  the  payment  of 
supplies,  all  of  which  were  faithfully  redeemed. 
!     "Meanwhile,  a  recruit  of  ninety-six  men  with  ammunition  and 
provisions  was  advancing  under  Lieutenant  Cuyler  for  the  relief 
of  the  garrison,  though  in  ignorance  of  the  danger  to  which  they 


^^•ere  ey 

Pa.«sin^ 

with  till 

The  wii 

tvventy-^ 

garrison 

filled  wi 

and  rela 

the  rivci 

three  of 

Cuyler,  t 

prisoners 

telligenc( 

the  lakes 

them  En 

the  16th 

and  askec 

ately  seizi 

brought  I 

by  an  Ind 

Soon  a 

Schlosscr, 

were  exch 

party  of  I 

pretense  oi 

suddenly  i 

I>ctioit.     '. 

sign  Jenki 

stratagem, 

ise  of  pi-otc 

Soon  after. 

Holmes  wa, 

an  Indian 

shot.     The 

was  taken ; 

A  scalpii 

rei)orted  th( 

was  made  1 


— ^T  1,VM 


BoiiDKR  Wars. 


131 


\verc  exposed  ;  and  one  of  the  two  scliooners  was  sent  to  meet  it. 
Taf^-sing  down  tlio  river  they  were  attacked  by  a  crowd  of  canoes, 
with  the  unfortunate  Campbell  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  vessel. 
The  wind  sprang  up  and  soon  bore  it  beyond  their  reach.  On  the 
twenty-fourth  day  of  the  siege,  the  fleet  of  boats  was  seen  by  tl\c 
garrison  ascending  the  river.  On  a  near  approach  tliey  were  seen 
filled  with  Indians.  One  of  the  crew  when  near  the  fort  escaped, 
and  related  the  fate  of  the  convoy.  They  had  landed  below  on 
the  river  bank,  were  attacked  on  shore,  and  driven  to  their  boats; 
three  of  these  wee  taken  with  their  crews ;  two  escaped  with 
Cuyler,  the  commander,  on  board,  who  returned  to  Niagara.  The 
])risoncrs  were  taken  above  the  fort  and  burned.  Soon  after,  in- 
telligence reached  the  garrison  of  the  fate  of  the  posts  around 
the  lakes.  A  scalping  party  came  into  the  camp,  bringing  with 
them  Ensign  Paully,  the  commandant  at  Fort  Sandusky.  On 
the  16th  of  May,  seven  Indians  appeared  at  the  gate  of  that  post 
and  asked  to  speak  with  Paully.  They  were  admitted;  immedi- 
ately seized  him,  and  the  garrison  was  massacred.  Paulb;  was 
brought  to  Detroit  to  be  burned  ;  but  was  saved  by  being  adopted 
by  an  Indian  woman,  and  afterwards  escaped. 

Soon  after,  a  party  of  Pottawattomies  arrived  with  Ensign 
Schlosscr,  the  commandant  at  St.  Josephs,  and  three  men.  They 
were  exchanged,  and  the  fate  of  that  garrison  revealed.  A  largo 
party  of  Indians  collected  at  St.  Josephs  on  the  2r)th  of  May,  on 
pretense  of  friendship,  crowded  within  the  barracks,  and  then 
suddenly  massacred  the  garrison,  and  carried  their  prisoners  to 
Detroit.  1^'he  news  soon  arrived  that  Ouiatenon  was  taken.  En- 
sign Jenkins  and  several  of  his  men  were  taken  prisoners  by 
stratagem,  on  the  1st  of  June ;  the  garrison  surrendered  on  prom- 
ise of  protection,  and  were  sent  to  Fort  Chartres,  in  the  Illinois. 
Soon  after,  it  was  reported  that  Fort  Miami  had  fallen.  Ensign 
Holmes  was  decoyed  away  from  his  post  on  the  27th  of  May,  by 
an  Indian  girl,  on  the  pretense  of  visiting  a  sick  woman,  and 
shot.  The  sergeant  came  out  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  firing,  and 
was  taken ;  the  garrison  surrendered  and  were  made  prisoners. 

.\  scalping  party  came  in  soon  after  from  Presque  Isle,  and 
reported  the  fate  of  that  post.  On  the  loth  of  June,  an  attack 
was  made  by  two  hundred  Indians  on  that  fort     The  garrison 


If 


7?=r^ 


132 


TvTTLK's  CeNTKX'sIAL  XoJtTUWEST, 


retreated  to  a  block  house,  upon  whicli  the  Indians  began  an 
iinnicdiato  and  furious  assault.  A  breastwork  was  thrown 
up,  from  which  they  then  poured  a  constant  lire  upon  the 
block  house,  llopeatedly  it  was  on  fire,  and  the  indefatiga- 
ble garrison,  cut  oil  from  water,  dug  a  well  within  it  to  obtain  a 
supply  sudleient  to  subdue  the  flatnes.  Next  the  Indians  began 
to  mine  the  block  house.  Against  this  there  was  no  defense,  and 
after  forty-eight  hours  of  desjierate  fighting,  the  ga  'son  surren- 
dered, and  were  carried  })risoners  to  De>a'oit,  where  ^.iisign  •"'hi'S- 
tie,  the  commandant,  escaped.  'IMie  news  of  the  capture  of  Macki- 
naw was  brought  to  the  garrison  by  Father  Junois,  a  Jesuit  priest. 
A  large  band  of  Ottawas,  and  another  of  Sacs,  were  encamped 
near  the  fort.  On  the  morning  of  the  -±lh  of  June,  a  delogution 
came  to  the  gate  to  ask  the  oiUcers  and  soldiers  to  come  out  and 
see  a  game  of  baggattaway  played  on  the  plain  by  the  rival 
tribes.  The  gates  wore  thrown  open,  the  soldiers  clustered 
around  the  outside  of  the  \valls,  mingled  with  a  large  number  of 
Canadians,  and  among  them  a  multitude  of  Indian  women,  close- 
ly wnippcd  in  blankets.  At  each  end  of  the  ground  a  post  was 
erected  ;  hundred  of  players  with  bats  thronged  the  plain,  each 
apparently  intent  only  on  driving  the  ball  to  the  post.  Once  and 
again,  as  if  in  the  heat  of  the  game,  the  ball  was  driven  near  the 
pickets,  and  the  players  crowded  after  it.  Suddenly  the  ball  rose 
high  in  the  air,  and  fell  within  the  fort,  and  the  whole  multitude 
thronged  after  it  through  the  gates.  Instantly  the  war  whoop 
was  raised,  the  warriors  snatched  their  tomahawks  from  the 
women,  who  carried  tliein  under  their  blankets.  In  a  moment 
the  garrison  were  overpowered ;  the  greater  part  of  them  were 
slain.  Captain  Etherington  and  the  remaining  men  were  carried 
away  prisoners ;  some  of  whom  perished  at  the  hands  of  their 
captors  ;  a  few  of  them  were  ransomed. 

One  only  of  the  forest  garrisons  escaped,  by  the  good  conduct 
and  address  of  its  commandant.  Lieutenant  Gorell,  in  command 
of  Green  Bay,  devoted  himself  to  the  task  of  conciliating  the  neigh- 
boring savages.  The  Menornonies  were  sharers  in  the  conspiracy, 
but  they  were  attached  to  Gorell,  and  delayed  the  execution  of  the 
work  assigned  them.  On  hearing  of  the  fall  of  Mackinaw,  Gor- 
ell called  a  council  of  their  chiefs,  told  them  he  was  going  thither 


lion DK II  Waiis. 


133 


to  punish  the  enemies  of  liis  king,  and  ofTorcd  to  leave  tlio  fort  in 
the  nicantimc  in  their  care.  The  chiefs  were  divided.  The  '.varriors 
■were  waiting  to  strike  the  meditated  blow,  but  providentially  at 
this  juncture,  a  deputation  of  the  Dacotahs  appeared,  to  denounce 
the  vengeance  of  that  powerful  confederacy  against  the  enemies 
of  the  English.  The  Menomonies  laid  aside  their  hostile  designs. 
Gorell  and  his  garrison  passed  down  the  bay,  and  along  the  lake 
to  Mackinaw,  under  their  escort,  ransomed  J^jtherington  and  twelve 
of  his  men,  and  passed  by  way  of  the  Lake  Huron  iv  1  the  Ottawa 
river,  to  Montreal.  The  beleaguered  garrison  at  Detroit,  mean- 
while maintained  their  stubborn  defense,  and  Pontiac  pressed  the 
siege  with  a  boldness  and  address  far  beyond  the  habit  of  Indian 
warfare.  One  of  the  vessels  had  been  sent  to  hasten  on  Cuylcr's 
ill  fated  detachment.  With  him  and  the  remains  of  his  crew  on 
board,  it  was  now  returning,  and  was  passing  by  night  up  the 
river.  The  force  on  board  was  concealed,  and  every  disposition 
was  made  to  invite  an  attack  from  the  Indians.  Late  at  night 
she  was  surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  canoes.  The  men  were 
arranged  in  silence  for  the  attack.  At  the  tap  of  a  hammer  on 
the  mast,  a  volley  of  grape  and  musketry  was  poured  upon  the 
assailants,  and  they  were  dispersed  and  driven  ashore.  The  ves- 
sel landed  safely,  brought  a  reinforcement  of  men,  and  a  supply 
of  arms,  and  the  welcome  intelligence  that  the  Peace  of  Paris  was 
signed,  and  all  Canada  was  surrendered  to  the  British  crown. 
The  Canadians,  craven,  treacherous  and  malignant,  who,  all  the 
while  under  pretense  of  neutrality,' were  inciting  the  Indians  to 
massacre,  and  amusing  them  with  fables  of  the  coming  of  the 
great  king,  were  now  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain.  Now  again 
they  redoubled  their  fal.^ehoods.  The  armies  of  the  great  king 
were  even  then  ascending  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi  to 
take  vengeance  on  the  insolent  English.  Pontiac,  weary  of  their 
neutrality,  called  a  council  of  their  principal  men,  and  demanded 
their  aid.  He  had  been  fighting  their  battles;  they  were  doing 
notliing  to  serve  their  king.  Uc  had  served  their  cause  faithfully ; 
they  had  been  unfaithful  to  him.  They  had  professed  to  be  his 
friends ;  yet  they  sought  to  make  a  profit  to  themselves  by 
secretly  aiding  the  English.  This  must  end.  If  they  were  Eng- 
lish, he  was  their  enemy.     If  they  were  French,  here  was  the  war 


.    l:i  I 


^'J^W 


ii 


i(t 


ii 


131 


TUTTLI/S  CeXTEXNIAL  KoiiTUWEST. 


belt  and  hatchet.  The  Canadi.ns  only  deepened  then-  dissimula- 
tion. Hating  the  Englisli  garrison,  they  still  sourjht  to  incite  the 
Indians  to  dv:::tvoy  it.  Afraid  of  the  English  vengeance,  they 
sought  to  avoid  an}'  sharo  in  the  \vorkof  blood.  And  concealing 
the  treaty  of  Paris,  they  produced  again  the  capitulation  of  Mon- 
treal. The  great  king,  saia  the}',  had  here  commanded  them  to  be 
quiet  till  he  came,  for  he  designed  to  pu:-!ish  his  enemies  h'.mself. 
If  they  disobeyed  him  in  this,  they  would  be  })unishcd.  If  the 
Indians  made  war  on  them  for  their  obedience,  they  too  would 
be  punished.  Pontiac  was  not  thus  to  be  put  ofT.  Tiiey  must 
be  his  enemies  or  the  enemies  of  the  English  ;  and  accordingly  a 
band  of  tr^tppers  and  voyagers  took  up  the  hatchet  and  joined 
the  hostile  tribes.  P.einforced  with  these,  the  Indians  made  an 
assault,  and  their  allies  sought  to  entreccl.  themselves  near  the 
walls.  They  were  dislodged  and  repulsed,  and  in  their  rage  at 
the  defeat,  the  Indians  seized  and  murdered  the  unfortunate 
Campbell.  The  two  schooners  that  lay  near  the  fort  meanwhile 
aunoved  the  Indian.^',  and  thev  determined  to  burn  them.  Going 
up  the  river,  they  constructed  a  raft,  filled  with  bark  and  sent  it 
burning  down  the  current,  but  it  passed  the  vessels.  Another 
was  buili,  but  it  too  pccssed  without  effect.  Another,  so  large  as 
to  sweep  the  7iver,  was  begun,  but  a  guard  of  boats,  moored 
above  the  vessels,  was  provided  lor  their  defense,  and  the  scheme 
was  abandoned. 

In  July,  the  gairison  was  reinforced  by  a  detachment  of  two 
hundred  and  eighty  men,  under  Capt.  Dalzeil,  who,  on  his  arrival, 
insisted  on.  making  an  immediate  attack  on  tlie  camp  of  Pontiac, 
to  disperse  the  Indians  and  raise  the  siege.  Gladwin  was  opposed 
to  the  measure,  but  yielded,  contrary  to  his  judgment,  to  tlie  soli- 
citations of  Dalzcll.  Preparations  were  made  for  an  attack  on  the 
nex*-.  night,  but  the  plan  was  revealed  to  Pontiac  by  the  treachery 
Oi  the  Canadians.  On  the  night  of  the  30th  of  July,  a  detachment 
ot  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  with  t'-Vij  barges  accompanying 
them,  under  the  command  of  Dalzeli,  marched  to  the  attack. 
Their  route  was  along  the  river  bank,  between  the  water's  edge 
and  a  row  of  Canadian  houses  and  gardens.  A  mile  and  a  half 
above  the  fort,  a  creek,  known  since  th.it  night  as  Bloody  run, 
passed  down  to  the  river  through  a  def  p  ravine.     Over  it  was  a 


Border  Wars. 


135 


narrow  bridge,  ou  tlie  ridge  iDeyond  it  were  the  entrencliments  of 
the  old  camp  of  the  Indians,  piles  of  wood,  fences  and  houses. 
Behind  these  the  whole  force  of  the  Indians  was  posted.  As  the 
advance  filed  over  the  bridge,  they  were  assailed  by  a  volley  from 
the  Indians,  and  recoiled.  Again  they  charged  over  the  bridge 
and  up  the  hill,  but  the  Indians  gave  way  and  escaped  in  the 
darkness.  Suddenly  they  appeared  in  the  rear,  with  an  intent  to 
cut  the  detachment  oil  from  the  fort;  a  retreat  was  immediately 
ordered.  Tlie  Indians  occupied  a  row  of  houses  and  fences  along 
the  line  of  their  march,  and  from  these  they  poured  a  continual 
and  destructive  lire  upon  the  centre  and  rear  of  the  army.  They 
were  thus  thrown  into  disorder,  and  retreated  in  confusion  along 
the  ri/er  bank,  until  Major  Eogcrs,  with  a  party  of  provincials, 
took  \  'ssession  of  a  Canadian  house,  from  which  he  attacked  the 
pursuer-  and  checked  the  pursuit.  C.npt.  Grant  then  secured  an- 
other position  below;  a  line  of  communication  with  the  fort  was 
formed,  and  the  retreat  of  the  detachment  thus  protected.  Rogers 
and  his  party  were  brought  off  under  a  fire  from  the  boats,  and 
at  length,  after  six  hours'  fighting,  .the  .vhole  party  reached  the 
fort.  The  loss  of  the  Enrrlish  on  this  disastrous  night  was  fiftv- 
nine,  including  the  commander  Dalzell ;  the  loss  of  the  Indians 
was  supposed  to  be  about  fifteen  or  twenty. 

The  Inlians  were  pveatly  elated  by  their  victory;  messages 
were  sent  out,  fresli  warriors  came  in,  and  the  siege  was  pressed 
witii  renew'jd  vigor.  One  of  the  schooners,  meanwi  .e,  had  gone 
to  Niagara.  On  her  return,  some  Iroquois  were  landed  at  the 
mouth  oi  the  river,  and  conve3'ed  to  the  Indians  the  information 
that  she  was  manned  by  only  ten  men.  A  large  band  of  Indians 
in  canoes  collected  and  surrounded  the  vessel.  They  had  ap- 
proached close  to  the  vetsel  in  the  darkness  before  they  were  dis- 
covered, and  climbing  up  the  vessel's  side,  made  a  furious  attack 
upon  the  crew,  in  disregard  of  the  musketry  that  was  poured 
upon  them,  The  caj)tain  was  killed,  and  several  of  the  men  were 
wounded,  and  the  assailants  began  to  crowd  the  deck,  when 
Lieut.  Jacobs  ordered  tiie  men  to  fire  the  magazine  and  blow  up 
the  ship.  The  Indians  heard  the  order  and  instantly  leaped  over- 
board and  sw.'.m  in  every  direction,  to  escape  the  threatened  ex- 
plosici.,  and  the  vessel  sailed  up  the  river  to  Detroit."*  The 
♦Fiom  the  "Western  Annals. 


P!^ 


136 


Tvttle's  Centexxial  Northwest. 


\W 


\ 


■ 


v: 


siege  was  pressed  from  May  till  October.  At  length,  r.cws 
reached  the  Indians  that  a  British  lorce,  under  !Major  Wilkins, 
was  approaching.  This  news  had  the  effect  to  scatter  and  dis- 
hearten the  Indians.  At  length,  Pontiac  was  informed,  by  a  let- 
ter from  Neyon,  commandant  at  the  Illinois,  a  French  officer  who 
was  compelled  to  reveal  the  truth  to  the  confiding  savages.  This 
letter  plainly  revealed  the  hopelessness  of  French  assistance,  and 
called  upon  Pontiac  to  espouse  the  English  cause.  The  great 
chieftain  was  mortified.  His  great  scheme  had  fallen.  He  broke 
camp,  and  threatening  the  English  with  a  return  in  the  spring,  he 
passed  down  to  the  Maumee. 


CHAPTER    XII. 


FRENCH  ILLINOIS. 


The  Illinois  Country  Ceded  to  Great  I'lituin  —  Johnson's  Disastrous  Expedi- 
tion—  Sketch  of  the  Illinois  Country  —  Lait  of  the  French. 

De'JUOIT  and  F'M't  Pitt  were  the  only  outposts  that  withstood 
the  fur}^  of  the  Indians,  and  these  held  out  only  under  the  great- 
est dangers  and  hardships.  The  latter  was  relieved  by  the  cele- 
brated expedition  of  Col.  Henry  Bouquet.  In  the  following 
spring,  1764,  Pontiac  again  led  the  western  tribes  against  the 
border  posts  and  cottlemcnts,  but  the  expeditions  of  Brodstrect 
on  the  one  hand,  and  Co\  Bouquet  on  the  other,  put  a  stop  to 
their  incursions. 

Besides  the  settlements  and  posts  we  have  spoken  of,  there 
were  six  settlements  of  the  French  cast  of  the  Mississippi,  what 
was  called  Illinois,  which,  though  not  included  in  the  capitula- 
tion of  Montreal,  were  ceded  by  the  trcaiy  of  Paris  to  Great 
Britain.  They  were,  Cahokia,  at  the  mouth  of  Cahokia  creek, 
less  than  four  miles  below  the  site  of  St.  Louis;  St.  Philip,  forty- 
five  miles  below  Cahokia,  on  the  Mississippi ;  Kaskaskia,  on  Kas- 
kaskiu  river,  six  miles  from  its  mouth  ;  Fort  Chartres,  about  fif- 


■  «i 


'■TW'"'"', 


FnAXCH  Illinois. 


137 


tocn  niilos  northwest  from  Kaskaskiaj  on  the  Mississippi ;  Prairie 
du  Kochcr,  near  Fort  Chartres;  and  Vincennes,  on  tlie  Wabash. 
All  these  settlements  were  under  the  government  of  St.  Ange  de 
Belle  Rive,  commandant  at  Fort  Chartres,  subordinate  to  M. 
D'Abadie,  at  New  Orleans,  who  was  director-general  and  civil 
and  military  commandanu  of  the  province  of  Louisiana,  under 
the  king.  It  was  known  that  Louisiana  east  of  the  Mississippi 
had  been  surrendered  to  the  Ensrlish ;  it  was  not  knowvi  that 
Louisiana  west  of  the  ]\iississlppi  had  been  ceded  to  Spain,  and 
accordingly,  immediately  after  the  capitulation  of  Canada  was 
known  in  Louisiana,  movements  were  set  on  foot  to  extend  the 
settlements  and  power  of  France  beyond  the  Mississippi.  The 
most  important  of  these,  was  the  settlement  of  St.  Louis.  On 
the  16th  of  March,  1763,  after  the  cession  of  western  Louisiana 
to  Spain,  D'Abadie  was  appointed  governor  of  Louisiana.  Short- 
ly after  his  arrival,  on  the  29th  of  Jane,  at  >'  "v  Orleans,  he 
granted  to  Pierre  Ligeuste  Laclede,  and  his  ass'  tos,  under  the 
name  of  "  The  Louisiana  Fur  Company,"  a  charter  containing 
"  the  necessary  powers  to  trade  with  the  Indians  of  Missouri,  and 
those  west  of  the  Mississippi,  above  the  Missouri,  as  far  north  a  . 
the  river  St.  Peters,"  with  authority  to  establish  such  posts  as 
they  might  think  fit  in  furtherance  of  their  enterprise.  Accord- 
ingl}-,  on  the  3d  of  August,  Laclede  with  his  party,  including  Au- 
gustc  and  Pierre  Chouteau  in  his  family,  both  then  very  young, 
left  New  Orleans,  and  on  the  3d  of  November,  reached  St.  Oene- 
vievc.  At  that  period  there  were  only  two  settlements  of  the 
French  west  of  the  Mississippi,  above  the  post  of  Arkansas.  On 
the  present  site  of  New  Madrid,  a  trading  post  was  established  as 
early,  according  to  tradition,  as  17-10.*  The  early  inhabitants 
were  chiefly  hunters  and  traders;  and,  from  the  great  number  of 
bears  in  that  region,  their  principal  occupation  was  the  chase  of 
that  animal,  and  the  preparation  and  sale  of  bear's  oil,  which 
they  collected  and  shipped,  by  the  Kaskaskia  traders,  to  New 
Orleans.  From  this  circumstance,  and  from  the  fact  that  it  was 
situated  on  a  bend  of  the  li'.a^r,  it  was  named  in  keeping  with 
French  Creole  humor,  "  L'An.se  d'  la  Gresse  "  (greasy  bend).  On 
a  beautiful  plateau  of  alluvion,  consisting  of  some  five  thousand 

♦  Peck's  Compilatiou. 


■ikfiLiiiiiLi. 


h 


f 


m 


138 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


acres,  and  extending  some  three  miles  below  the  present  town  of 
that  nanie,  the  old  village  of  Gt.  Genevieve  was  located.  It  was 
settled  as  an  agricultural  hamlet  about  1755,  but,  in  addition  to 
its  agricultural  advantages,  its  proximity  to  the  mines,  and  its 
beautiful  situation  on  the  ^Mississippi,  invited  settlers ;  and  a  con- 
siderable accession  to  its  population  was  afterward  made  by  the 
.Vrcnch,  who  retired  be3'ond  the  Mississippi  immediately  after  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  to  avoid  the  rule  of  the  British,  !Laciede  found 
the  position  of  St.  Genevieve  too  far  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
souri to  serve  his  purposes;  no  house,  indeed  in  it,  was  found 
large  enough  to  accommodate  his  stores.  Having  been  offered  bv 
the  commandant  the  use  of  the  store  at  Fort  Chartres  for  that  pur- 
pose, he  proceeded  to  that  })lace.  where  his  party  spent  the  winter. 
In  the  meantime,  he  explored  the  western  side  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  cho'-.o  a  site  on  its  wf^otern  bank,  eighteen  miles  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Missouri.  It  was  a  grove  of  heavy  timber  skirting 
the  river  bank,  and  behind  it,  at  an  elevation  of  some  thirty  feet, 
there  extended  a  beautiful  expanse  of  undulating  prairie.  Return- 
ing to  Fort  Chartres,  he  collected  his  party,  increased  by  some  fami- 
lies from  Cahokia,  Kaskaskia,  and  the  other  French  villages,  and 
on  the  loth  of  February,  1764,  landed  at  the  site  he  had  chosen, 
took  formal  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  France,  and  laid  off 
tlie  lines  of  a  tov.m  which  li''  named  St.  Louis,  in  honor  of  Louis 
XV.*  The  position  of  the  new  town  was  inviting;  the  French 
of  the  Illinois  were  deeply  dissatislied  with  the  cession  of  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  and  to  avoid  living  under  the  government  of 
their  hereditary  enemies,  and,  as  they  hoped,  to  remain  under  the 
protection  of  their  mother  country,  many  of  them  crossed  the 
river  and  located  themselves  at,  or  near  St.  Louis.  The  hamlets  of 
Vide  Pochc.  or  Carondelet,  established  by  Dc  Tergette,  in  1767, 
six  miles  below  St.  Louis  ;  Les  Petites  Cotes,  now  St,  Charles, 
established  by  Blanchctte,  in  1769  ;  Florisant,  established  by 
Demegant,  between  St.  Louis  and  St.  Charles,  in  1776;  and  the 
portage  des  Sioux,  established  about  the  saiue  time,  eight  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  were  also  places  around  which 
dissatisfied  Frenchmen  assembled. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1761,  Capt.   George  Johnston  with  a 

■*  Peck's  Compiliition. 


\v; 


regiment 
on  the  27 
Fort  Oxar 
Mississipp 
was  attack 
men,  and 
After  this 
the  folio 
concluded, 
army,  was 
s^ion  of    the 
sissippi,     \ 
and  retired 
to  St.  Louis 
people  until 
Capt.  Sterlii 
mained,  and 
remained   oi 
Maj.  Farmci 
excessively 
the  colony, 
rived  at  Kas 
he  establishe 
met  and  i;elc 
1768.     The  1 
unpopular, 
left  the  coun 
Oeo.  li.  Clark 
niandant. 

A  detailed 
in  what  was 
work  entitled 
the  Mississipp 
don  in  1770, 
sissippi  on  th( 
Wabash  and  ] 
this  tract  of  c( 
"The  air,  ii 


■^ T  i,^n.i!    ij . 


■*«li^' 


French  Illinois. 


139 


regiment  of  troops  set  out  to  take  possession  of  Louisiana;  and, 
on  the  27th  of  February  he  dispatched  Major  Loftus  to  occupy 
Fort  Cliartres.  The  latter  proceeded  with  his  detachment  up  the 
Mississippi  a  considerable  distance  above  Red  River,  whore  he 
was  attacked  by  hostile  Indians,  slain  with  a  large  number  of  his 
men,  and  the  detachment  broken,  and  disheartened,  returned. 
After  this  the  attempt  to  occupy  the  Illinois  was  abandoned  until 
the  following  year,  when  a  general  peace  with  the  Indians  was 
concluded.  In  the  spring  of  1765,  Capt.  Sterling  of  the  British 
army,  was  sent,  by  way  of  Detroit,  to  the  Illinois  to  take  posses- 
don  of  the  posts  and  settlements  of  the  French,  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. When  he  arrived,  St.  Ange  surrendered  Fort  Chartres, 
:mC\.  retired  with  his  garrison  and  many  of  the  French  inhabitants 
to  St.  Louis,  where  he  acted  as  commandant  by  the  consent  of  the 
people  until  superseded  by  the  Spanish  governor,  Piernas,  in  1770. 
Capt.  Sterling  received  the  allegiance  of  the  Frenchmen  who  re- 
mained, and  established  British  rule  over  them.  Capt.  Sterling 
remained  only  a  short  time  in  Illinois  and  was  succeeded  by 
Maj.  Farmer,  who  was  succeeded  by  Col.  Reed.  The  latter  was 
excessively  tyrannical  and  becoming  exceedingly  unpopular  left 
the  colony.  He  was  succeeded  by  Lieut.  Col.  AYilkins.  who  ar- 
rived at  Kaskaskia  in  1768.  In  the  spring  following  his  arrival 
he  established  courts  of  justice  a.id  appointed  seven  judges,  who 
met  and  i;eld  their  first  court  at  Fort  Chartres  on  the  6th  of  Dec. 
1768.  The  trial  by  jury  was  denied  and  the  courts  soon  became 
unpopular.  It  cannot  well  be  ascertained  just  when  Col.  Wilkins 
left  the  country  or  who  succeeded  him,  but  in  1778,  when  Col. 
Geo.  R.  Clarke  took  possession  of  it,  Mr.  Rochclave  was  the  com- 
mandant. 

A  detailed  and  interesting  description  of  the  French  settlements 
ill  what  was  kno\vn  as  the  country  of  the  Illinois,  is  given  in  a 
work  entitled  "  The  Present  State  of  the  European  Settlement  on 
the  Mississippi,"  by  Capt.  Phillip  Pitman,  and  published  in  Lon- 
don in  1770.  He  speaks  of  the  country  as  bounded  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi on  the  west,  by  the  river  Illiriois  on  the  north,  the  rivers 
Wabash  and  Miami  on  the  east  and  the  Ohio  on  the  south.  Of 
this  tract  of  country  he  writes  as  follows  : 

"The  ail',  in  general,  is  pure,  and  the  sky  serene,  except  in  the 


"m 


■-  I;  ■•,'!l 


'?!■■ 


Mil 


■f^k-W  Pi 


liO 


TuITLE's  CeSTENKIAL  NoiiTIIWEST. 


month  of  Marcli,  and  tlie  latter  end  of  September,  when  there  are 
heavy  rains,  and  hard  gales  of  wind.  The  months  of  May,  June, 
July  and  August,  are  excessively  hot,  and  subject  to  sudden  and 
violent  storms.  January  and  February  are  extremely  cold,  the 
other  months  in  the  year  are  moderate.  The  principal  Indian 
nations  in  this  country  arc  the  Kaskasquias,  Kahoquias,  Mitclii- 
gamias,  and  Peoryas ;  these  four  tribes  are  generally  called  tlio 
Illinois  Indians.  Except  in  the  hunting  seasons,  they  reside  near 
the  English  settlements  in  this  country.  ■  They  are  a  poor,  de- 
bauched, and  detestable  people.  They  count  about  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  warriors.  The  Pianquiehas,  Maseoutins,  Miamics, 
Kickapous,  and  Pyatonons.  though  not  very  numerous,  are  a 
brave  and  warlike  people.  The  soil  of  this  country,  in  general, 
is  very  rich  and  luxuriant;  it  produces  all  sorts  of  European 
grains,  hops,  hemp,  flax,  cotton,  and  tobacco,  and  European  fruits 
come  to  great  perfection.  The  inhabitants  make  wine  of  the  wild 
grapes,  which  is  very  inebriating,  and  is,  in  color  and  taste,  very 
like  the  red  wine  of  Provence.  In  the  late  wars.  New  Orleans 
and  the  lower  parts  of  Louisiana  were  supplied  with  flour,  beef, 
wines,  hams,  and  other  provisions,  from  this  country.  At  present 
its  commerce  is  mostly  confined  to  the  peltry'  and  furs,  which  a;e 
got  in  traffic  frona  the  Indians  ;  for  which  are  received  in  return 
such  European  commodities  as  are  necessary  to  cany  on  that  com- 
merce, and  the  support  of  the  inhabitants. 

"Fort  Chartres,  when  it  belonged  to  France,  was  the  seat  of 
government  of  the  Illinois.  The  headquarters  of  the  English 
commanding  officer  is  now  here,  who,  in  fact,  is  the  arbitrary  gov- 
ernor of  tliis  country.  The  fort  is  an  irregular  quadrangle  ;  the 
sides  of  the  exterior  polygon  are  490  feet.  It  is  built  of  stone,  is 
plastered  over,  and  is  only  designed  as  a  defense  against  the  Indi- 
ans. The  walls  are  two  feet  three  inches  thick,  and  are  pierced 
with  loopholes  at  regular  distances,  and  with  two  portholes  for 
cannon  in  the  faces,  and  two  in  the  flanks  of  each  bastion.  The 
ditch  has  never  been  finished.  The  entrance  to  the  fort  is  through 
H  very  handsome  rustic  gate.  Within  the  walls  is  a  banquette 
raised  three  feet,  for  the  men  to  stand  on  when  they  fire  through 
the  loopholes.  The  buildings  within  the  fort  are,  a  commandant's 
and  commissary's  house,  the  magazine  of  stores,  corps  de  garde. 


^'^^^^W" 


Fbekcii  Illinois. 


Ul 


and  two  barracks ;  these  occupy  the  square,     Witliin  the  gorges 
of  the  bastion  are  a  powder  magazine,  a  balcehouse,  and  a  prison, 
in  the  lower  floor  of  wliich  are  four  dungeons,  and  in  tli<'  upper, 
two  rooms,  and  an  outhouse  belonging  to  the  command;;     .     The 
The  commandant's  house  is  thirty-two  yards  long,  and  ten  broad, 
and  contains  a  kitchen,  a  diningrocm,  a  bedchamber,  one  small 
room,  five  closet?  for  servants,  and  a  cellar.     The  commissary's 
house  (now  occupied  by  officers)  is  built  on  the  same  line  as  this, 
and  the  proportion  and  the  distribution  of  its  apartments  are  the 
same.    Opposite  these  are  the  storehouse  and  the  guardhouse  ;  they 
are  each  thirty  yards  long,  and  eight  broatl.     The  former  consists 
of  two  large  storerooms  (under  which  is  a  large  vaulted  cellar), 
a  large  room,  a  bedchamber,  and  a  closet  for  the  storekeeper ;  the 
latter  of  a  soldiers'  and  officers'  guardroom,  a  chapel,  a  bedcham- 
ber, a  closet  for  the  chaplain,  and  an  artillery  storeroom.     The 
lines  of  barracks  have  never  been  finished;  thcj' at  present  con- 
sist of  two  rooms  each  for  officr  d  three  for  soldiers ;  they  are 
each  twenty  feet  square,  and  hu,e  betwixt  them  a  small  passage. 
There  are  fine  .spacious  lofts  over  each  building,  which  reach  from 
end  to  end ;  these  are  made  use  of  to  lodge  regimental  stores, 
working  and  entrenching  tools,  etc.     It  is  generally  believed  that 
this  IS  the  most  convenient  and  best  built  fort  in  North  .imerica." 
In  1756,  the  fort  stood  half  a  mile  from  the  bank  of  the  river ; 
in  1766,  it  was  eighty  yards.     In  two  years  after,  Capt.  Pitman 
states :  "  The  bank  of  the  Missis.sippi,  next  the  fort,  is  continually 
falling  in,  being  worn  away  by  the  current,  which  has  been  turned 
from  its  course  by  a  sandbank,  now  increased  to  a  considerable 
island,  covered  with  willows.     Many  experiments  have  been  tried 
to  stop  this  growing  evil,  but  to  no  purpose.     Eight  3'ears  ago  the 
river  was  fordable  to  the  island ;  the  channel  is  now  forty  feet 
deep.     In  the  year  1764:,  there  were  about  forty  families  in  the 
village  near  tlie  fort,  and  a  parish  church,  served  by  a  Franciscan 
friar,  dedicated  to  Ste.  Anne.     In   the  following  year,  when  the 
English  took  possession  of  the  country,  they  abandoned  their 
houses,  except  three  or  four  poor  families,  and  settled  in  the  vil- 
lages on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  choosing  to  continue 
under  the  French  government."     About  ihe  year  1770,  the  river 
made  further  encroachments,  and  in  1772,  it  inundated  portions 


:i.    : 


i'l.  11 


'.i(\ 


ll!.,;i 


(.11  ' 


142 


Tuttle's  Cextexxial  Northwest, 


AA&,kil 


of  the  American  bottom,  and  formed  a  cliannel  so  near  this  fort, 
that  the  wall  and  two  bastions  on  the  west  side,  next  the  river, 
■were  undermined  and  fell  into  it.  The  British  garrison  aban- 
doned the  place,  and  it  has  never  since  been  occupied.  Those 
portions  of  the  wall  which  escaped  the  flood,  have  been  removcil 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia  and  adjacent  settlements  for 
building  p\irposes.*' 

Capt.  Pitman  gives  us  the  following  description  of  Kaskaskia. 
His  spelling  of  the  name  of  the  jDost  is  Caseasquias  :  "  The  vil- 
lage of  Notre  Dame  de  Caseasquias,  is  by  far  the  most  consider- 
able settlement  in  the  country  of  Illinois,  as  well  from  its  number 
of  inhabitants,  as  from  its  advantageous  situation.  Mons.  Paget 
was  the  first  who  introduced  water  mills  in  this  countr}',  and  he 
constructed  a  very  fine  one  on  the  river  Caseasquias,  which  was 
both  for  grinding  corn  and  sawing  boards.  It  lies  about  one  mile 
from  the  village.  The  mill  proved  fatal  to  him,  being  killed  as 
he  was  working  it,  with  two  negroes,  b}^  a  party  of  Chcrokees,  in 
the  year  1764.  The  principal  buildings  are,  the  church  and  Jes- 
uits' house,  which  has  a  small  chapel  adjoining  it;  these,  as  well 
as  some  other  houses  in  the  village,  are  built  of  stone,  iiud,  con- 
sidering this  part  of  the  world,  make  a  very  good  a}:)pearancc. 
The  Jesuits'  plantation  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  forty  ar- 
pents  of  cultivated  land,  a  very  good  stock  of  cattle,  and  a  brew- 
ery ;  wdiich  was  sold  by  the  French  commandant,  after  the  coun- 
try was  ceded  to  the  English,  for  the  crown,  in  consequence  of 
the  suppression  of  the  order.  Mons.  Beauvais  was  the  purchaser, 
who  is  the  richest  of  the  English  subjects  in  tliis  country ;  he 
keeps  eighty  slaves ;  he  furnishes  eighty-six  thousand  weight  of 
flour  to  the  king's  magazine,  which  was  only  a  part  of  the  har- 
vest he  reaped  in  one  3'ear.  Sixty-five  families  reside  in  this  vil- 
lage, besides  merchants,  other  casual  people,  and  slaves.  The 
fort,  which  was  burnt  down  in  October,  1766,  stood  on  the  sum- 
mit of  a  high  rock  opposite  the  village,  and  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  Kaskaskia  river.  It  was  an  oblongular  quadrangle,  of 
which  the  exterior  polygon  measured  two  hundred  and  ninety 
by  two  hundred  and  fifty-one  feet.  It  was  built  of  very  thick, 
squared  timber,  and  dovetailed  at  the  angles.     An  officer  and 

*  Peck's  Compilatiou. 


FuExcii  Illinois. 


143 


twenty  soldiers  are  quartered  in  the  village.  The  officer  governs 
the  inhabitants,  under  the  direction  of  the  commandant  at  Char- 
trcs.     Here  are  also  two  companies  of  militia." 

Captain  Pitman  also  describes  Prairie  du  Rocher.  He  says 
<liat  it  is  seventeen  miles  from  Kaskaskia.  It  was,  however,  but 
fourteen  miles  :  "  It  is  a  small  village,  consisting  of  twelve  dwel- 
ling houses,  all  of  which  are  inhabited  by  as  many  families.  Here 
is  a  little  chapel,  formerly  a  chapel  of  ease  to  the  church  at  Fort 
Cliartres.  The  inhabitants  here  are  very  industrious,  and  raise  a 
great  deal  of  corn,  and  every  kind  of  stock.  The  village  is  two 
miles  fiom  Port  Cliartres.  It  takes  its  name  from  its  situation, 
being  bailt  under  a  rock  that  runs  parallel  with  the  river  Missis- 
sippi, at  a  league  distance,  for  forty  miles  up.  Here  is  a  com- 
pany of  militia,  the  captain  of  which  regulates  the  police  of  the 
village.  Saint  Philippe  is  a  small  village  about  five  miles  from 
Port  Cliartres,  on  tlie  road  to  Kaoquias.  There  are  about  sixteen 
houses  and  a  small  church  standing;  all  the  inhabitants,  except 
the  captain  of  the  militia,  deserted  it  in  1765,  and  went  to  the 
French  side  [Missouri].  The  captain  of  the  militia  has  about 
twenty  slaves,  a  good  stock  of  cattle,  and  a  water  mill  for  corn 
and  i)lanks.  This  village  stands  in  a  very  fine  meadow,  about 
one  mile  from  the  Mississippi." 

This  very  early  writer  next  gives  us  a  description  of  Cahokia,  or 
as  he  spells  it,  Kaoquias.  These  sketches  from  Capt.  Pitman's 
writings  supply  a  valuable  link  in  the  early  history  of  Illinois  : 
"  The  village  of  Saint  Famillede  Kaoquias,"  Pitman  writes,"  is 
generally  reckoned  fifteen  leagues  from  Fort  Cliartres,  and,  six 
leagues  below  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  It  stands  near  the  side 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  is  marked  from  the  river  by  an.  island  of  two 
leagues  long.  Tlie  village  is  oppo.site  the  centre  of  this  island  ;  it  is 
long  and  straggling,  being  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  one  end  to 
the  other.  It  contains  forty-five  dwelling  houses,  and  a  church  near 
its  centre.  The  situation  is  not  well  chosen,  as  in  the  Hoods  it 
is  generally  overflowed  two  or  three  feet.  This  was  the  first 
settlement  on  the  Mississippi.  The  land  was  purchased  of  the 
savages  by  a  few  Canadians,  some  of  whom  married  women  of  the 
Kaoquias  nation,  and  others  brought  their  wives  from  Canada, 
and  then  resided  there,  leaving  their  children  to  succeed  them. 


P 


iill 


I  1 

'■•4  1 


I 


i-:h 


1st'!  :ii| 


\\\ 


I 


144 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


\' 


"  Tlic  inhabitants  of  this  place  depend  more  on  hunting,  and 
their  Indian  trade,  tlian  on  agriculture,  tvs  they  scarcely  raise  corn 
enough  for  their  own  consumption  ;  they  have  a  great  plenty  of 
poultry,  and  good  stocks  of  horned  cattle.  The  mission  of  St. 
Sulpice  had  a  very  fine  plantation  here,  and  an  excellent  house 
built  on  it.  Tlicy  sold  this  estate,  and  a  very  good  mill  for  corn 
and  planks,  to  a  Frenchman  wlio  chose  to  remain  under  the  Eng- 
lish government.  They  also  disposed  of  thirty  negroes  and  a 
good  stock  of  cattle,  to  different  peoj)lo  in  the  country,  and  re- 
turned to  Franco  in  1704.  What  is  called  the  fort,  is  a  small 
house  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  village.  It  dilfers  nothing 
from  the  other  hou.ses,  except  in  being  one  of  the  poorest.  It 
was  formerly  inclosed  with  high  palisades,  but  these  were  torn 
down  and  burnt.  Indeed,  a  fort  at  this  place  could  be  of  little 
use." 

All  of  these  posts,  and  the  whole  country  which  Pitman  has 
thus  been  describing  to  us,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  English 
and  soon  after  all  the  province  of  Lousiana  and  that  of  New  Or- 
leans passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  and  thus  terminated 
French  rule  in  the  new  world,  a  termination  sad,  indeed,  to 
France,  and  to  Frenchmen,  since  so  much  treasure  had  been  ex- 
pended in  a  vain  attempt  to  establish  a  branch  of  the  French  em- 
pire ill  North  America. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  REVOLUTION  IX  THE  NORTHWEST. 

Settlements  in  the  Ohio  Valley  —  Dunmore's  War — Indian  Border  Wars— - 
Affairs  in  the  Lake  Region  —  The  E.xpidition  of  George  Rogers  Clark. 

Early  in  the  year  1774,  Lord  Dunmore,  prompted,  jis  is  be- 
lieved, by  Col.  Croghan,  determined,  by  extensive  measures,  to 
extend  the  authority  of  Virginia  over  Pittsburgh  and  its  vicinity. 
lie  therefore  dispatched  Capt.  Connolly  with  po^Yer  to  take  pos- 


session of 

king.     C 

people  in 

upon  the 

order  to 

wards  g()\ 

time,  and 

vania  in 

took  place 

iiolly  was 

demonstn 

after  relca; 

justice  of 

returned  ti 

cute  the 

purpose,  111 

with  the  ci 

but  merely 

we  come  t 

enter  into 

so  far  as  i 

v-Tir  and  th 

teresting,  bi 

work.     For 

struggle  for 

Rogers  Chii 

way.     AVhi 

from  the  Bj 

region  was 

standpoint. 

either  in  tli 

same  genera 

mandants  ol 

eral  at  Que 

which  was  a 

arbitrary  mr 

ing  at  Detro 

ing  the  bout 

IG 


I'll  i 


•yw^ 


Tun  Hevolutiox  ix  tuk  Nouthwest. 


145 


session  of  tlio  country  upon  the  Monongaliela,  in  the  i  ame  of  tlio 
king.     Cnpt.  (doctor)  Connolly  issued  his  proclama'.ion  to  the 
people  in  tlie  neighborhood  of  Pittsburgh,  and  Red  Stone,  calling 
upon  them  to  meet  on  the  24th  or  25th  of  January,  1774,  iu 
order  to  be  enrolled  as  Virginia  militia.     Arthur  St.  Clair,  after- 
wards governor  of  the  northwest,  was  present  at  Pittsburgh  at  the 
time,  and  being  the  western  agent  of  the  proprietors  of   Pennsyl- 
vania in  the  west,  he  had  Connolly  arrested  before  the  meeting 
took  place.     Tlic  people,  however,  assembled,  and  although  Con- 
nolly was  not  permitted  to  meet  them,  they  made  some  riotous 
demonstrations,  jiartly  in  favor  of  Virginia.     Connolly  was  soon 
after  released  on  bail ;    and  going  to  Stanton,  he  was  sworn  as  a 
justice  of  the  peace  of  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  and  soon  after 
returned  to  Pittsburgh,  with  civil  and  military  authority,  to  exe- 
cute the  laws  of  Virginia.     A  contest  followed,  but  it  is  not  out 
purpose,  in  this  work,  to  give  any  account  of  liie  events  connected 
with  the  early  settlement  of  Kentucky  or  western  Pennsylvania, 
but  merely  to  skip  along  on  the  heads  of  important  events  until 
we  come  to  the  early  history  of  Ohio.     Nor  do  we  propose  to 
enter  into  any  account  of  the  great  revolutionary  war,  except  in 
so  far  as  relates  to  the  northwest.     An  account  of  Dunmore's 
v,'ar  and  the  long  train  oi  attendant  border  events,  would  be  in- 
teresting, but  it  does  not  properly  come  within  the  bounds  of  this 
work.     For  a  long  while,  or  until  177G,  Kentucky  had  a  bitter 
struggle  for  an  existence,  and  it  was  not  until  hor  founder,  George 
Rogers  Clark,  made  it  his  home,  that  it  gained  any  great  head- 
way.    While  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  was  fdling  up  by  settlers 
from  the  Briti.sh  provinces  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  the  lake 
region  was  gradually  increasing  in  civilization  from  a  Canadian 
standpoint.     In  this  section  the  English  made  but  little  change, 
either  in  the  laws  or  in  their  administration,  and  pursued  the 
same  general  policy  as  their  predecessors,  the  French.     The  com- 
mandants of  the  posts,  although  responsible  to  the  governor  gen- 
eral at  Quebec,   were  still  possessed  of  a  discretionary  power, 
which  was  all  but  absolute,  and  which  they  exercised  in  a  highl}^ 
arbitrary  manner.     In  17"^  1,  while  Gov.  Hamilton  was  command- 
ing at  Detroit,  an  act  was  passed,  called  the  Quebec  act,  establish- 
ing the  boundaries  of  Canada,  including  Michigan,  and  extending 
10 


'.:t 


11 


I 


til 


TUTTLO^S  Cj:NTEyNIAL   KoiiTIIWKfiT. 


146 


tlicncc  to  the  Mi.s.si.s3ippi  and  Ohio  rivers  on  the  south,  and  rjorth 
from  the  St  Lawrence  to  the  hitiUule  of  52",  or,  to  the  huul.s  of 
the  Iludsoti's  ]iay  company.  This  aetgratiteJ  to  tl»c  Catholic  in- 
habitants the  free  exercise  of  their  religion,  the  niuli.sturbeil  }x)3- 
Kcssion  of  their  cliureh  property,  and  llie  riglit,  in  all  matters  of 
litigation,  to  detnnnd  a  trial  according  to  the  former  laws  of  the 
province.  l>ut  tliis  right  was  not  extended  to  the  settlers  on 
lands  granted  by  the  English  crown.  The  criminal  laws  of  Eng- 
land were  introduced  into  Canada,  and  the  crown  reserved  to 
itself  the  right  of  establishing  courts  of  civil,  criminal  and  eccle- 
siastical juri.sdiction. 

The  enter})rise  of  the  people  was  not  wholly  confined  to  the 
fur  trade.     As  early  as  1773,  the  mineral  regions  of  lake  Superior 
were  visited ;  and  a  project  was  formed  for  working  the  eoj)per 
ore  discovered  there,  and  a  company  in  Kngland  had  obtained  a 
charter  for  that  purpose.     A  sloop  was  purchased  and  the  miners 
commenced  operations,  but  soon  found,  however,  that  the  expenses 
of  blasting  and  of  tron.sportation  were  too  great  to  warrant  the 
prosecution  of  the  enterprise,  and  it  was   abandoned.     In   1783, 
several  influential  merchants,  who  had  been  individually  engaged 
ill  the  fur  trade,  entered  into  partnership  for  its  more  successful 
prosecution,  and  established  what  was  styled  -the  Northwest  Fur 
Comj.(any.     In  1787,  the  shareholders  appointed  from  their  num- 
ber special  agents,  to  import  from  England   such  goods  as  might 
be  required,  and  to  store  them  at  Montreal.     This  plan  of  con- 
ducting the  trade  was  not  dissimilar  to  that  which  had  been  pur- 
sued by  the  French.     Stoz'chouses  were  erected  at   convenient 
places  on  the  borders  of  the  lakes ;  and  the  posts  formerly  occu- 
pied by  the   French  were  used  for  the  same    purpose.     Agents 
were  sent  to  Detroit,  Mackinaw,  the  Sault  Ste.  ^Nfarie,  and  the 
Grand  Portage,  near  lake  Superior,  who  packed  the  furs  and  sent 
them  to  Montreal,  for  shipment  to  England.    The  most  important 
point  of  the  fur  trade  was  the  Grand  Portage  of  lake  Superior, 
Uere  the  proprietors  of  the  establishment,  the  guides,  clerks  and 
interpreters  messed  together  in  a  large  hall,  while  the  canoe  men 
were  allowed  only  a  dish  of  "  homiu}',"  consisting  of  Indian  corn 
boiled  in  a  strong  alkali,  and  seasoned  with  fat.     Thus,  this  inter- 
esting trade,  which  had  been  carried  on  for  more  than  a  century, 


still  cor 
ters  of  t 
But  tl 
tent,  and 
■  n  the  se 
Jind  Nor( 
clearly  d^ 
made  rep 
Selkirk,  1 
sou's  Pay 
the  two  c 
c  '-npaniej 
hi'    s,  and 
trade  migl 
The  An 
ing  tliis  ev 
situation,  \ 
within  its  1 
ments  u23o 
ginia.     Def 
]ioints  of  d 
Indian  war 
munition,  a 
est  Americi 
and  scalp  t 
murderous  ( 
commander.- 
troit,  and  th 
brought.     I 
expeditions 
joint  expcdil 
to  attack  L 
ascend   the 
marched  to 
without  fight 
Indians.     Tl: 
were  all  mast 


■f^^r 


The  Revolution  in  the  XoRTinvEsr. 


147 


still  conlinued  to  circulate  in  its  ordinary  channeld  along  the  wa- 
ters of  the  lakes. 

But  the  spirit  of  mercantile  rivalry  was  carried  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, and  unhappily  excited  the  worst  passions  of  those  inlorestcd 
.n  the  several^ companies.  Tlie  eniployi's  of  tlu;  Hudson's  Bay 
and  Nortliwcst  companies,  the  boundaries  of  which  were  not  very 
clearly  delincd,  (jftcn  came  into  active  and  desperate  connict,  and 
made  repeated  attacks  upon  the  trading  posts  of  each  other.  Lord 
Selkirk,  however,  having  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Hud- 
sou's  Bay  Company,  succeeded  at  length  in  uniting  the  stock  of 
the  two  companies,  and  this  put  an  end  to  the  strife.  These  two 
c  '".ipanics  held  dominion  over  the  territory  bordering  on  the 
lal  '3,  and  studied  only  to  keep  it  a  barren  wilderness,  that  their 
Imde  might  be  preserved  and  prolonged. 

The  American  revolution  was  already  bursting  forth  ;  but,  dur- 
ing this  eventful  struggle,  much  of  the  northwest,  from  its  remote 
situation,  was  but  little  affected  by  the  war,  though  the  Indians 
within  its  borders  were  employed  to  harass  the  American  settle- 
ments upon  the  frontiers  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Vir- 
ginia.    Detroit  and  Ivlichilimackinac  were,  during  this  period,  the 
points  of  deepest  interest  in  the  lake  region.     At  these  posts  the 
Indian  warriors  were  assembled  and  furnished  with  arms  and  am- 
munition, and  from  thence  they  were  dispatched  against  the  near- 
est American  settlements,  to  burn  and  destroy,  and  to  massacre 
and  scalp  the  defenseless  inhabitants.     On  their  return  from  such 
murderous  expeditions,  tliese  savage  allies  were  met  by  the  British 
commanders  in  the  council  houses  of  Michilimackinae  and  De- 
troit, and  there  paid  a  stipulated  price  for  the  scalps  which  they 
brought.     In  some  instances  the  Indians  were  supported  in  these 
expeditions  by  the  regular  troops  and  local  militia.     One  of  these 
joint  expeditions,  comnT^nded  by  Capt.  Byrd,  set  out  from  Detroit 
to  attack  Louisville.     It  proceeded  in  boats  as  far  as  it  could 
ascend   the   Maumee,  and    then   crossed  over  to   the  Ohio,  and 
marched  to  Euddlc's  Station.     This  post  surrendered  at  once, 
without  fighting,  under  the  promise  of  being  protected  from  the 
Indians.     This  promise,  however,  was  violated,  and  the  prisoners 
were  all  massacred.     A  small  stockade,  called  Martin's  Station, 


■1 


^t 


m  ' 


i 


148 


Tuttle's  Centeskial  NoiiTiin ±:st. 


I: 


was  also  taken  by  the  same  comrnnnder,  and  liis  march  through 
the  whole  region  was  attended  with  the  iitmost  consternation. 

All  along  during  *,he  revolutionary  struggle,  the  loyal  colonists 
o[  Canada  instigated  the  Indians  to  a  miserable  war  upon  the 
border  settlements.  Dunmore's  expedition  did  much  to  discour- 
age the  natives,  but  it  was  not  until  the  celebrated  expedition  of 
Col.  Geo.  R.  Clark  penetrated  the  western  wilds,  that  the  English 
and  Indian  power,  as  arrayed  againc-t  the  r'  uggling  colonists, 
who  were  lighting  for  independence,  was  broken.  It  was  in  1775 
that  Col.  Clark's  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  French  settle- 
ments (under  English  rule),  in  what  is  now  Indiana  and  Illinois, 
and  in  the  following  spring  1  3  visited  them,  with  a  view  to  having 
them  brought  under  the  jurisdiction  of  his  own  colony.  In  pur- 
suance of  this  end  he  assembled  the  people  at  IL.rrodstown,  Ky 
and  requested  them  to  elect  delegates,  with  power  to  treat  with 
the  assembly  of  Virginia  respecting  the  political  affairs  of  tlie 
country.  1  .is  at  that  time  the  intention  of  Col.  Clark,  if  suita- 
ble conditions  could  be  procured,  to  have  the  inhabitants  of  these 
w-estern  settlemen*^ ;  declare  themselves  citizens  of  his  own  state, 
or  to  establish  an  independent  gcvurnment  consistent  with  the 
interests  of  tae  American  ca-'.se.  The  meeting  was  held  at  Ilar- 
rodstown  on  June  6,  1776,  and  George  Rogers  Clai'k  and  Gabriel 
Jones  elected  delegates  to  the  assembly  of  Virginia,  with  instruc- 
tions to  p''esent  a  petition  Lo  that  body,  praying  the  assembly  tc- 
accept  tl.em  as  such.  The  papers  were  jircpai  ed  and  in  a  few 
days  they  set  oi"it  for  AVillianr^burg  in  the  hope  oi.'arriving  before 
Ine  assembly,  then  sitting,  should  i  .  They  proceeded  on  their 
iourney  a«  far  a^^.  Bottetourt  county,  and  there  learned  tliat  they 
were  too  late,  for  the  assenibly  had  already  aajourned.  At  this 
]^oint  they  resolved  to  wait  for  the  fall  session.  When  it  was 
convened.  Messrs.  Clark  and  Tones  presented  their  credentials. 
The  assembly  resolved  that  the  western  delegates  could  not  take 
their  seats  as  members,  but  that  their  busincr.s  should  be  attended 
.;o.  "It  .-/as  late  in  the  session,"  says  Clark,  "before  we  got  a 
complete  establish  men'.;  of  a  county  by  the  name  of  Kentucky." 
He  continues:  "The  commandants  of  the  different  towns  of  the 
Ihinois  and  AVabush  I  knew  were  busily  engaged  in  exciting  the 


/^ii,. 


mly!r^m•l^■'•'wr^^^r- 


aaau. 


The  Revolution  lv  the  Northwest. 


149 


Indians.  Their  reduction  beeanie  my  first  object — 'expecting, 
jDrobablj,  that  it  might  open  a  field  for  further  action.  I  sent 
two  young  hunters  to  those  places  (in  the  summer  of  1777)  as 
spies,  with  proper  instructions  for  their  conduct,  to  prevent  sus- 
picion. Neither  did  they,  nor  any  one  in  Kentuckj'",  ever  knov; 
my  design  until  it  was  ripe  for  execution.  They  returned  to 
Harrodstown  with  all  tlie  information  I  could  reasonably  have 
expected.  I  found  from  them  that  they  had  but  little  expectaion 
of  a  visit  from  us,  but  tliat  things  were  kept  in  good  order,  the 
militia  trained,  etc.,  that  they  might,  in  case  of  a  visit,  be  pre- 
pared—  that  tlie  greaicst  pains  were  taken  to  inflame  the  minds 
of  the  French  inhabitants  against  the  Americans,  notwithstanding 
they  could  discover  traces  of  affection  in  some  of  the  inhabitants. 
When  I  left  Kentucky,  October  1,  1777,  I  plainly  saw  that  every 
ej'e  was  turned  toward  me,  as  if  expecting  some  stroke  in  their 
favor.  Some  doubted  my  return,  expecting  that  I  would  join 
the  army  in  Virginia.  I  left  them  with  reluctance,  promising 
them  that  I  would  certainly  return  to  their  assistance,  which  I 
V.ad  predetermined.  On  my  arrival  at  Williamsburg,  I  remained 
a  considerable  time  settling  the  accounts  of  the  Kentucky  militia, 
and  making  remarks  of  everything  I  saw  or  heard,  that  could 
lead  me  to  the  knowledge  of  the  disposition  of  those  in  power. 
Burgoyne's  army  liaving. been  captured,  and  things  seeming  to 
wear  a  i)lcasing  aspect,  on  December  10th,  I  communicated  my 
design  to  Grov.  Henry.  At  first  he  seemed  to  be  fond  of  it ;  but 
to  detach  a  party  at  so  great  a  distance  (although  the  service 
])erformed  might  be  of  great  utility)  appeared  daring  and  hazard- 
ous, a:,  nothing  but  sccrcsy  could  give  success  to  the  enterprise. 
To  lay  tne  matter  before  the  assembl}'',  then  sitting,  would  be 
dangerous,  as  it  would  soon  be  known  throughout  the  frontiers  ; 
and  probably  the  first  prisoner  taken  by  the  Indians  would  give 
the  alarm,  which  would  end  in  the  certain  destruction  of  the 
})arty.  IIj  had  several  private  councils,  composed  of  select  gen- 
tlemen. After  making  every  inquiry  into  my  proposed  plan  of 
operations  (and  particularly  that  of  a  retreat  in  case  of  misfortune, 
across  the  Mississippi  into  the  Spanish  territory),  the  expedition 
was  resolved  upon  ;  and  as  an  encouragement  to  those  who  would 
enirnge  in   said  service,  an   instrument  of   writing  was  signed, 


■r-T^ 


150 


Tcttle's  Ce^'tekxul  XojrrnwEST. 


wherein  tliose  gantlemen  promised  to  use  iheir  influence  to  pro- 
cure from  the  assembly  three  hundred  acres  of  land  for  each  in 
case  of  success.  The  governor  and  council  so  warmly  engaged 
in  the  success  of  this  enterprise,  that  I  had  very  little  trouble  in 
getting  matters  adjusted ;  and  on  the  second  day  of  February, 
1778,  received  my  instructions,  and  £1,200  for  the  use  of  the 
expedition,  with  an  order  on  Pittsburg  for  boats,  ammunition,  etc. 
Finding  from  the  governor's  conversation  in  general  to  me,  on  the 
subject,  that  he  did  not  wish  an  im])licifc  attention  to  his  instruc- 
tions should  prevent  my  executing  any  thing  that  would  mani- 
festlj'-  tend  to  the  good  of  the  public,  on  the  fourth  I  set  forward, 
clothed  ^vith  all  the  authority  that  I  wished.  I  advanced  to  Maj. 
William  Smith  £150  to  recruit  men  on  Ilolston,  and  to  meet  me 
in  Kentucky.  Capt.  Leonard  Helm,  of  Fauquier,  and  Capt. 
Joseph  Bowman,  of  Frederick,  were  to  raise  each  a  company,  and 
on  the  L-^'st?]  '  T  February  arrive  at  lied  Stone  Old  Fort. 

"  Bein£  \v  r  in  the  country  where  all  arrangements  were  to  be 
made,  I  appointed  Capt.  William  Ilarrod,  and  many  other  officers, 
to  the  recruiting  service ;  and  contracted  for  flour  and  other  stores 
that  I  wanted.  '•*  *  I  received  information  from  Capt.  Helm, 
that  several  gentlemen  took  pains  to  counteract  his  interest  in  ve- 
cruiting,  as  no  such  service  was  known  of  by  the  assembly. 
Consequently  he  had  to  ^end  to  the  governor  to  get  his  conduct 
ratified.  I  found  also  opposition  to  our  interest  in  the  Pittsburg 
countr}'.  As  the  whole  was  divided  into  violent  parties  between 
the  N'irginians  and  Pennsylvanians,  respecting  the  te  ritor}^,  the 
idea  of  men  being  raised  for  the  state  of  Virginia  affected  the 
vulgar  of  the  one  party  ;  and  as  my  real  instructions  were  kept 
concealed,  and  only  an  instrument  from  the  governor,  written  de- 
signedly for  deception,  was  made  public,  wherein  I  was  author- 
ized to  raise  men  for  the  defense  of  Kentucky,  many  gentlemen 
of  both  parties  conceived  it  to  be  injurious  to  the  public  interest  to 
draw  oil  men  at  so  critical  a  moment  for  the  defense  of  a  few  de- 
tached inhabitants,  who  had  better  be  removed,  etc.  These  cir- 
cumstances caused  some  confusion  in  the  recruiting  service.  On 
the  twenty  ninth  of  March,  I  received  a  letter  from  'May  Smith, 
by  ex[)rcss,  inforniing  me  that  he  had  raised  four  companies  on 
Ilolston,  to  be  marched  immediately  to  Kentucky,  agreeably  to 


Iiis  ordei 
they  had 

With  £ 

to  the  k 
troops,  at 
Clark,  ow 
o[iemtioti; 
where  the 
conquest  ( 
He  move 
says  Clarl, 
of  the  tow 
after  whic 
hou.sc,  wh< 
kia  river,  i 
were  in  for 
arms,  but  1 
foundation 
men  in  tow 
present  all 
the  more  ir 
of  the  divi 
into  diffcre 
at  a  certain 
to  be  imiu( 
who  could 
street  and 
tants  that  < 
down.     Tl 
time  we  hat 
to  prevent  c 
case  of  oj>p( 
mentioning. 
the  inhabit; 
Koa  to  be  s( 
but,  dosign( 
every  quartc 
night  aroun 


i: 


',  I  I     Hill  I 


!T^ 


The  Beyolutiow  ix  the  XonxiiwEST. 


151 


Iiis  orders  ;  another  express  from  Kentucky  informed  mo  that 
they  liad  gained  considerable  strength  since  I  left  that  quarter.'' 
With  such  forces  us  he  could  raise,  Col.  Clark  moved  forward 
to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  where  he  disclosed  liis  plans  to  his 
troops,  at  which  tuaiiy  of  them  deserted  him.  At  this  point, 
Clark,  owing  to  the  weakness  of  his  force,  resolved  to  commence 
operations  in  Illinois,  where  the  settlements  were  smaller,  and 
where  the  Indians  were  less  an  object  of  terror.  At  this  time  the 
conquest  of  Vincennes  was  among  the  possibilities  of  the  future. 
lie  moved  toward  Kaskaskia;  and,  ''on  the  fourth  of  July,'' 
says  Clark's  memoir,  "  in  the  evening,  we  got  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  town,  where  we  lay  until  near  dark,  keeping  spies  ahead, 
after  which  we  commenced  our  march,  and  took  possession  of  a 
house,  wherein  a  large  family  lived,  on  the  bank  of  the  Kaskas- 
kia rivor,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  above  the  town.  We 
were  informed  that  the  people,  a  few  days  before,  were  under 
arms,  but  had  concluded  that  the  cause  of  the  alarm  was  without 
foundation ;  and  that  at  that  time  there  was  a  great  number  of 
men  in  town,  but  that  the  Indians  had  generally  left  it,  and  at 
present  all  was  quiet  We  soon  procured  a  sufficiency  of  vessels, 
the  more  in  ease  to  convey  us  across  the  river.  *  *  With  one 
of  the  divisions  I  marched  to  the  fort,  and  ordered  the  other  two 
into  diirerent  quarters  of  the  town.  If  I  met  with  no  resistance, 
at  a  certain  signal,  a  shout  was  to  be  given,  and  certain  parts  were 
to  be  immediately  possessed ;  and  the  men  of  each  detachment 
who  could  speak  the  French  language,  were  to  run  through  every 
street  and  proclaim  what  had  happened,  and  inform  the  inhabi- 
tants that  every  person  who  appeared  in  the  streets  would  be  sliot 
down.  This  disposition  had  its  desired  effect.  In  a  very  little 
time  we  had  complete  possession,  and  every  avenue  was  guarded, 
to  prevent  any  escape,  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  other  villages  in 
case  of  opposition.  Various  orders  had  been  issued,  not  worth 
mentioning.  1  don't  suppose  greater  silence  ever  reigned  among 
the  inhabitants  of  a  phice  than  did  at  this  at  present ;  not  a  per- 
son to  be  seen,  not  a  word  to  be  heard  from  them  for  some  time  , 
but,  designed I3',  the  greatest  noise  kept  up  by  our  troops  through 
every  quarter  of  the  town,  and  patrols  continually  the  \Yholo 
uight  around  it,  as  intercepting  any  information  was  a  capital 


i  'M 


0;l 


IIS 


152 


TuTTLe's   CeNTEXNIAL  NoiiTIIWEST. 


object ;  and  in  about  two  hoars  tlic  whole  of  the  inhabitants  were 
disarmed,  and/infornied  that  if  one  was  taken,-,  attempting  to 
make  his  escape,  -he  shoukl  be  immediately  put  to  death." 

After  Col.  Clark,  through  bloodless  means,  had  excited  the  ter- 
ror of  the  French  inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia,  he  surprised  them 
and  won  their  firm  confidence  and  lasting  friendship  by  perform- 
ing many  acts  of  generosity  unexpected  by  them.  On  the  fifth 
of  July,  he  caused  a  few  of  the  principal  men  of  the  village  to 
be  arrested  and  put  in  irons.  This  occurrence  caused  the  priest 
of  the  village,  Father  Gibault,  and  several  of  the  principal  set- 
tlers, to  ci'l  upon  Clark  and  plead  for  liberty  to  assemble  peace- 
ably in  their  litt^"  church,  and  take  leave  of  each  other.  Col. 
Clark  calmly  replied  that  he  had  nothing  against  their  religion  ; 
that  they  might  do  as  they  had  requested,  but  that  they  must  not 
venture  out  of  the  town. 

Accordingly  the  trembling  Frenchmen  assembled  at  the  church, 
•where  they  laid  the  burden  of  their  troubles  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross.  After  a  long  and  devout  service,  they  returned  to  their 
dwellings.  *  A  deputation  of  the  principal  citizens  again  waited  on 
the  conqueror,  and  represented  that  the  inhabitants  could  submit 
to  the  loss  of  their  property,  knowing  that  their  situation  was  the 
fate  of  war,  but  that  they  desired  not  to  be  separated  from  their 
wives' and  children,  and  that  some  clothes  and  provisions  might 
be  allowed  for  tlioir  support.  Iii  rcpl}'.  Col.  Clark  asked  the 
Frenchmen  if  they  regarded  the  Virginians  as  savages.  "Do  yoii 
think,"  said  he,  "  that  Americans  intend  to  strip  women  and  chil- 
dren, or  take  the  bread  out  of  their  mouths  ?  ^fy  countrymen 
disdain  to  make  war  upon  helpless  innocence.  It  was  to  prevent 
the  horrors  of  Indian  butchery  upon  our  own  wives  and  children, 
that  wc  have  taken  arms  and  penetrated  into  this  remote  strong- 
hold of  British  and  Indian  barbarity,  and  not  ihe  desj)icable  pros- 
pect of  plunder."  He  told  them  that  the  king  of  France  had 
united  his  powerful  arms  with  those  of  America ;  and  that  the 
war  for  independence  would  not  probably  long  continue;  that 
they  were  at  liberty  to  take  which  side  they  pleased,  without  the 
least  danger  to  either  their  property  or  their  families.  Nor  would 
their  religion  be  a  source  of  disagreement,  as  all  religions  were  re- 
garded with  equal  respect  in  the  eye  of  the  American  law,  and 


ill      '    Pi'll!  '.  1 


The  IIevolvtiox  in  the  KonrinrEST. 


153 


that  any  insult  offered  it  would  be  immediately  punished.  lie 
concluded  by  telling  them  to  go  and  inform  theii'  fellow  citizens 
that  they  were  at  liberty  to  conduct  themselves  as  usual,  without 
the  least  apprehension  ;  and  that  their  fricutls  who  were  in  con- 
finement should  be  released  immediately.  This  speech  dispelled 
the  gloom  that  was  resting  on  the  minds  of  the  inhabitants,  and, 
together  with  tlie  intelligence  that  an  alliance  between  France  and 
the  United  States  had  been  effected,  induced  them  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  state  of  Virginia.  So  effective  was  the 
impression  which  Clark  produced  upon  them,  that  a  volunteer 
company  of  French  militia  joined  his  forces.  Ilaving  brought 
the  settlements  of  Illinois  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Virginia,  Col. 
Clark  next  turned  his  attention  to  Vincennes.  Believing  that 
Father  Gibault  was  inclined  to  the  American  interest-,  he  con- 
sulted him  on  the  subject  of  excluding  the  British  power  from 
that  post.  The  priest  at  once  suggested  a  plan  of  operations. 
The  governor  of  Vincennes,  he  said,  had  gone  to  Detroit  on  busi- 
ness ;  and  the  inhabitants  could  easily  be  induced  to  declare  then^- 
selves  on  tlic  side  of  the  Americans.  He  offered  to  eh_age  in  the 
work  of  accomplishing  this  result.  Clark  was  pleased  with  the 
plans ;  and  the  priest,  with  some  attendants,  immediately  set  out 
for  Vincennes.  Having  arrived,  they  spent  a  day  or  two  in  ex- 
plaining the  nature  of  the  war  to  the  people. 

The  French  inhabitants  unanimously  acceded  to  the  proposal, 
and  went  in  a  body  to  the  church,  where  the  oath  of  allegiance 
was  administered  to  them  in  the  most  solemn  manner.  The 
American  flag  was  at  once  unfurled  over  the  fort,  and  an  Ameri- 
can oflicer  was  appointed  to  the  command.  These  events  made  a 
great  change  in  the  little  settlement  of  Vincennes.  The  Indians 
were  at  once  both  astonished  and  delighted,  and  the  white  inhab- 
itants put  on  new  hopes.  The  cause  of  the  United  States  began 
to  prosper  in  the  northwest  from  that  hour.  As  soon  as  the  news 
of  the  bloodless  conquest  of  Vincennes  reached  Clark,  at  Kaskas- 
kia,  he  appointed  Capt.  Helm  to  the  command  of  the  post,  as  also 
agent  for  Indian  affairs  in  the  de])artment  of  the  Wabash.  It 
was  about  the  middle  of  August  when  Capt.  Helm  left  the  latter 
place  to  assume  comnuxnd  at  Vinccpnes.  He  took  with  him  a 
speech  and  a  belt  of  wampum  from  Col.   Clark  for  the ''Grand 


T:-   i 


I'.ri 


m  i 


i:      'T 


"7^^^ 


154 


TuTTLEfs  Centexntal  XonTinvEST. 


Door,"  as  the  leading  chief  at  Vincenncs  was  called.  Arriving 
safely,  he  was  received  with  acclamations  by  the  settlers,  and  with 
promises  of  friendship  by  the  Indians. 

The  British  interest  lost  ground  daily  in  the  northwest,  and  in 
a  short  time  the  influence  of  the  Americans  reached  all  the  settle- 
ments on  the  AVabash  and  the  St.  Josephs  of  Lake  Michigan. 
Gov.  Henry  of  Virginia,  was  constantly  informed  as  to  the 
progress  of  these  events,  and  in  October,  1778,  the  general  assem- 
bly of  that  state  passed  an  act  providing  that  all  the  citizens  of 
the  copiiionwealth  of  Virginia,  "  who  are  already  settled,  or  shall 
hereafter  settle,  on  the  western  side  of  the  Ohio,  shall  be  included 
in  a  distinct  count}',  which  shall  be  called  Illinois  county;  and 
the  governor  of  this  commonwealth,  with  the  advice  of  the  coun- 
cil, may  appoint  a  county  lieutenant,  or  commandant-in-ehicf,  in 
that  couni}^,  during  pleasure,  who  shall  appoint  and  commission 
so  many  deputy  commandants,  militia  officers,  and  commissaries, 
as  he  shall  think  proper,  in  the  different  districts,  during  pleasure  ; 
all  of  whom,  before  they  enter  into  officf,  shall  take  the  oath  of 
fidelity  to  this  commonwealth,  and  the  oath  of  office,  according  to 
the  form  of  their  own  religion.  All  civil  officers  to  which  the  in- 
habitants have  been  accustomed,  necessary  for  the  preservation  of 
peace,  and  the  administration  of  justice,  shall  be  chosen  by  a  ma- 
jority'of  the  citizens  of  their  respective  districts,  to  be  convened 
for  that  purpose,  by  the  county  lieutenant  or  commaudaut,  or  his 
deputy,  and  shall  be  commissioned  by  the  said  county  lieutenant 
or  commandant-in-chief." 

But  before  the  provisions  of  this  act  could  be  carried  out,  the 
British  lieutenant  governor  at  Detroit  collected  an  army  consist- 
ing of  about  thirty  regulars,  fifty  French  volunteers  and  four  hun- 
dred Indians.  ^Marching  this  force  down  the  Wabash,  he  took 
possession  of  Vincennes  in  December,  1778.  When  this  force  ap- 
peared before  Vincennes  there  were  but  two  Americans  at  the 
post.  Tliey  were  the  commandant,  Capt.  Helm  and  a  man 
named  Henry.  The  latter  had  a  cannon  well  charged  and  })laced 
in  the  gate  of  the  fort,  while  the  bold  Helm  stood  by  it  with  a 
lif];hted  torch  in  his  hand.  When  Gov.  Hamilton  and  his  invading 
army  approached  within  hailing  distance,  Helm  shouted  "  Halt !  " 
and  added  :     "  N'^  -.uan  shall  enter  here  until  I  know  the  terms  I  " 


The  Britisl 
The  fort  w 
and  the  Fn 
cennes  bee 
west  becan 
semble  in  t 
his  position 
join  him  at 


Sketch  of  the 
Vincennc 
Clark  anc 

It  was  1 

Biitish  had 
Hamilton  h 
cannon,  and 
to  meet  at  I 
of  the  west 
joined  by  t 
from  the  m 
troops  undc 
reinforcemci 
have  plenty 
discipline,  1 
visit*  Fro 
reach  the  f 
"  Col.  Clark 
ner,  cut  off 
States.      He 

*  Clark' 


m^'^^ 


ClajiK'^  Expeditiox. 


155 


The  Britisli  officer  replied,  "  you  shall  have  the  honors  of  war." 
The  fort  was  then  surrendered,  Capt.  Helm  was  made  a  prisoner 
and  the  French  inhabitants  were  disarmed.  No  sooner  had  Vin- 
cennes  been  retaken  by  the  English  than  Clark's  situation  in  the 
west  became  indeed,  dangerous.  Indian  war  parties  began  to  as- 
semble in  the  vicinity  of  his  forces  in  Illinois,  and  to  strengthen 
his  position,  he  ordered  Maj.  Bowman  to  evacuate  Cahokia  and 
join  him  at  Kaskaskia. 


CHAPTEE   XIV. 


CLARK'S  EXPEDITION. 

Sketch  of  the  Celehrated  Expedition  of  Gen.  Geo.  Rogers  Clark  —  Capture  of 
Viucenncs,  Kaskasliia  and  other  Posts  —  The  Memorable  Contest  between 
Clark  and  Hamilton  at  Vinconncs. 

It  avas  not  long  before  Clark  received  information  that  the 
Biitish  had  weakened  their  position  at  Vincennes ;  that  Gov. 
Hamilton  had  but  eighty  men  in  his  garrison,  three  pieces  of 
cannon,  and  some  swivels  mounted;  that  the  hostile  Indians  were 
to  meet  at  Post  Vincennes  in  the  spring,  drive  the  Americans  out 
of  the  west,  and  attack  the  Kentucky  settlements  in  a  body, 
joined  by  their  southern  friends ;  that  all  the  goods  were  taken 
from  the  merchants  of  Vincennes  for  the  king's  use ;  that  the 
troops  under  Hamilton  were  repairing  the  fort  and  expected  a 
reinforcement  from  Detroit  in  the  s})ring;  that  they  expected  to 
have  plenty  of  all  kinds  of  stores;  that  they  were  strict  in  their 
discipline,  but  they  were  not  under  much  apprehension  of  a 
visit*  From  this  report  Col.  Clark  concluded  that  if  he  could 
reach  the  place  undiscovered  he  could  succeed  in  taking  it.f 
"  Col.  Clark's  was  indeed  a  critical  situation.  He  was,  in  a  man- 
ner, cut  off  from  aiiy  intercourse  between  himsclfand  the  United 
States.      He  knew  that  Gov.  Hamilton,  in  the  spring,  by  a  junc- 

*  Clark's  Memoir.      "  f  Tutlle's  History  of  Indiana. 


ri 


'^  ii 


I  iii 


11 


156 


T utile's  Centennial  Northwest. 


tion  of  his  nortbcrri  niul  southern  Indians,  would  be  at  the  head 
of  such  a  force  that  his  little  army  would  not  be  able  to  maintain 
possession  of  the  country.  Further  than  this  the  threatened  war 
on  the  borders  in  the  following  spring  could  not  fail  to  ruin  Ken- 
tucky, should  the  enemy  be  permitted  to  rnahc  the  necessary 
preparations  in  peace.  In  this  critical  situation,  Col.  Clark  could 
see  but  one  course,  which  was  to  attack  the  enemy  in  thcii 
quarters.  He  immediately  gave  orders  to  prepare  for  the  enter- 
prise. Although  it  was  a  bold  venture,  the  inhabitants  of  Kas- 
kaskia  gathered  about  him  with  great  enthusiasm,  volunteering, 
donating  provisions,  etc.  Plenty  of  provisions  were  soon  prc)- 
vided,  and  every  man  was  completely  provided  with  all  he  could 
desire  to  enable  him  to  withstand  the  coldest  weather.  It  was 
resolved  to  send  a  vessel  round  by  water  to  carry  the  artillery 
and  stores.  This  vessel  was  to  be  armed  so  that  she  might  force 
her  way  if  necessary.  For  this  purpose  a  large  Mississippi  boat 
was  purchased  and  completely  fitted  out.  Two  four-poundcrs 
and  four  largo  swivels  were  placed  in  position,  and  forty-six  men 
were  assigned  to  man  her  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Jolin 
Eogers.  He  embarked  on  the  fourth  of  February,  with  orders  to 
force  his  way  up  the  Wabash  as  high  as  the  mouth  of  White 
river,  and  there  to  remain  in  s  et  until  farther  orders ;  but  if  he 
found  himself  discovered,  to  do  the  eneriy  all  the  damage  he 
could,  without  running"  too  much  risk  of  losing  his  vessel,  and 
not  to  leave  the  river  until  he  had  lost  all  hope  of  the  arrival  of 
the  land  forces.  Col.  Clark  placed  much  reliance  upon  the  aid 
he  was  to  receive  from  this  vessel.  She  was  far  superior  to  any- 
thing the  enemy  could  fit  out  without  building  a  vessel ;  and  at 
the  worst,  should  they  be  discovered,  they  could  build  a  number 
of  large  pirogues  to  attend  her,  and  with  such  a  little  fleet,  annoy 
the  enemy  considerably.  Every  thing  being  ready  on  the  fifth 
of  February,  after  his  men  had  received  a  lecture  and  absolution 
from  the  priest.  Col.  Clark  crossed  the  Kaskaskia  river  with  one 
hundred  and  seventy  men.  The  weather  was  very  wet,  and  a 
great  part  of  the  plains  covered  with  water  several  inches  deep. 
The  march  was  exceedingly  disagreeable  and  difTicult.  In  the 
face  of  these  obstacles,  it  became  an  object  of  Col.  Clark  to  keep 
his  men  in  spirits.     '  I  suffered  them,'  says  Clark,  '  to  shoot  game 


1  I  I       I  ^PIPIIl 


Clark's  Expedition. 


157 


on  all  occasions  and  feast  on  it  like  Indian  war  dancers  —  each 
company  by  turns  inviting  the  others  to  their  feasts,  which  was 
the  case  every  night.'  Perhaps  Col.  Clark  stimulated  his  men 
most  by  setting  a  brave  example,  wading  as  much  through  the 
mud  and  water  as  any  of  them.  Thus,  insensibly,  without  a 
murmur,  were  those  men  led  on  to  the  banks  of  the  Little 
Wabash,  which  they  reached  on  the  thirteenth  of  February,  having 
passed  through  great  difficulties  and  suffered  indiscribablc  hard- 
shi^xs.  A  camp  was  formed  on  a  small  elevation  on  the  bank  of 
the  river,  and  without  waiting  to  discuss  plans  for  crossing  the 
river,  Clark  ordered  the  men  to  construct  a  vessel,  and  pretended 
that  crossing  this  stream  would  be  only  a  piece  of  amusement, 
although  inwardly  he  held  another  opinion.  The  vessel  was 
finished  on  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth,  when,  freighted  with  a 
select  company,  she  was  sent  to  explore  the  '  drowned  lands'  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  The  men  who  embarked  in  this 
enterprise  were  privately  instructed  what  report  to  make,  and,  if 
possible,  to  find  a  piece  of  dry  land.  They  fortunately  found 
about  half  an  acre,  and  marked  the  trees  from  thence  back  to  the 
camp,  and  made  a  very  encouraging  report.  On  the  fifteenth  the 
work  of  crossing  the  river  commenced.  Fortunately  the  day  was 
unusually  warm  for  the  season.  At  this  point  the  channel  of  the 
river  was  about  thirty  yards  wide.  A  scaffold  was  built  on  the 
opposite  shore,  which  was  about  three  feet  under  water.  The 
baggage  was  then  ferried  across  and  placed  on  it.  The  horses 
next  swam  across  the  river  and  received  their  loads  at  this  scaf- 
fold. The  troops  were  all  ferried  across  in  safety,  and  without 
any  important  accident  the  little  army  was  again  on  the  march 
in  water  about  knee  deep.'  'By  evening,'  says  Clark,  'we 
found  ourselves  encamped  on  a  pretty  height  in  high  spirits  ;  each 
party  laughing  at  the  other  in  consequence  of  something  that  had 
happened  in  the  course  of  this  ferrying  business,  as  they  called  it. 
A  little  antic  drummer  offered  them  great  diversion  by  floating 
on  his  drum.  All  this  was  greatly  encouraged,  and  they  really 
began  to  think  themselves  superior  to  other  men,  and  that  neither 
the  rivers  nor  the  seasons  could  stop  their  progress.  Their  whole 
conversation  was  now  concerning  what  they  would  do  when  they 
got  about  the  enemy.      They  now  began  to  view  tlie  main  Wa- 


__J 


t     :!     \ 


158 


TuTTLi'fs  Centennial  Noutiiwest. 


bash  as  a  creek,  and  made  no  doubt  but  such  men  as  the}'  wore 
could  find  a  way  across  it.  They  wound  themselves  up  to  such 
a  pitch  that  they  soon  took  PostVinccnnes,  divided  the  spoils,  and 
before  bed  time  were  far  advanced  on  their  route  to  Detroit.  All 
this  was  no  doubt  pleasing  to  those  of  us  who  had  more  serious 
thoughts." 

Here  Clark  discovered  that  the  whole  Wabash  valley  was 
overflowed,  and  that  the  enemy  could  easily  approach  him  if  they 
discovered  his  whereabouts,  and  wished  to  risk  an  action.  They 
marched  for  several  days  under  a  d  ching  rain,  and  through 
mud  and  water,  licaching  the  AV abash,  they  constructed  rafts 
for  the  purpose  of  crossing  the  river  on  a  food-stealing  cx].)cdilion  ; 
but  they  labored  all  day  and  night  to  no  purpose.  They  then  com- 
menced to  construct  a  canoe,  in  which,  when  finished,  a  second 
attempt  v.'as  made  to  steal  boats.  This  expedition  returned  in  a 
.'^hort  time,  having  discovered  two  fires  within  a  mile  of  the  little 
army.  Clark  immediately  dispatched  the  canoe  down  the  river 
to  meet  the  vessel  that  was  supposed  to  be  coming  up  with  sup- 
plies, with  orders  to  hasten  forward  day  and  night.  Tliis  was  the 
last  hope,  as  their  provisions  were  all  gone,  and  starvation  wa?  at 
hand.  The  soldiers  were  much  cast  down,  but  on  the  following 
day  they  commenced  to  make  more  canoes,  when,  about  noon,  the 
sentinel  on  the  river  brought  to  a  boat  with  five  Frenchmen 
from  the  fort.  From  these  persons  they  were  informed  that  their 
presence  was  undiscovered  at  the  fort.  The  hardships  of  this  day 
were  in  a  great  measure  I'elieved  by  a  deer  which  had  been  killed 
by  one  of  the  men.  On  the  following  day,  Clark  succeeded  in 
getting  the  little  army  across  the  Wabash,  and  he  detennincd  to 
reach  the  fort,  and,  if  poissible,  to  capture  it  that  night. 

From  this  point  we  will  let  Col.  Clark  tell  the  story  of  the 
march  and  the  siege,  in  the  language  of  his  own  journal :  "lliis 
last  day's  march  through  the  water  was  far  superior  to  anything 
the  Frenchmen  had  any  idea  of.  They  were  backward  in  speak- 
ing ;  said  that  the  nearest  land  to  us  was  a  small  league,  called 
the  sugar  camp,  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  A  canoe  was  sent  off 
and  returned  without  finding  that  we  could  pass.  I  went  in  Ihh' 
myself  and  sounded  the  water ;  found  it  deep  as  to  my  neck.  I 
returned  with  a  design  to  have  the  men  transported  on  board  the 


canoes  to  t 
day  and  ei 
the  bushes 
matter  of  c 
a  day's  pi(j 
to  the  trod 
ran  to  hca 
I  unfortun 
the  whole 
their  confi 
me  to  do 
poured  on 
marched  in 
and  fell  in, 
of  sheep, 
theirs ;  it  £ 
cheerfullv. 
deepest  pai 
men  inforn 
and  found 
ground,  wli 
the  sugar  c; 
half  an  ac 
took  up  ou 
river,  appei 
they  might 
night.     Th 
provisions, 
some  of  on 
conduct ;  t 
till  the  wal 
the  [ollieer 
it.     I  neve 
give  satisfa 
a  propositi 
vantage ;  1 
done,  and 
The  mo5 


■■^il-s^ssJSftH! 


w^r^yimf 


Clark's  ExvEuiTioif. 


159 


canoc3  to  tlio  sugar  camp,  which  I  knew  woukl  expend  the  whole 
day  juid  ensuing  night,  as  the  vessels  would  ])ass  slowly  through 
the  bushes.  Hie  loss  of  so  much  time  to  men  half  starved  was  a 
matter  of  consequence.  I  would  have  given  now  a  great  deal  for 
a  day's  picnision,  or  for  one  of  our  horses.  I  returned  but  slowly 
to  the  troojw,  giving  myself  time  to  think.  On  our  arrival,  all 
ran  to  hear  what  was  the  report.  Every  eye  was  fixed  on  mc. 
I  unfortunately  spoke  in  a  serious  manner  to  one  of  the  oflicers ; 
the  whole  were  alarmed  without  knowing  what  1  stvid.  I  viev-od 
their  confusion  for  about  one  minute  —  whispered  to  those  near 
me  to  do  as  1  did;  immediately  j)ut  some  water  in  my  hand, 
jioured  on  powder,  blackened  my  face,  gave  the  warwhoop,  and 
marched  into  the  water  without  .saying  a  word.  The  parly  ga/.ed, 
and  fell  in,  one  after  another,  without  saying  a  word,  like  a  llock 
of  slice}).  I  ordered  those  near  me  to  begin  a  favorite  song  of 
theirs;  it  soi)n  jiassed  through  the  line,  and  llio  whole  went  on 
cheerfully.  I  now  intended  to  have  them  transported  across  tl  • 
deepest  part  of  the  water;  but  when  about  waist  deep,  one  of  I., 
men  informed  mc  that  he  thought  he  felt  a  ])atli.  W''  examined, 
and  found  it  so;  and  concluded  that  it  kept  on  the  highest 
ground,  which  it  did ;  and  by  taking  pains  to  follow  it,  we  got  to 
the  sugar  camp  without  the  least  difficulty,  where  there  was  about 
half  au  acre  of  dry  ground,  at  least  not  under  water,  where  wo 
took  up  our  lodging.  The  Frenchmen  that  we  had  taken  on  the 
river,  appeared  to  be  uneasy  at  our  situation.  They  bogged  that 
they  might  be  permitted  to  go  in  the  two  canoes  to  town  in  the 
night.  They  said  that  they  would  bring  from  their  own  houses, 
jtrovisions,  without  a  possibility  of  any  persons  knowing  it ;  that 
some  of  our  men  should  go  with  them  as  a  surety  of  their  good 
conduct;  that  it  was  impossible  we  could  march  from  that  place 
till  the  water  fell,  for  the  jjlaiu  was  too  deep  to  march.  Some  of 
the  [officers?]  believed  that  it  might  be  done.  I  would  not  suiler 
it.  I  never  could  well  account  for  this  piece  of  obstinac}',  and 
give  satisfactory  reasons  to  myself  or  anj'body  else,  why  I  denied 
a  proposition  apparently"  so  easy  to  execute,  and  of  so  much  ad- 
vantage;  but  something  seemed  to  tell  me  tliat.it  should  not  be 
done,  and  it  was  not  done. 
The  most  of  the  weather  that  we  had  on  this  march  was  moist 


>  f; 


\  II 


'■ ' 


u 


I 


TF 


■\  i  ■> 


100 


Tvttlk's  Cjcxtkswial  Nohthwest. 


ixiiil  warm  for  the  season.  This  was  the  coldest  niglit  wo  had. 
Tlie  ice,  in  tlie  morning,  was  from  one  half  to  tlircc-(juartors  of  an 
inch  thick  near  the  shores  and  in  still  water.  The  morning  was 
the  Tmcst  we  had  on  our  march.  A  little  after  sunrise  I  lectured 
the  whole.  What  I  said  to  them  I  forget ;  but  it  may  ho  ca.'^ily 
imagined  by  u  person  that  could  possess  my  afTections  for  tlicn 
at  that  titne.  I  concluded  by  informing  them  that  passing  the 
plain  that  was  then  in  full  view,  and  reaching  the  opposite  woods, 
would  put  an  end  to  their  fatigue  —  that  in  a  few  liour.s  they 
•would  have  a  sight  of  their  long  wishcd-for  object  —  and  imme- 
diately stepped  into  the  water  without  waiting  for  any  reply.  A 
huzza  took  phice.  As  wc  generally  marched  through  tiie  water 
in  a  line,  before  the  tliird  entered,  1  halted  and  called  to  Major 
Bowman,  ordering  him  to  fall  in  the  rear  with  twonty-livc  men, 
and  put  to  death  any  man  who  refused  to  march,  as  wc  wi.shed  to 
have  no  such  person  among  us.  The  whole  gave  a  cry  of  appro- 
bation, and  on  we  went.  This  was  the  most  trying  of  all  the 
difTicuitics  which  wc  had  experienced.  I  generally  kept  fifteen 
or  twenty  of  the  strongest  men  next  myself,  and  judged  from  my 
own  feelings  what  must  be  tlrat  of  others.  Getting  about  the 
middle  of  the  plain,  the  water  about  middeep,  I  found  inj'se'f 
sensibl}'  failing ;  and  as  there  were  no  trees  nor  bushes  for  the 
men -to  suj^port  themselves  by,  F.  feared  that  many  of  the  most 
weak  would  be  drowned.  I  ordered  the  canoes  to  make  the  land, 
discharge  their  loading,  and  play  backward  and  forward  with  all 
diligence,  and  pick  up  the  men  ;  and,  to  encourage  the  party, 
sent  some  of  the  strongest  men  forward,  with  order.s,  when  they 
got  to  a  certain  distance,  to  pass  the  word  back  that  the  water 
was  getting  shallow  ;  and  when  getting  near  the  woods  to  cry  out 
'J.and!'  This  stratagem  had  its  desired  effect.  The  men  en- 
couraged by  it,  exerted  themselves  almost  beyond  their  abilities, 
the  weak  holding  by  the  stronger.  *  *  The  water  never  got 
shallower,  but  continued  deepening.  Getting  to  the  woods,  where 
the  men  expected  land,  the  water  was  up  to  my  shoulders  ;  but 
gaining  the  woods  was  of  great  consequence;  all  the  low  men, 
and  the  weakly,  hung  to  the  trees,  and  floated  on  the  old  logs 
untd  they  were  taken  off  by  the  canoes.  The  strong  and  tall 
men  got  ashore  and  built  fires.     Many  would  reach  the  shore, 


! « 


Ill 


;     i 


1 

;    1 

1 

1      1 

mamm 


¥mmw0jmm^am 


I  ■nMiwijiWiiw 


n 


and  fa] 
support 
of  gron 
swercd 
by  tlie  .'] 
liglitful 
Pro  vide  I 
lip  to  tO' 
It  was 
They  gn 
was  ncai 
etc.     Thi 
im media  I 
care;  mo 
part  to  tin 
rades.     T 
gave  new 
canoes,  an 
called  the 
and  town, 
Every  mai 
anything - 
policy,  and 
dicr  had  r 
another,  w 
display  oui 
not  a  pei'fec 
full  of  du( 
f^hooting  th 
our  active  j 
]M'isoner,  in 
did.     The  i 
to  that  whi( 
that  of  the 
fort,  and  th; 
nation  \va.s 
case  of  defc 
upward  of  si 
11 


Clark's  Expedition. 


161 


and  fall  with  t.r.cir  bodies  hulf  in  the  water,  not  being  able  to 
support  tlicmselves  without  it.  This  was  a  deb'glitful  dry  spot 
of  ground,  of  about  ten  acres.  We  soon  "«uind  that  the  fires  an- 
swered no  purpose  ;  but  that  two  strong  nicn  taking  a  weaker  ono 
by  the  arms  was  the  only  way  to  recover  him  — and,  being  a  de- 
lightful day,  it  soon  did.  But  fortunately,  ns  if  designed  by 
Providence,  a  canoe  (;f  Indian  squaws  and  children  was  coming 
up  to  town,  and  took  through  a  part  of  this  plain  as  a  nigh  way. 
It  was  discovered  by  our  canoes  as  they  were  out  after  the  men. 
They  gave  chase  and  took  the  Indian  canoe,  on  board  of  which 
was  near  half  a  quarter  of  a  b'ofTalo,  some  corn,  tallow,  kettles, 
etc.  Tliis  was  a  grand  prize,  and  was  invaluable.  Broth  was 
immediately  made  and  served  out  to  the  most  weakly,  with  great 
care  ;  most  of  the  whole  got  a  little  ;  but  a  great  many  gave  their 
part  to  tlie  weakly,  jocosely  saying  something  cheering  to  their  com- 
rades. Tliis  little  refreshment,  and  line  weather,  by  the  afternoon, 
gave  new  life  to  the  whole.  Crossing  a  narrow,  deep  lake,  in  the 
canoes,  and  marching  some  distance,  we  came  to  a  copse  of  timber 
called  the  "Warriors  Island.  We  were  now  in  full  view  of  the  fort 
ami  town,  not  a  shrub  between  ns,  at  about  two  miles  distance. 
Every  man  now  feasted  his  eyes,  and  forgot  that  he  had  suiTered 
anything  —  saying  that  all  that  had  passed  was  owing  to  good 
policy,  and  nothing  but  what  a  man  could  bear,  and  that  a  sol- 
dier had  no  right  to  think,  etc.  —  passing  from  one  o.Ktrcme  to 
another,  which  is  common  in  such  cases.  It  was  now  we  had  to 
display  our  abilities.  The  plain  between  ns  ai"^  the  town  was 
not  a  pci'fect  level.  The  sunken  grounds  were  covered  with  water 
full  of  ducks.  We  observed  several  men  out  on  horseback, 
sliooting  them,  within  a  half  a  mile  of  us,  and  sent  outas  many  of 
our  active  young  Frenchmen  to  decoy  and  take  one  of  these  men 
])iisoncr,  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  alarm  the  others,  which  they 
did.  The  information  which  we  got  from  this  person  was  similar 
to  that  which  we  got  from  those  wc  took  on  the  river;  except 
that  of  the  British  having  that  evening  completed  the  wall  of  the 
fort,  and  that  there  were  a  good  many  Indians  in  town.  Our  sit- 
uation was  now  truly  critical — no  possibility  of  retreating  in 
case  of  defeat  —  and  in  full  view  of  a  town  diat  liad,  at  this  time, 
upward  of  six  hundred  men  in  it,  troops,  inhabitants  and  Indians. 
11 


\4¥ 


•  4 


111 


niM 


^.K? 


10:i 


Tcttl's  Cextexmal  NoirnnvEST. 


1  i 


The  crew  of  tlic  galley,  tliough  not  Qfty  men,  u'ould  liave  been 
now  a  R'iiiforceincnt  of  immense  magnitude  to  our  little  army  (if 
I  may  so  call  it),  but  we  would  not  think  of  them.  We  were 
now  in  the  situation  that  I  had  labored  to  get  ouiv-clves  in.  The 
idea  of  being  made  prisoner  was  foreign  to  almost  every  man,  as 
they  expected  nothing  but  toriin-e  from  tlie  savages  if  they  fell 
into  their  hands.  Our  fate  was  now  to  be  determined,  probably 
in  a  few  hours.  We  knew  that  nothing  but  the  most  daring  con- 
duct wouUl  insure  success.  I  knew  that  a  number  of  the  inhabi- 
tants wished  us  well  —  tliat  many  were  lukewarm  to  the  interests 
of  either —  and  I  also  learned  that  the  crand  chief,  the  Tobacco's 
son,  had,  but  a  few  days  before,  openly  declared,  in  council  with 
the  British,  that  he  was  a  brother  and  friend  to  the  Big  Knives. 
These  were  favorable  circumstances  ;  and  as  ihere  was  but  little 
probability  of  our  remaining  until  dark  indiscovered,  I  deter- 
mined to  begin  the  career  immediately,  and  wrote  the  following 
placard  to  the  inhabitants  : 

^'' ^  To  the  InlaihUants  of  Post  Ylnccnnes :  Gextlemex  :  Being 
now  within  two  miles  of  your  village  with  my  army,  determined 
to  take  your  fort  this  night,  and  not  being  willing  to  surprise  you, 
I  take  this  method  to  request  such  of  you  as  are  true  citizens,  and 
willing  to  enjoy  the  liberty  I  bring  you,  to  remain  still  in  your 
houses.  And  those,  if  any  there  be,  that  are  friends  to  the  king, 
will  instantly  repair  to  the  fort  and  join  the  hairbuyer  general, 
and  fight  like  men.  And  if  any  such  as  do  not  go  to  the  fort 
shall  be  discovered  afterward,  they  may  depend  on  severe  punish- 
ment. On  the  contrary,  those  who  are  true  friends  to  liberty  may 
depend  on  being  well  treated ;  and  I  once  more  request  them  to 
keep  out  of  the  streets.  For  every  one  I  find  in  arms  on  my  ar- 
rival, I  shall  treat  him  as  an  enemy.     [Signed]  Gr.  R.  Cr.AiiK:.' 

"Iliad  various  ideas  on  the  supposed  results  of  this  letter,  T 
knew  that  it  could  do  us  no  damage,  but  that  it  would  cause  the 
lukewarm  to  be  decided,  encourage  our  friends,  and  astonish  our 
enemies.  *  "  We  anxiously  viewed  this  messenger  until  he 
entered  the  town,  and  in  a  few  minutes  could  discover  by  our 
glasses  some  stir  in  eveiy  street  that  we  could  penetrate  into,  and 
great  numbers  running  or  riding  out  into  the  commons,  we  sup- 
posed to  view  us,  which  was  the  case.     But  what  surprised  us 


was,  th 
of  the  ' 

SUpp'.)S( 

and  tliii 

A  little 

view  of 

selves  ii 

thought 

eating  ;i 

did  not 

with  the 

imderpr 

and  nuic 

were  con 

thing  tli;i 

be  show 

this  from 

ccedingl\ 

town  ;  bu 

ourselves 

w-ere  in,  n 

appeared  i 

person  tha 

which  the 

pairs.     Th 

low  plain 

frccjuent  ra 

level,  (whic 

crally  run  ; 

tagc  of  one 

completely 

showed  con 

I'oles  procui 

ble  ajipeara 

on  the  AVar 

their  horses 

about  more 

moved  and  i 


m^i 


T" 


Cl  .  I  UK 's  Expedition. 


1G3 


was,  that  nothing  had  as  yet  happened  that  h;id  the  appearance 
»j£  the  garrison  being  alarmed  — no  drum  nor  gun.     We  began  to 
suppose  that  the  inft)rmation  we  got  from  our  prisoners  was  false 
and  that  the  eneni}'  already  knew  of  us  and  were  prepared.     "     * 
A  little  before  sunset  we  moved  and  displayed   ourselves  in  full 
view  of  the  town  —  crowds  gazing  at  us.     We  were  plunging  our- 
selves into  certain  destruction  or  success.   There  were  no  midways 
thought  of.     We  had  but  little  to  say  to  our  men  except  incul- 
cating an  idea  of  the  necessity  of  obedience,  etc.     Wo  knew  they 
did  not  want   encouraging,  and  that  anything  might  be  attempted 
with  them  that  was  possible   for  such  a  number  —  perfectly  cool, 
under  proper  subordination,  pleased  with  the  prospect  before  them, 
and  much  attached  to  their  ofl'icers.     They  all  declared  that  they 
were  convinced  that  an  implicit  obedience  to  orders  was  the  only 
tiling  that  would  insure  success,  and  hoped  that  no  mercy  would 
be  shown  the  i)crson  that  should  violate  them.     Such  language  as 
this  from  soldiers  to  persons  iu  our  station  must  have  been  ex- 
ceedingly agreeable.     We  moved  on  slowly  in  full  view  of  the 
town ;  but,  as  it  was  a  point  of  some  conser|uence  to  us  to  make 
ourselves  appear  as  formidable,  we,  in  leaving  the  covert  that  we 
were  in,  marched  and  countermarched  in  such  a  manner  that  we 
appeared  numerous.     In  raising  volunteers  in  the  Illinoi.s,   every 
person  that  set  about  the  business  had  a  set  of  colors  given  him, 
wdiich  they  brought  with  them  to  the  amount  of  ten  or  twelve 
pairs.     These  were  displa3'cd  to  the  best  advantage;  and  as  the 
low  plain  we  marched  through  was  not  a  perfect  level,  but  had 
frcfjuent  raisings  in  it  seven  or  eight  feet  higher  than  the  common 
level,  (which  was  covered  with  water),  and  as  these  raisings  gen- 
erally run  in  an  obli(p;e  direction  to  the  town,  we  took  the  advan- 
tage of  one  of  them,  marching  through  the  water  under  it,  which 
completely   prevented    our   being   numbered.      But  our   colors 
showed  considerably  above  the  heights  as  they  were  fixed  on  long 
poles  procured  for  the  purpose,  and  at  a  distance  made  no  d(!spica- 
ble  appearance;  and  as  our  young  Frenchinan  had,  while  we  lay 
on  the  Warriors  Island,  decoyed  and  taken  several  fowlers,  with 
their  horses,    olTieers  were  mounted   on  those    horses,  and  rode 
about  more  completely  to  deceive  the  enemy.     In  this  manner  we 
moved  and  directed  our  march  in  such  a  way  as  to  sufTer  it  to  bo 


■'n4 


i  i 


r*^ 


'•kW 


mg^ 


104 


TuTTLE's   CeNTK};SIAL  yoUTIIWKST. 


(lark  before  \vc  Lad  advanced  more  than  lialT  way  to  the  town.  Wo 
then  suddenly  altered  our  direction,  and  crossed  ponds  where  they 
could  not  have  suspected  us,  and  about  eight  o'clock  gained  the 
heights  back  of  the  to\?n.  As  there  was  yet  no  hostile  appearance, 
we  were  impatient  to  have  the  cause  unriddled,  Lieut.  Bayley 
was  ordered,  with  fourteen  men,  to  march  and  fire  on  the  fort. 
The  main  body  moved  in  a  different  direction,  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  strongest  part  of  the  town.  The  firing  now  commenced 
on  the  fort,  but  they  did  not  believe  it  was  an  enemy  until  one 
of  their  men  was  shot  down  through  the  port,  as  drunken  Indians 
frequently  saluted  the  fort  after  night.  The  drums  now  sounded, 
and  the  business  fairly  commenced  on  both  sides.  Keinforee- 
ments  were  sent  to  the  attack' of  the  garrison  while  other  arrange- 
ments were  making  in  town.  ^  -"  We  now  found  that  the 
garrison  had  known  nothing  of  us ;  that,  having  finished  the  fort 
that  evening,  they  had  amused  themselves  at  different  games,  and 
hr.d  just  retired  before  my  letter  arrived,  as  it  was  near  roll  call. 
Tlio  placard  being  made  public,  many  of  the  inhabitants  were 
afraid  to  show  themselves  out  of  their  houses  for  fear  of  giving 
offense,  and  no  one  dare  give  information.  Our  friends  flew  to 
the  commons  and  other  convenient  places  to  view  the  pleasing 
sight.  This  was  observed  from  the  garrison,  r  .id  the  reason  asked, 
but  a- satisfactory  excuse  was  given;  and  as  a  part  of  tlie  town 
lay  between  our  line  of  march  and  the  garrison,  we  could  not  be 
seen  by  the  sentinels  on  the  walls.  Capt.  W.  Shannon  ai.d 
another  being  some  time  before  taken  prisoners  by  one  of  their 
[scouting  parties],  and  that  evening  brought  in,  the  party  had  dis- 
covered at  the  sugar  camp  some  signs  of  us.  They  supposed  it  to 
be  a  party  of  observation  that  intended  to  laiid  on  the  height 
some  distance  below  the  town.  Capt.  Lamotce  was  sent  to  inter- 
cept them.  It  was  at  him  the  people  said  thoy  were  looking  wbou 
they  were  fsked  the  reason  of  their  unusual  stir.  Several  sus- 
l^ected  persons  had  boon  taken  to  the  gariison  ;  among  them  was 
]Mr.  Moses  Henry.  Mrs.  Ilenay  went,  under  pretense  of  carrying 
him  provisions,  and  whispered  him  the  news  and  whi;t  she  had 
seen.  Mr.  Henry  conveyed  it  to  the  rest  of  his  fellow  prisoners 
which  gave  them  much  pleasure,  particularly  Capt.  Helm,  who 
amused  himself  very  much  during  the  siege,  and  I  believe  did 


1 


much  d 
our  stoi 
cre^v  wf 
have  be 
time  of 
^\■el■e  to 
receive 
the  gre; 
produce 
men. 
riors,  ini 
to  join  u 
men.     II 
ly  dispos 
wished  h 
on  the  ni 
dians  in  ; 
miglit  ha] 
we  might 
night  —  \^ 
"  The  o 
continued 
little  bcfo; 
It  was  kej. 
tlic  young- 
men  kept 
quaiiitcd  v 
relative  to 
floors  of  St 
above  the  \ 
troops  lay 
of  the  wall 
town,  some 
in  the   darl 
ings,  ditche 
and  did  no 
■:ould  not  a 
them  suflici 


.  Clauk's  ExPEDiTioy. 


165 


much  ilaningc.  Ammunition  was  scarce  with  us,  as  tlic  in(>st  of 
our  stores  .lad  been  put  on  board  ol;  the  galle\".  Though  lier 
crew  was  but  few,  such  a  vcinfor  ;cment  to  us,  at  this  t>ine,  wouhl 
liave  bec'.i  invaluable  in  many  instances.  But,  fortuaateb',  at  the 
time  of  its  being  reported  that  the  whole  of  the  goods  in  the  town 
were  to  be  taken  for  the  king's  use  (for  which  the  owners  were  to 
receive  billi>),  Col.  Lcgres,  Maj.  Bosseron,  and  others,  had  buried 
the  greatest  pa."t  of  heir  powder  and  ball.  This  was  immediatel}' 
produced,  and  we  found  ourselves  well  supplied  by  those  gentle- 
men. The  Tobacco's  son  being  in  town  with  a  number  of  war- 
riors, immediately  mustered  them,  and  let  us  know  that  he  wished 
to  join  us,  saying  that  by  the  morning  he  would  have  a  hundred 
men.  He  received  for  answer  that  we  thanked  him  for  his  friend- 
ly disposition,  and  as  we  were  sufficiently  strong  ourselves  we 
wished  him  to  desist,  and  that  we  would  counsel  on  the  subject 
on  the  morning  ;  and  as  we  knew  that  there  were  a  number  of  In- 
dians in  and  near  the  town  that  were  our  enemies,  some  confusion 
laight  happen  if  our  men  should  mix  in  the  dark;  but  hoped  that 
we  might  be  favored  with  his  counsel  and  company  during  the 
night  —  which  was  agreeable  to  him. 

"  The  garrison  was  soon  completely  surrovincled,  and  the  firing 
continued  without  intermission  (except  about  fifteen  minutes,  a 
little  before  day),  until  about  nine  o'clock  the  following  morning. 
It  was  kept  up  Vy  the  whole  of  the  troops  —  joined  by  a  few  of 
the  young  men  cf  the  town,  who  got  permission  —  except  fifty 
men  kept  as  a  reserv  e.  '^  '■'■  "  I  had  made  myself  fully  ac- 
quainted with  thf  situation  of  the  fort  and  town,  and  the  parts 
relative  to  each.  The  cannon  of  the  garrison  were  on  the  upper 
floors  of  strong  blockhouses  at  each  angle  of  the  fort,  eleven  feet 
above  the  surface ;  and  the  ports  so  badly  cut  that  many  of  our 
troops  lay  under  the  fire  of  them  within  twenty  or  thirty  yards 
of  the  walls.  They  did  no  damage  except  to  the  buildings  of  the 
town,  some  of  which  they  much  shattered;  and  their  musketry 
in  the  dark,  employed  agai'.i&t  woodsmen  covered  by  houses,  pal- 
ings, ditches,  the  banks  of  the  river,  etc.,  was  of  but  little  avail, 
and  did  no  injury  to  us  except  wounding  a  man  or  two.  As  we 
«;ould  not  all'ord  to  lose  men,  great  care  was  taken  to  preserve 
thcni  sufliciently  covered,  and  to  keep  up  a  hot  fire  in  order  to 


'■3!     •■ 


\'l 


IGCj 


Tuttle's  Cjjxtjjxxial  XoiirinvKST. 


intiiniilatc  llic  cuciny  as  well  as  to  destroy  tlioin.  The  embra- 
sures of  their  cannon  were  frequently  shut,  for  our  riflemen,  find- 
ing the  true  direction  of  them,  would  pour  in  such  volleys  when 
they  were  opened  that  the  men  could  not  stand  to  the  guns  — 
seven  or  eight  of  them  in  a  short  time  got  cut  down.  Our  troops 
would  frequently  abuse  the  enemy  in  urder  to  aggravate  tbem  to 
open  their  ports  and 'fire  their  cannon,  that  they  might  have  tlie 
pleasure  of  cutting  them  dovn  with  their  riLles  —  fifty  of  which, 
jierliaps,  would  be  leveled  tac  moment  the  port  flew  open ;  and  I 
believe  that  if  they  had  stood  at  their  artillery,  the  greater  part 
of  them  would  li".»e  been  destroyed  in  the  course  of  the  night,  as 
the  greater  part  of  our  men  lay  within  thirty  yards  of  the  walls; 
anil  in  u  few  hours  were  covered  equally  to  those  within  the  walls, 
and  much  more  experienced  in  that  mode  of  fighting.  «•  •'^  * 
Sometimes  an  irregular  fire,  as  hot  as  possible,  was  kept  up  from 
diJierent  directions  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  only  a  continual 
scattering  fire  at  the  ports  as  usual ;  and  a  great  noise  and  laugh- 
ter immediately  commenced  in  diflerent  parts  of  the  town  by  the 
reserved  parties,  as  if  they  had  only  fired  on  the  fort  a  few  min- 
utes for  amusement,  and  as  if  those  continually  firing  at  the  fort 
were  only  regularly  relieved.  Conduct  similar  to  this  kept,  tlie 
garrison  constantly  alarmed.  They  did  not  know  at  what  moinent 
they 'might  be  stormed  or  [blown  up?]  as  they  could  plainly  dis- 
cover that  we  had  flung  up  some  entrenchments  across  the  streets, 
and  appeared  to  be  frequently  very  busy  under  the  banks  of  the 
river,  whi(;h  was  within  thirty  feet  of  the  walls.  The  situation  of 
the  magazine  we  knew  well.  Capt.  Bowman  began  some  works 
in  order  to  blow  it  up,  in  case  our  artillery  should  arrive;  but  as 
we  knew  that  we  were  daily  liable  to  be  overpowered  by  the  nu- 
merous bands  of  Indians  on  the  river,  in  case  they  had  again 
joined  tlio  enemy  (the  certainty  of  which  we  were  unacquainted 
with),  we  resolved  to  lose  no  time,  but  t'y  get  the  fort  in  our  pos- 
session as  soon  as  possible.  If  the  vessel  did  not  arrive  before 
the  ensuing  night  we  resolved  to  undermine  the  fort,  and  fixed 
on  the  spot  and  plan  of  executing  this  work,  which  we  intended 
to  commence  the  next  day. 

"The  Indians  of  different  tribes  that  were  Inimical  had  left  tlic 
town  and  ncighboi'hood.  Capt.  Lainottc  continued  to  hover  about 


iiii 


Clark's  Expeditiok. 


167 


it,  in  order,  if  i>o.s.sible,  to  make  bis  way  good  into  the  fort.  Par- 
ties attempted  in  vain  to  surprise  him.  A  few  of  Ids  part}'  were 
taken,  one  of  which  was  Maisonville,  a  famous  Indian  partisan. 
Two  lads  that  captured  him  tied  him  to  a  post  in  the  street,  and 
fought  from  behind  him  as  a  breastwork  —  supposing  that  the 
enemy  would  not  fire  at  them  for  fear  of  killing  him,  as  he 
would  alarm  them  by  his  voice.  The  lads  were  ordered  by  an 
oilicer,  who  discovered  them  at  their  amusement,  to  untie  their 
prisoner  and  take  him  oil  to  the  guard,  which  they  did ;  but 
were  so  inhuman  as  to  take  part  of  his  scalp  on  tlie  way.  There 
hnppened  to  him  no  other  damage.  As  almost  the  whole  of  the 
j)cr.sons  who  were  most  active  in  the  departmcu.  of  Detroit  were 
either  in  the  fort  or  with  Capt.  Lamotte,  I  ^"'-  Kti'omely  uneasy 
for  fear  that  he  would  not  fall  into  our  puwci- —  '  jowing  that  he 
would  go  oS.  if  he  could  not  get  into  th'.-  I'uil  ...■  '  '^  course  of  the 
night.  Finding  that,  without  some  unforseen  accident,  the  fort 
must  inevitably  be  ours,  and  that  a  reinforcement  of  twenty  men, 
altliough  considerable  to  them,  would  not  be  of  great  moment  to 
us  in  the  present  situation  of  affairs,  and  knowing  that  we  had 
weakened  them  by  killing  or  wounding  many  of  their  gunners, 
after  some  deliberation,  we  concluded  to  risk  thj  reinforcement  in 
preference  of  his  going  again  among  the  Indians;  the  garrison 
had  at  least  a  month's  provisions,  and  if  they  could  hold  out,  in 
the  course  of  that  time  he  might  do  ns  much  damage.  A  little 
before  day,  tlie  troops  were  withdrawn  from  their  position  about 
the  fort,  except  a  few  parties  of  observation,  and  tho  firing  totally 
ceased.  Orders  were  given,  in  case  of  Lamotte's  approach,  not  to 
alarm  or  fire  on  him  without  a  certainty  of  killing  or  taking  tho 
whole.  In  less  than  a  quarter  of  au  hour  he  passed  within  ten 
feet  of  an  officer  and  a  party  that  lay  concealed.  Ladders  were 
flung  over  to  them,  and,  as  they  mounted  them,  our  party  shouted, 
^lany  of  them  fell  from  the  top  of  the  walls  —  some  within,  and 
others  back ;  but  as  they  were  not  fired  on,  they  all  got  over, 
much  to  the  joy  of  I  eir  friends.  Bat,  on  considering  the  matter, 
they  must  have  been  convinced  that  it  was  a  scheme  of  ours  to 
let  tliein  in,  and  that  we  were  so  strong  as  to  care  but  little  about 
them  or  the  manner  of  their  getting  into  the  garrison.  ^  * 
Tlie  firing  immediately  commenced  on  both  sides  with  redoubled 


Hit    ■: 


v^  'xm 


U    i  •  '   '.  i\ 


nil 


168 


Tittle's  Clxtexxial  XonTinyEsr. 


vigor,  and  I  believe  that  luoi'c  noise  could  not  have  been  made 
by  the  same  number  of  men  —  tlieir  shouts  could  not  be  heard 
for  the  iircarnis;  but  a  continual  blaze  was  kept  around  the  gar- 
rison without  much  being  done  until  about  daybreak,  when  our 
troops  were  drawn  oil  to  posts  prepared  for  them  about  sixty  or 
seventy  yards  from  the  fort.  A  loophole  then  could  scarcely  be 
darkened  but  a  rifle-ball  would  pass  through  it.  To  have  st'  1 
to  their  cannon  would  have  destroyed  their  men  without  a  pio  )a- 
bility  of  doing  much  service.  Our  situation  was  nearly  similar. 
It  would  have  been  imprudent  in  cither  part}'  to  have  wasted 
their  men  without  some  decisive  stroke  required  it. 

"Thus  the  attack  continued  until  about  nine  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-fourth.  Learning  that  the  two  prisoners 
they  had  brought  in  the  day  before  had  a  considerable  number  of 
letters  with  them,  I  supposed  it  an  express  that  we  expected  about 
this  time,  which  I  knew  to  be  of  the  greatest  moment  to  us,  as 
we  had  not  received  one  since  our  arrival  in  the  country ;  and, 
not  being  fully  acquainted  with  the  character  of  our  cncni}',  we 
■were  doubtful  that  those  papers  might  bo  destroyed  —  to  prevent 
■which  I  sent  a  flag  (with  a  letter)  demanding  the  garrison." 

"We  include  here  a  copy  of  the  letter  which  Col.  Clark  ad- 
dressed to  the  r)ritish  governor:  "Sir:  In  order  to  save  yourself 
from  the  impending  storm  th^it  now  threatens  you,  I  order  you 
immediately  to  surrender  yourself,  with  all  your  garrison,  stores, 
etc.  Vor  if  I  am  oblig^xl  to  storm,  you  may  depend  on  such 
trcji'tment  as  is  justly  due  to  a  murderer.  Beware  of  destroj'ing 
stores  of  any  kind,  or  any  papers  or  letters  that  are  in  j-our  pos- 
session, or  hurting  one  house  in  town  —  for,  by  heavens  I  if  you 
do,  there  shall  be  no  mercy  shown  you."  In  answer  to  this  bold 
letter.  Gov.  Hamilton  sent  this  reply:  "  Lieul;.  tjUV.  Umiiilton 
begs  leave  to  acquaint  Col.  Clark  that  he  and  his  garrison  are  not 
disjiosed  to  be  awed  into  any  action  unvvorth}'  T^riiisU  Bllbjects," 

When  this  refusal  was  received  the  firing  was  resumed  and  con- 
tinued until  evening  when  a  flag  appeared  with  this  proposal : 
"Lieut.  Gov.  Ila  nilton  proposes  to  Col.  Clark  a  truce  I'm' tlireo 
days,  during  which  time  ho  promises  there  shall  l)c  no  defensive 
works  carried  on  in  the  garrison,  on  condition  that  Col.  Clark 
shall  observe  on  his  part  a  like  cessation  of  any  defensive  work  ; 


III 


ClA nK's  EXI'EDITIOS. 


160 


that  is,  lie  wi.slies  to  confer  with  Col.  Clark  asi  soon  as  can  be,  and 
promises  that  whatever  may  pass  between  them  and  another  ^icr- 
son,  mutnally  agreed  upon  to  be  present,  shall  n-main  secret  until 
matters  be  fniislied,  as  ho  wishes  that  whatever  the  result  of  tho 
conferenoe  may  be,  it  may  tend  to  the  honor  and  credit  of  each 
party.  If  Col.  Clark  makes  a  diHicnlty  of  coming  into  the  fort, 
Lieut.  Gov.  ]Iamilton  will  .speak  to  him  by  the  gate." 

Col.  Clark  refu.scd  to  discontinue  the  siege,  and  oiTcrcd  to  meet 
the  British  oflicer  at  the  church  with  Capt.  Helm,  who  was  then 
a  prisoner  in  the  fort.  The  meeting  was  had,  and  after  much 
argument,  terms  of  capitulation  were  agreed  upon,  and  on  tho 
following  day  the  garrison  was  surrendered,  and  the  bold  Clark 
took  possession  of  the  fort.  Soon  after,  the  vessel  with  the  stores 
and  provisions  arrived  in  good  condition,  and  the  Americans  at 
Vincennes  \verc  rejoicing  over  their  exploit. 

Seventy-nine  prisoners,  and  stores  to  the  value  of  $50,000  were 
obtained  b}'  this  bold  and  desperate  enterprise,  and  tho  whole 
country  alo)ig  the  Mississippi  and  tho  Waba.sh  was  not  only  se- 
cured to,  but  remained  ever  after  in  the  peaceful  possession  of 
the  Americans.  Gov.  Hamilton  was  sent  to  Richmond,  and  his 
men  permitted  to  return  to  Detroit  on  parole  of  honor.  Six  were 
badh',  and  one  mortally  wounded  on  the  part  of  the  British,  and 
only  one  man  wounded  on  the  part  of  the  Americans.  The  gov- 
ernor and  some  others  were  sent  prisoners  to  Virginia,  where  the 
council  ordered  their  confinement  in  jail,  fettered  and  alone,  in 
punishment  for  their  abominable  policy  of  urging  barbarians  to 
greater  barbarism,  as  they  surely  had  done  by  offering  rewards 
for  scalps,  but  none  for  prisoners,  a  course  which  naturally  re- 
.sultcd  in  wholesale  and  cold  blooded  murder  ;  the  Inilians  driv- 
ing captives  within  sight  of  the  British  forts  and  then  butchering 
them.  As  tlijs  I'igid  confinement,  however  just,  was  not  in  accor- 
dance with  the  leriuH  of  IfainiUon's  surrender.  Gen.  Phillips  pro- 
ti'stcil  III  rogard  to  it,  and  Jefferson  having  referred  the  matter  to 
the  I'liinlMillnlL'r-lu  chief,  Washington  gave  his  opinion  decidedly 
iigiiiliHi  II,  III  t'onHt'([Uoiico  of  which  the  couiicil  of  Virginia  re- 
leased the  Detroit  "  hair  buyer"  from  his  irons."  Clark  returned 
to  Kaskaskia,  where,-  in  consequence  of  the  competition  of  the  tra- 
*  Spark's  Washiugtou,  vi,  315. 


>i 


: 


nU\] 


170 


Ti  TTL/j's  Ci:srK.\yiA l  XoiirinrnsT. 


dcrs,  lie  fouml  himself  more  cnibarrassod  from  the  depreciation  of 
the  paper  money  which  had  been  advanced  him  by  Virginia  than 
lie  had  been  by  the  movements  of  the  British  ;  and  where  lie  was 
forced  to  pledge  his  own  credit  to  procure  what  he  needed,  to  an 
extent  that  influenced  vitally  his  own  forture  and  life  thencefor- 
wanl.  After  the  taking  of  Yincennes,  Detroit  was  undoubtedly 
within  tlie  reach  of  the  enter[)ri.sing  Virginian,  had  ho  been  but, 
able  to  raise  as  many  soldiers  as  were  starving  and  idling  at  Forts 
Laurens  and  McTiitosh.  In  his  letter  to  Mr.  .IclTerson,  he  says,  that 
with  five  hundred  men,  when  he  reached  Illinois,  or  with  three 
liundred  after  the  conquest  of  Post  Vincennes,  he  could  have  taken 
Detroit.  The  people  of  Detroit  rejoiced  greatly  when  they  heard 
of  Hamilton's  capture.  Gov.  Henry  having  promised  him  a  rein- 
forcement, he  concluded  to  wait  for  that,  as  his  force  was  too 
small  to  both  conquer  and  garrison  the  British  forts.  But  the  re- 
sults of  what  was  done  were  not  unimportant;  indeed  of  very 
great  importance. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

BRITISH,  INDIANS  AND  AMERICANS. 

The  Sh-uirgli'   for  ilie  Northwest  Ijctwcen  English,  Iiuliniis  and  Americans, 
continued  —  The  Americans  Triumphant — Peace  —  The    Ordinance    of 

1787. 

Dl'iiixa  THK  revolutionary  war  and  for  several  years  after,  the 
British  posts  in  the  lake  region,  such  as  Niagara,  Presquc  Isle, 
Detroit,  etc.,  were  instrumental  in  keeping  up  a  disastrous  border 
■war  from  which  the  Americans  cause  sufTcrcd  much.  The  pious 
^Moravian  missionnries,  on  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum,  did  not 
escape  the  hand  of  the  English  at  Detroit.  They  were  suspected 
of  holding  a  secret  correspondence  with  the  congress  at  Philadel- 
phia, and  of  contributing  their  influence,  as  well  as  that  of  their 
Indian  congregation,  to  aid  the  American  cause.  Deputies  were 
therefore  sent  to  Niagara,  and  a  grand  council  of  the  Iroquois 
was  assembled,  at  which  those  Indians  were  urged  to  break  up 


BiiiTisii,  IsDiAxs  AM)  AMKJ^Ic^^'S. 


171 


the  Iiitliiin  con^'rogatinn  cullccled  by  tlic  ^^()^avialls.  Tlioso  tribes, 
not  wiriliing  to  buvc  iiiiylliiiig  to  do  with  it,  soiit  a  nio.-isage  to  the 
Chippewas  and  Ultawas,  with  a  belt,  slating  that  tliey  gavo  tho 
Indian  congregation  into  their  hands  "to  malco  sonpof." 

In  1781,  these  Moravian  missionaries  arrived  at  Detroit,  when 
they  were  brought  before  Dc  I'eyster,  the  coniinanilant.     A  war 
council  was  held,  and  the  council  house  conii»letely  lilled  with 
Indians.     Cap't.  rii)e,  an  Indian  chief,  addressed  the  assendjly, 
and  told   the  eoniniandant  that   "the  English   might  light  tho 
Americans  it  they  chose  ;  it  was  their  cause,  and   not  his ;  that 
they  had  raised  a  quarrel  among  themselves,  and   it  was  their 
business  to  fight  it  out.     ^riiey  had  set  him  on  the  Amerii;aii.s,  as 
the   hunter  sets  his  dog  upon  the  game."     By  the  side  (,>f  the 
British  commander  stood  another  war  chief,  with  a  slick  in  his 
hand,  four  feet  in   length,  strung  with  American  scalps.     This 
warrior  followed  Capt.  Pipe,  saying:  "Now,  father,  hero  is  what 
lias  been  done  with  tho  hatchet  you  gave  me.     I  have  made  tho 
use  of  it  that  you  ordered  mo  to  do,  and  found  it  sharp."     Such 
were  the  scenes  at  Detroit  that  occurred  frequenll}*,  from  the  close 
of  the  Pontiac  war  till  tho  advent  of  the   "stars  and  stripes." 
During  tho  whole  course  of  the  revolutionary  war,  the  savage 
tribes  in  this  vieinitv  were  instigated  to  commit  the  most  atrocious 
cruelties  against  the  defenseless  American  settlements.     Every 
avenue  was  closed  whereby  a  diUcrent  influence  might  be  intro- 
duced among  them,   and  they  were  made  to  believe  that  tho 
Americans  were  only  seeking  to  possess  themselves  of  their  lands, 
and  to  drive  them  away  from  the  territory  they  had  inherited 
from  their  fathers      Hiii  at  last  the  cause  of  America  was  tri- 
umphant, and  tho  treaty  of  Versailles,  in  1783,  opened  tlie  way 
for  the  settlement  o'  the  iiorthwest,  but  no  sooner  was  a  treat}-  of 
peace  concluded,  than  new  troubles  began  to  arise.     We  have 
seen  how,  during  the  revolutionary  war,  the  western  outposts  of 
Great  Britain  were  instrumental  in  sending  the  savages  against 
tho  weak  settlements ;  and,  now   that  the  Americans  had  been 
victorious,  England  refused  to  withdraw  her  troops  from  the  gar- 
risons in  tho  lake  region.     Uowevcr,  by  tho  second  article  of  Jay's 
treaty,  in  1791,  it  was  provided  that  the  British  troops  should  be 
withdrawn  from  all  tho  pjsts  assigned  to  the  United  States  by  the 


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Tuttle's  Centennial  Nohtidvest. 


former  treat}'  of  1783,  on  or  before  tbe  first  day  of  June,  1796. 
This  matter  being  settled,  the  American  people  turned  their  atten- 
tion to  the  northwest,  with  a  view  to  its  settlement ;  and  meas- 
ures were  aeeordinglj  taken  for  its  temporary  government.  The 
eireumstanccs  v/hich  had  more  particularly  directed  ti.o  public 
attention  to  the  western  domain  was  a  memorial  from  the  soldiers 
and  olliccrs  of  the  lievolutionary  army,  presented  to  Gen.  AVash- 
ington  in  1783,  setting  forth  their  claims  to  a  portion  of  the  public 
lands.  One  difficulty  that  lay  in  the  way  was  that  the  territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio  was  claimed  by  several  of  the  eastern  states, 
on  the  ground  that  it  was  included  within  the  limits  indicated  by 
their  charter  from  th.o  English  crown.  But,  in  answer  to  the 
wishes  of  tlie  goverriment  and  people,  these  states,  in  a  patriotic 
spirit,  surrendered  their  claims  to. this  extensive  territory,  that  it 
might  constitute  a  common  fund,  to  aid  in  the  payment  of  the 
national  debt.  Many  of  the  native  tribes  conveyed  to  the  United 
States  their  rights  to  territory  in  this  domain,  and  thus  was  tlic 
way  prepared  for  the  ejection  of  the  territory  northwest  of  the 
Ohio.  A  government  was  formed  for  this  extensive  region,  with 
Arthur  St.  Clair  as  governor;  and,  on  the  seventh  of  April,  1788, 
a  company  of  forty-seven  individuals  landed  at  the  site  of  the 
present  town  of  Marietta,  and  there  commenced  the  settlement  of 
Ohio.  We  have  seen  that  the  western  posts  were  still  retained 
by  the  British  government.  This  gave  rise  to  several  questions 
of  no  little  interest,  which  excited  unfriendly  feelings  between  the 
two  nations,  and  which  largely  governed  their  policy.  Debts  duo 
by  Americans  to  British  subjects,  the  payment  of  which  had  been 
guarantied  by  the  treaty,  were  not  paid  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  slaves  belonging  to  Americans,  and  who  had  been  taken  away 
by  British  ofHcers,  were  not  restored.  In  consequence  of  tijcse, 
and  other  unsettled  matters,  when  Baron  Steuben  was  sent  by 
Gen.  Washington  to  Sir  Frederick  Ilaldimand,  at  Quebec,  to  ar- 
range for  the  occupation  of  these  posts,  with  instructions  to  pro- 
ceed to  Michigan,  and  along  the  line  of  the  lake  frontier,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  possession  of  them,  he  was  informed  that  they 
would  not  be  given  up,  and  was  refused  jiassports  to  Niagara  and 
Detroit.  In  addition  to  the  retention  of  the  western  posts  by  the 
English,  a  new  confederacy  among  the  savages  was  organizing. 


a-  !"aiaifflBsi-.!iwagtiwi 


IiEITISir,  IXDIAXS  AND  AmEHICAKS. 


173 


In  December,  1786,  a  grand  council  of  the  different  tribes  wag 
held  near  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  river.  At  this  council  were 
delegates  from  all  the  nations  inliabiting  the  northwest.  The 
principal  subject  of  discussion  appears  to  have  been  the  question  of 
boundary.  It  was  contended  by  the  Indians  that  the  United 
States  had  no  right  to  cross  the  Ohio.  This  pending  outbreak 
among  the  savages  was  undoubtedly  the  work  of  the  English,  who 
were  again  seeking  their  aid  to  harass  the  Americans.*  England 
set  forth  as  a  plea  for  retaining  the  western  posts,  that  the  exten- 
sive and  valuable  country  in  whicli  they  were  situated  had  been 
ceded  awa}-  through  some  oversight  on  the  part  of  the  commis- 
sioners, or  from  their  ignorance  of  the  geography  of  the  country ; 
and  now,  aided  by  the  savages,  they  hoped  to  retain  their  posses- 
sions in  the  west.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Alexander  Mc- 
Kenzie,  an  agent  of  the  British  government,  visited  Detroit, 
painted  like  an  Indian,  and  stated  that  he  liad  just  returned  from 
the  remote  tribes  of  the  upper  lakes,  wlio  were  ail  in  arms,  and 
prepared  to  oppose  the  claims  of  the  Americans  to  the  western 
lands ;  that  large  bodies  of  warriors  had  already  assembled,  and 
that  they  were  about  to  attack  the  infant  settlement  of  Ohio. 
These  stories,  gotten  up  by  McKenzie,  succeeded  as  he  had  desired. 
In  1794,  an  agent  was  sent  from  the  Spanish  settlements,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi,  for  the  same  object,  and  to  hasten  the 
organization  of  the  Indian  confederacy  against  the  United  States. 
Excited  by  his  speeches,  bands  of  savage  warriors,  armed  with  the 
tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  were  seen  hastening  toward  the  lake 
posts,  and  tlie  great  Indian  confederacy  was  formed  against  the 
Americans,  equaling  that  constituted  a  quarter  of  a  century  pre- 
vious, under  tlic  great  Pontiac,  against  tlie  English  themselves. 

The  border  incursions  commenced  immediately,  and  again  the 
work  of  desolation  reigned  among  the  infant  settlements  on  the 
Ohio.  These  outbreaks,  which  were  believed  to  be  tlie  work  of 
the  British,  induced  the  American  government,  in  1790,  to  send 
Gen.  llarmer,  an  able  officer,  with  an  army  to  quell  them.  He 
advanced  against  the  hostile  tribes  with  a  force  amounting  to  four- 
teen hundred  men;  but,  imprudently  dividing  his  army,  he  was 
taken  by  surprise  and  defeated  by  a  body  of  Indians,  led  by  Little 
♦From  Tattle's  History  of  Michigan. 


^  ) 


V:    Vi\ 


;■*'.  i«i 


'''m 


■[.:\' 


m-^ 


im 


i  ii 


.■ff 


171 


TuTTLE's  CKNTE}fSlAL  NoTtTIIWEST. 


Turtlf  Ilarmer  having  failed,  Gen.  St.  Clair  advanced  into  the 
Indian  country,  in  1792,  with  two  thousand  men.  Tliis  army  was 
defeated  by  a  large  body  of  Indian.s,  who  la}''  in  ambu.sh,  and  com- 
pelled to  retreat.  Efforts  were  now  put  forth  to  increase  the 
army;  and  in  1793,  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne  succeeded  St.  Clair 
in  the  command  of  the  western  army.  Advancing  through  the 
forest  to  the  spot  which  had  been  rendered  memorable  by  tiic 
defeat  of  St.  Clair,  he  there  constructed  a  -fort,  and  called  it  Fort 
Recovery.  Advancing  furfher  into  the  wilderness,  he  found 
many  Indian  villages  deserted.  At  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumeo 
be  erected  Fort  Deposit,  where  he  stored  his  sup[)lies.  Tiiey  were 
now  within  a  few  miles  of  a  British  post,  which  had  been  garri- 
soned b}'-  soldiers  sent  from  Detroit,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the 
Indians.  Gen.  AVayne  had  been  instructed  to  use  his  English 
opponents  according  to  the  usages  of  war  ;  and,  with  a  bold  deter- 
mination, he  pushed  forward  to  the  enemy's  fort.  The  Indian , 
force,  their  whole  strength  being  collected  at  this  point,  was,  in 
numbers,  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  Americans.  The  Indians 
were  stationed  in  a  dense  forest,  and  protected  by  the  bank  of  the 
river  and  a  breastwork  of  fallen  trees,  and  they  were  disposed  in 
three  lines,  within  supporting  distance  of  each  other.  The  battle 
soon  followed ;  and,  through  stratagem,  Wayne  was  successful, 
and  completely  routed  the  savages.  He  destroyed  the  Indian 
villages  and  corntields  on  the  banks  of  the  Afaumce,  and  pro- 
ceeded towards  Fort  Defiance.  Before  he  left  the  battle  ground, 
however,  he  paraded  his  force  in  front  of  the  British  post,  that 
they  might  see  its  strength ;  while  he  advanced  towards  the 
glacis,  to  examine  the  character  of  the  position,  and  to  ascertain, 
as  far  as  was  possible,  what  were  the  intentions  of  the  garrison. 
The  American  officers,  as  they  drew  iiear,  could  discover  the 
British  soldiers,  with  matches  lighted  and  standing  ly  their  guns, 
re^i.dy  for  any  emergency  that  might  arise.  Gen.  Wayne  finally 
concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  at  Greenville,  which  eflfect- 
ually  broke  up  the  whole  confederacy. 

In  1795,  a  project  was  started,  which,  had  it  been  successful, 
would  have  injured  the  interests  of  the  west.  Robert  Randall 
and  Charles  Whitney,  of  Vermont,  in  connection  with  several 
merchants  of  Detroit,  entered  into  a  compact  for  the  purpose  of 


British,  Ikdiaxs  axd  Americans. 


175 


I 


appropriating  to  tl-.emselves  a  vast  territory,  comprising  nearly 
twenty  millions  of  acres,  situated  between  Lakes  Erie  and  Mich- 
igan. The  land  was  to  be  divided  into  a  number  of  shares,  and 
distributed  among  the  purchasers  and  the  members  of  congress 
who  should  exert  their  inilucncc  in  procuring  the  passage  of  the 
necessary  law.  But,  as  soon  as  the  corrupt  cliaracter  of  the  plot 
had  been  discovered,  the  two  principal  i)rojectors  were  brought 
before  the  bar  of  the  house  of  representatives.  On  hearing  the 
evidence,  Randall  was  discharged,  but  Whitney  was  fined  the 
amount  of  the  costs,  and  received  a  severe  reprimand. 

"Wayne's  victory  having  broken  the  Indian  power,  and  the 
treaty  of  Greenville  binding  them  from  further  agressions,  the 
Island  of  Mackinaw  and  the  fort  of  Detroit  were  surrendered  by 
the  English,  but  the  retiring  garrisons,  to  show  their  spite,  locked 
the  gates  of  the  fort,  broke  all  the  windows  in  the  barracks,  and 
filled  the  wells  with  stones,  so  as  to  annoy  the  new  occupants  as 
much  as  was  in  their  power.  It  was  in  the  beginning  ol  June, 
1796,  that  Capt.  Porter,  with  a  detachment  of  American  troops, 
entered  the  fort  at  Detroit,  which  had  been  previously  evacuated 
by  the  British.  The  American  flag  M'as  displa\'ed,  and  the 
dominion  of  the  country  peaceably  transferred. 

We  have  seen  how  Virginia,  and  those  eastern  states  holding 
claims  to  western  territory,  ceded  the  whole  northwest  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  thus  opening  up  the  country  to 
settlement  under  such  general  plan  as  congress  might  see  fit  to 
adopt.  Congress,  with  this  deed  of  cession,  was  now  prepared  to 
negotiate  with  the  Indians  for  the  relinquishment  of  their  claims. 
With  these  possibilities,  congress,  in  1787,  adopted  an  ordinance 
for  the  government  of  the  whole  northwest,  which  is  known  in 
history  as  the  "ordinance  of  1787."  We  insert  the  ordinance  in 
full,  as  it  is  the  foundation  of  the  constitutions  of  the  several  north- 
western states ; 

"Be  it  ordained  by  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled, 
that  tlie  said  territory,  for  tlie  purposes  of  temporary  government, 
be  one  district,  subject,  however,  to  be  divided  into  two  districts, 
as  future  circumstances  may,  in  the  opinion  of  congress,  make  it 
expedient. 

"  Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  the  estates. 


? : 


176 


TvTTLE's  CeNTLWXIAL  NoiiTHWEST. 


l)Oth  of  resident  of  and  nonresident  proprietors  in  said  territory, 
dying  intestate,  shall  descend  to,  and  be  distributed  among,  their 
children,  and  the  descendants  of  a  deceased  child,  in  equal  parts ; 
the  descendants  of  a  deceased  child,  or  grandchild,  to  take  the 
share  of  their  deceased  parent  in  equal  parts  among  them :  And 
^vhcre  tlicrc  shall  be  no  children  or  dcseendents,  then  in  equal 
parts  to  the  next  of  kin  in  equal  degree;  and,  among  collaterals 
the  children  of  a  deceased  brother  or  sister  of  the  intestate  shall 
have,  in  equal  jiarts  among  them,  their  deceased  parents'  share  ; 
and  there  shall,  in  no  case,  be  a  distinction  between  kindred  of  the 
whole  and  half-blood;  saving,  in  all  eases,  to  the  widow  of  the 
intestate^  her  third  part  of  tiie  real  estate  for  life,  and  one-third 
part  of.  the  personal  estate;  and  this  law,  relative  to  descents  and 
dower,  shall  remain  in  full  force  until  altered  by  the  legislature 
of  the  district. 

"And,  until  the  governor  and  judges  shall  adopt  laws  as  here- 
inafter mentioned,  estate;--  in  the  said  territor}'  may  be  devised  or 
bequeathed  by  wills  in  writing,  signed  and  sealed  by  him  or  her, 
in  whom  the  estate  maybe  (being  of  full  age),  and  attested  by 
three  v;itnesses ;  and  real  estates  may  be  conveyed  by  lease  and 
release,  or  bargain  and  sale,  signed,  sealed  and  delivered,  by  the 
])crson,  being  of  full  age,  in  whom  the  estate  may  be,  and  attested 
by  two  witnesses,  provided  such  wills  be  duly  proved,  and  such 
conveyances  be  acknowledged,  or  the  execution  thereof  duly 
proved,  and  be  recorded  within  one  3'ear  after  proper  magistrates, 
courts,  and  registers,  shall  be  appointed  for  that  pur[)oso  ;  and 
personal  property  may  be  transferred  by  delivery,  saving,  how- 
ever, to  the  French  and  Canadian  inhabitants,  and  other  settlers 
of  the  Kaskaskias,  St.  Vincents,  and  the  neighboring  villages  who 
have  heretofore  profes.sed  themselves  citizens  of  A'"irginia,  their 
laws  and  customs  now  in  force  among  them,  relative  to  the  descent 
and  conveyance  of  ])roperty, 

"  Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that  there  shall  be 
appointed,  from  time  to  time,  by  congress,  a  governor,  whose 
commission  shall  continue  in  force  for  three  years,  uidess  sooner 
revoked  by  congress  ;  he  shall  reside  in  the  district,  and  have  a 
freehold  estate  therein  in  one  thousand  acres  of  land,  while  in  the 
exercise  of  his  office. 


s 


m:\ 


m^ 


w^ 


l\ 

•< 

1 

1 

1 

^      ■     ''' !' 

1 

H:.-' 

V^i      : 

!,  H> 


f 


",',..!!' 


sec  I 

unl 
frcj 

CX( 

thel 

ordi 

ex  Li 

ancll 

Tlu 

anvi 


.  -L.'jjL-"j*g!WMJBMa« 


LJiIlnUJir  -    t^- 


BiiiTisH^  Indians  and  Amlbicaxs. 


177 


I 


"There  sliall  be  appointed,  from  time  to  time,  by  congress,  a 
secretary,  wliose  commission  shall  continue  in  force  for  four  years, 
unless  sooner  revoked ;  he  shall  reside  in  the  district,  and  have  a, 
freehold  estate  therein  in  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  while  in  the 
exercise  of  his  office  ;  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  keep  and  preserve 
tlie  acts  and  laws  passed  by  the  legislature,  and  the  public  rec- 
ords of  the  district,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  governor  in  his 
executive  department,  and  transmit  authentic  copies  of  such  acts 
and  proceedings  every  six  months,  to  the  secretary  of  congress. 
There  shall  also  be  api)ointcd  a  court  to  consist  of  three  judges, 
any  two  of  whom  to  form  a  court,  who  shall  have  a  common  law 
jurisdiction,  and  reside  in  the  district,  and  liuvc  each  therein  a 
freehold  estate  in  five  hundred  acres  of  land  while  in  the  exer- 
cise of  their  offices ;  and  their  conunissions  diall  continue  in  force 
during  good  behavior. 

"The  governor  and  judges,  or  a  majority  of  them,  sball  adopt 
and  publish  in  the  district  such  laws  of  the  original  states,  crimi- 
nal and  civil,  as  may  be  necessary,  and  best  suited  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  district,  and  report  them  to  congress  from  time  to 
time;  which  laws  shall  be  in  force  in  the  district  until  the  organi- 
zation of  the  general  assembly  therein,  unless  disapproved  of  by 
congress ;  but,  afterward,  the  legislature  shall  have  authority  to 
alter  them  as  they  shall  think  fit. 

"The  governor,  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  commander-in-chief 
of  the  militia,  appoint  and  commission  all  ofiicers  in  the  same  be- 
low the  rank  of  general  officers  ;  all  general  ofiicers  shall  be  ap- 
pointed and  commissioned  by  congress. 

"  Previous  to  the  organization  of  the  general  assembly,  the 
governor  shall  appoint  such  magistrates  and  other  civil  officers,  in 
each  county  or  township,  as  he  shall  find  necessary  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  peace  and  good  order  in  the  same.  After  the  gen- 
eral assembly  shall  be  organized,  the  powers  and  duties  of  magis- 
trates and  otheo  civil  ofiicers  shall  be  regulated  and  defined  by 
the  said  assembly ;  but  all  magistrates  and  other  civil  officers,  not 
herein  otherwise  directed,  shall,  during  the  continuance  of  this 
temporary  government,  be  appointed  by  the  governor. 

"For   the   prevention  of  crimes  and   injuries,  the  laws  to  be 

adopted  or  made  shall  have  force  in  all  parts  of  the  district,  and 
12 


I 


v::iU 


:li., 


mi 


i:#yi 


i::i::l  i ' 


178 


TcTTLK's  CEyTESS'IAL  XORTIIWKST. 


■■■'iri 


for  the  execution  of  process,  criminal  and  civil,  the  governor 
shall  make  proper  divisions  tliereof;  and  he  shall  proceed  from 
time  to  time,  as  circumstances  may  re(piirc,  to  lay  out  the  parts 
of  the  district,  in  which  the  Indian  titles  shall  have  been  extin- 
guished, into  counties  and  townships,  subject,  however,  to  sucU 
alterations  as  may  thereafter  be  made  by  the  legislature. 

"So  soon  as  there  shall  be  five  thousand  free  male  inhabitants, 
of  full  age,  in  the  district,  upon  giving  proof  thereof  to  the  gov- 
ernor, they  shall  recci"e  authority,  -with  time  and  place,  to  elect 
representatives  from  tlicir  counties  or  townshijis  to  re[)rescnt  them 
in  the  general  assembly  :  provided,  that  for  every  five  hundred 
free  male  inhabitants,  there  shall  be  one  representative,  and  so  on 
progressively  with  the  number  of  free  male  inhabitants,  shall  the 
right  of  representation  increase,  until  the  number  of  representa- 
tives shall  amount  to  twenty-five;  after  which,  the  number  and 
proportion  of  representatives  shall  be  regulated  by  tlie  legisla- 
ture :  provided,  that  no  person  be  eligible  or  qualified  to  act  as  a 
representative  unless  he  shall  have  been  a  citizen  of  one  of  the 
United  States  three  years,  and  be  a  resident  in  the  district,  or  un- 
less he  shall  have  resided  in  the  district  three  years ;  and,  in 
cither  case,  shall  likewise  hold  in  his  own  right,  in  fee  simple, 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  within  the  same:  provided,  also,  thr^t 
a  freehold  in  fifty  acres  of  land  in  the  district,  having  been  a  cit- 
izen of  one  of  the  states,  and  being  resident  in  tiie  district,  or  the 
like  freehold  and  two  years'  residence  in  the  district,  shall  be 
necessary  to  qualify  a  man  as  an  elector  of  a  represeiitative. 

"  The  representatives  thus  elected  shall  serve  for  the  term  of 
two  years ;  and,  in  case  of  the  death  of  a  representative,  or  re- 
moval from  office,  the  governor  shall  issue  a  writ  to  the  county  or 
township  for  which  he  was  a  member,  to  elect  another  in  his 
stead,  to  serve  for  the  residue  of  the  term. 

"  The  general  assembl}-,  or  legislature,  shall  consist  of  the  gov- 
ernor, legislative  council,  and  a  house  of  representatives.  The 
legislative  council  shall  consist  of  five  members,  to  continue  in 
office  five  years,  unless  sooner  removed  by  congress ;  any  three 
of  whom  to  be  a  quorum  ;  and  the  members  of  the  council  shall 
be  nominated  and  appointed  in  the  following  manner,  to  wit:  As 
soon  as  representatives  shall  be  elected,  the  governor  shall  ap- 


=:ri'r- 


BiiiTisti,  Ism  Ays  axd  Americans. 


179 


point  a  time  and  place  for  them  to  meet  together ;  and  wlien  met 
they  shall  noiniiiato  ten  persons,  residents  in  the  district,  and 
each  possessed  of  a  freehold  in  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  and 
return  their  names  to  congress,  five  of  whom  cong)'ess  shall  aj)- 
point  and  comtiiis?ion  to  serve  as  aforesaid  ;  and  whenever  a 
vacancy  shall  happen  in  the  council  by  death  or  removal  from 
office,  the  house  of  representatives  shall  nominate  two  persons 
qualified  as  aforesaid,  for  each  vacancy,  and  return  their  names  to 
congress ;  one  of  whom  congress  shall  appoint  and  commission 
for  tlie  residue  of  the  term. 

"  And  every  five  years,  four  months  at  least  before  the  ex- 
piration of  the  time  of  service  of  the  members  of  the  council,  the 
said  house  shall  nominate  ten  persons,  qualified  as  aforesaid,  and 
return  their  names  to  congress  ;  five  of  whom  congress  shall  ap- 
point and  commission  to  serve  as  members  of  the  council  five 
years  unless  sooner  removed.  And  the  governor,  legislative 
council,  and  house  of  representatives,  shall  have  authority  to 
make  laws  in  all  cases,  for  the  good  government  of  the  district, 
not  repugnant  to  the  principles  and  articles  in  this  ordinance  es- 
tablislicd  and  declared.  And  all  bills,  having  passed  by  a  ma- 
jority in  the  house,  and  by  a  majority  in  the  council,  shall  be  refer- 
red to  the  governor  for  his  assent;  but  no  bill,  or  legislative  act 
whatever,  shall  be  of  any  force  without  his  assent.  The  governor 
shall  have  power  to  convene,  prorogue  and  dissolve  the  general 
assembly,  when  in  his  opinion,  it  shall  be  expedient. 

"  The  governor,  judges,  legi.-lative  council,  secretary,  and  such 
other  officers  as  congress  shall  appoint  in  the  district,  shall  take 
an  oath  or  affirmation  of  fidelity  and  duty  to  office  —  the  gov- 
ernor before  the  president  of  congress,  and  all  the  other  ofiiccrs 
before  the  governor.  As  soon  as  a  leorislature  shall  be  formed  in 
the  district,  the  council  and  house  assembled  in  one  room,  shall 
have  authority,  by  joint  ballot,  to  elect  a  delegate  to  congress, 
who  shall  have  a  seat  in  congress,  with  a  right  of  debating,  but 
not  of  voting,  during  this  temporary  government. 

"  And  for  extending  the  fundamental  principles  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  which  form  the  basis  whereon  these  republics, 
their  laws  and  constitutions  are  erected  ;  to  fix  and  establish 
those  principles  as  the  basis  of  all  laws,  constitutions,  and  govern- 


i': 


>M 


180 


TrTTLE's  Ckni'ESNIal  NonTi[\rf:sr. 


■v.i\ 


merits,  wliicli  forever  licrcnftcr  sliall  bo  formed  in  the  said  terri- 
tory; to  provide  also  for  the  cstablishineiit  of  states,  and  pcriiia- 
nciit  government  therein,  and  for  tlieir  adnussion  toasliaro  in  tlie 
federal  councils  on  an  ctjual  footing  wilii  the  original  states,  at  as 
early  periods  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  general  interest. 

"It  is  hereby  ordained  and  declared  by  the  authority  aforesaid, 
that  the  following  articles  shall  be  considered  as  articles  of  com- 
j)act  between  the  original  states  and  the  peoj)le  and  .Uatcs  in  the 
said  territory,  and  forever  remain  unalterable,  unless  by  connnon 
consent,  to  wit: 

"No  person,  demeaning  himself  in  a  peaceable  and  orderly 
manner  shall  ever  be  molested  on  account  of  his  mode  of  woi-ship 
or  religious  sentiments,  in  the  said  territory. 

"  The  inhabitants  of  said  territory  shall  always  be  entitled  to 
tlie  benefits  of  the  writ  of  habeas  co r2) us  innl  of  the  trial  by  jury,  '^f 
a  proportionate  representation  of  the  people  in  the  legislature  ; 
and  of  judicial  proceedings  according  to  the  course  of  common 
law.  All  persons  shall  be  bailable,  unless  for  capital  offenses, 
where  the  })roof  shall  be  evident,  or  the  presumption  great.  All 
fines  .shall  be  moderate;  and  no  cruel  or  unusual  ])unishment 
shall  be  inflicted.  No  man  shall  be  deprived  of  his  liberty  or  prop- 
erty, but  by  the  judgment  of  his  peers  or  the  law  of  the  land  ;  and, 
should  the  public  exigencies  make  it  necessary,  for  the  common 
preservation,  to  take  any  person's  property,  or  to  demand  his  par- 
ticular services,  full  comjiensation  shall  be  made  for  the  same. 
And,  in  the  just  preservation  of  riglits  and  propert}',  it  is  under- 
stood and  declared,  that  no  law  ought  ever  to  be  made,  or  have 
force  in  tlic  said  territory,  that  shall,  in  any  manner  whatever  iu- 
tei'cfere  with  or  aflect  private  contracts  or  engagements,  bona 
Jide,  and  without  fraud,  previously  formed. 

"  lleligion,  morality  and  knowledge  being  necessary  to  good 
government  and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  .schools  and  the  means 
of  education  shall  forever  be  encouraged.  The  utmost  good  faith 
shall  always  be  observed  toward  the  Indians;  their  lands  and 
property  .shall  never  be  taken  from  them  without  their  consent ; 
and,  in  their  propcrt}',  rights  and  liberty,  they  shall  never  be  in- 
vaded or  disturbed,  unless  in  just  and  lawful  wars  authorized  by 
congress ;  but  laws  founded  in  justice  and  humanity,  shall,  from 


I.,   I 


Bmnsif,  TsiuAXs  am>  AMKiuc.iys. 


181 


iiiiio  to  time,  1)0  iiKulo  for  prcvcatiiig  wrongs  being  done  to  them, 
and  for  preserving  pence  and  friendship  with  them. 

"The  said  territory,  and  the  states  whieh  may  bo  formed  tliert 
in,  shall  forever  remain  a  ])art  of  this  confederacy  of  the  Unib  d 
States  of  America,  subject  to  tlio  articles  of  eonfederatioi  ,  and 
to  such  alterations  therein  as  sliall  be  constitutionally  made;  and 
to  all  the  acts  and  o'-l  jjinces  of  the  United  States  in  congress  pr-,- 
sembled,  conformable  thereto.  Tlie  iidiabitants  and  seith'rs  in 
the  said  ten.tory  shall  bo  subject  to  pay  a  part  of  the  federal 
debts  contracted,  or  to  be  contracted,  and  a  i)roportional  part  of 
the  expenses  of  government,  to  be  apportioned  on  them  by  con- 
gress according  to  the  same  common  rule  and  measure  by  which 
apportionments  thereof  shall  bo  made  on  the  other  states ;  and 
the  taxes,  for  paying  their  proportion,  shall  bo  laid  and  levied  by 
the  authority  and  direction  of  the  legislatures  of  the  district  or 
districts,  or  new  states,  as  in  the  original  states,  within  the  time 
agreed  upon  b}'  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled.  Tho 
legislatures  of  tlujse  districts  or  new  states  shall  never  interfere 
with  the  primary  disposal  of  the  soil  by  the  United  States  in  con- 
gress assembled,  nor  with  any  regulations  congress  may  find  neces- 
sary for  securing  the  title  in  such  soil  to  the  bona  fide  purchasers. 

"No  tax  shall  be  imposed  on  lands  the  property  of  the  United 
States;  and,  in  no  case,  shall  nonresident  proprietors  be  taxed 
hiijrher  than  residents.  Tlie  navigable  waters  leading  into  the 
Mississippi  and  St.  Lawrence,  and  tho  carrying  places  between  the 
same,  shall  bo  common  highways,  and  forever  free,  as  well  to  the 
inhabitants  of_  tho  said  territory  as  to  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  and  those  of  an}'  other  states  that  may  be  admitted  into 
the  confederacy,  without  any  tax,  impostor  duty,  therefor. 

"  There  shall  bo  formed  in  the  said  territory,  not  less  than  three 
nor  more  than  five  states;  and  the  boundaries  of  the  states,  as 
soon  as  Virginia  .shall  alter  her  act  of  cession,  and  consent  to  the 
?ame,  shall  become  fixed  and  established  as  follows,  to-wit :  Tho 
vestern  state  in  the  said  territory,  shall  bo  bounded  by  tho  Mi.ssis- 
;,i[.pi,  tho  Ohio,  and  Wabash  rivers  ;  a  direct  line  drawn  from  the 
Vs'abash  and  Post  St  Vincent's  due  north,  to  the  territorial  lino 
bt'tweeu  the  United  States  and  Canada  ;  and,  by  the  said  territo- 
rial line,  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  Mississippi. 


i 

•1  ■ 

1 

1 

'lir'i 

iHii    •» 


it 

III 

0 

tl 
'1: 

iiij 

:ii 

j 

J 

'.: 


Ml 


JM 


.4;. 


182 


TutTLe's   CENTEyNIAL  KORTIIWEST. 


f :  ■;■ 


ii^u; 


"  The  middle  sUitc  shall  be  bounded  by  the  said  direct  line,  the 
Wabash  from  Post  St.  Vincent's  to  the  Ohio  ;  by  the  Ohio,  by  a 
direct  line  drawn  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami, 
to  the  said  territorial  line.  The  eastern  state  shall  be  bounded  by 
the  last  mentioned  direct  line,  the  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
said  territorial  line:  proviikd,  however,  and  it  is  further  under- 
stood and  declared,  that  the  boundiirics  of  these  three  states  shall 
be  subject  so  far  to  be  altered,  that  if  congress  shall  hereafter  find 
it  expedient,  they  shall  have  authority  to  form  one  or  two  states 
in  that  part  of  the  said  territory  which  lies  north  of  an  east  and 
west  line  drawn  through  the  southerly  bend  or  extreme  of  Lake 
Michigan. 

"  And,  whenever  any  of  the  said  statos  shall  have  sixty  thou- 
sand free  inhabitants  therein,  such  state  shall  be  admitted,  by  its 
delegates,  into  the  congress  of  the  United  States  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing with  the  original  states  in  all  repects  whatever,  and  shall  be 
at  liberty  to  form  a  permanent  constitution  and  state  government : 
provided,  the  constitution  and  government,  so  to  be  formed,  shall 
be  republican,  and  in  conformity  to  the  princii)le3  contained  in 
these  articles ;  and  so  far  as  it  can  be,  consistent  with  the  general 
interests  of  the  confederacy,  such  admission  shall  be  allowed  at  an 
earlier  period,  and  when  tiiere  may  be  a  less  number  of  free  in- 
habitants in  the  state  than  sixty  thousand. 

"There  shall  be  neither  slavery  or  involuntary  servitude  in  the 
said  territot-y,  otherwise  than  in  the  punishment  of  crimes,  where- 
of the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted  :  i^^ovided  always, 
that  any  person  escaping  into  the  same,  from  whom  labor  or  ser- 
vice is  lawfully  claimed  in  any  one  of  the  original  states,  such 
fugitive  may  be  lawfull}-  reclaimed  and  conveyed  to  the  person 
claiming  his  or  her  labor  or  services  as  aforesaid," 

With  this  general  collection  of  events  touching  the  history  of 
the  northwest,  in  a  general  sense,  we  proceed  to  present  historical 
sketches  of  the  several  states  separately,  and  wherein  we  have 
omitted  the  mention  of  important  events  in  tlie  foregoing,  the  de- 
ficiency will  be  supplied  in  the  following  chapters.  In  many  in- 
stances we  have  skipped  over  events  in  the  history  of  Ohio  and 
^Michigan  in  this  general  sketch,  preferring  to  leave  subject  matter 
for  connected  state  histories. 


Chronology  of  the  Nouthwest. 


ISD 


CHAPTER    XYI. 


CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  NORTHWEST.* 


From  1512  to  I80O. 


lists. 

In  this  year  Toncc  do  Leon  discovers  Florkln. 

ir.  Id. 

Florida  is  visited  l)y  Diego  Miniclo. 

l.'HtO, 
The  natives  are  cniitured  for  slaves  by  Vi>»- 

iiuez  tie  Ayllou  — And  Florida  is  visited  by 

I'amijhilo  de  Marvaez. 

The  St.  Ijtwronoo  river  is  entered  and  ex- 
plored for  a  cous'tdenible  dislaueu  by  .lames 
(;artier. 

ir,3S-44. 

De  Soto  asks  leave  to  conqner  Florida— lie 
readies  Tampa  bay— Thenee  to  Appalacliee 
bay —Thence  to  (je.irgia  —  His  jvniniey  on 
the  Alabama— He  rainDles  to  tlie  .MisKis,ip- 
jii  — His  journey  and  death  — His  followers 
attempt  to  reacli  Mexico  liy  water— Do  liied- 
nui  |)resents  an  account  of  De  Soto's  expe- 
dition, to  tlie  king  of  Spain. 

mas. 

French  colonists  settle  in  Florida. 
1.I6-.T. 

Pedro  Mclandoz  de  Avilez  establishes  St.  Au- 
pusfiue  — .\vile/.  In'  order  of  Hie  kiiij;  of 
iSpiiin,  exterminates  tlu;  IHiguenots  of  FUir- 
ida— Dominic  detionijres,  a  Krencli  Catlio- 
lic,  avenge*  his  couiitrynion. 

mos. 

Quebec  founded  by  S.  Chainplaiu. 

1013. 
Montreal  Island  settled. 

mm. 

Lo  Caron  explores  Upper  Canada 

Charles  I  grants  Carolina  lo  Sir  Itobert  Heath. 

ir,:i4. 

First  Mission  i"i\undi'd  on  the  eastern  shore  of 
Lake  Huron— iiieliieuf,  l.alleniani!  and  Dan- 
iel, missionaries,  arrive  at  lake  Huron. 

/«."?.?. 

Mlssionories  visit  llie  .sault  Ste.  Mniie. 

in:{(}. 

St.  Joseph,  St.  I.(>ui  iiul  St.  Ignatius  mis- 
sions established. 

tntn. 

Itaymbault  and  Pif;art  follow  to  tlie  west. 

Hi4  I. 
Canadian  envoys  first  meet  northwest,  at  the 
Sault  Ste.  Marie. 

Iii47. 
Sieur  de  I.oiijjneville.  with  a  small  i.-mpany, 
it  is  said,  was  at  Fox  Hlver  Kapids  ^doub't- 
lul.) 

•Compiled   from  Albach's  work,  and   otlier 
works. 


1034. 

Father  Simon  T,e  Moine  discovered  the  Onon- 
dat;o  saline— Fur  tradi'ra  troni  Montreal  pen- 
etra'o  the  western  lakes. 

Two  French  traders  passed  the  winter  on  tho 
shores  of  Lake  Superior. 

1000. 

Rene  Mesnard  coasts  the  southern  shore  of 

Lake  Superior  — Mesnard    establislies  the 

missions  of  Ste.  Theresa  and  Chegoiinei,'on. 

1001. 

Mesnard  perished  in  tlie  forest,  of  cold  and 

hunger. 

1003. 
Colonel  Wood's  alleged  travels. 

loor,. 

Tracey  made  viceroy  of  New  France — Allouez 
founds  Urst  permanent  station  ou  Lake  Su- 
perior. 

1007. 

La  Salle  flrtt  arrives  in  Canada  from  France. 

100s. 

Claude  Dnblon  and  Jaciiues  Marquette  plant 
iiiisi5iou  of  Ste.  Marie. 

1070. 

X.  Ferret  is  ordered  west  by  the  intondant 
to  i>ropose  acoii'-Ti'ss  of  Lake  Indiana— Al- 
leged trivels  of  Captain  liolt. 

1071. 

(.irandco'.iiicil  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie— French 
take  formal  jiossession  of  the  Northwest- 
ilininelte  establishes  permanently  tlie  mis- 
sion of  St.  Ignatius. 

107  S. 

AllcMiez  and  Dablou  visits  Green  Hay  and  all 
tlie  wesierii  shores  of  Lake  Michigiin. 

1073. 

Marquette  and  his  companions  leave  'Macki- 
nac to  seek  the  Mississippi -They  cross 
from  Fox  river  to  Wisconsin  —  Tliev  reach 
.Mississippi —They  meet  Illinois  Imlians  — 
llii'v  reach  Arkansas— 1  hey  li'ave  on  return 
to  Nlackinac— Marquette  and  doliet  at  Des 
Moiiu's  (as  supposed)  — Marquette  at  and 
al.ine  about  t.'liicago. 

107.'. 

Marquette  dies  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan— La  Salle  returns  to  France. 

1070. 

La  Salle  again  in  Canada  and  rebuilds  Fort 
Fiontenac. 

107  7. 

La  Salle  visits  France  a  second  time. 

107S. 

La  Salle  and  Tonti  .<ail  f(>r  Canada— They  ar- 
rive at  liuebec— They  cross  Lake  Ontario— 


mM  I 


i::     'I 


i  1' 

!     ;-!■ 


181 


Tuttle's  Centexnial  Northwest, 


rnrsons  from  Now  Erglnnd  Baid  to  have 
explored  the  Southwest, 

i079. 

Ln  Salle  Kines  hie  st.iicK  in  I.nke  Ontario  — 
Tlie  GrilHii  trails  up  Lake  Kric  tliniu'ili  the 
straits  to  Huron— La  .^alle  and  liis  (larly 
encounter  dreadful  slurnis  on  Lake  Hu- 
ron—  The  (•rililn  niiraeuloucly  saved,  ar- 
rives at  Maekiniie  —  The  parly  wei'.'h  anelior 
and  sail  to  lireen  Day —  'i'lle  (iriiliii  laden 
and  t^eiit  hack  to  Nia^'nra— La  falle  with 
p«rt  of  his  men  conuneuix's  voyage  up  Lake 
Aticliij;an  — They  reiicli  the  head  of  Lake 
Michii;an  and  discover  llie  .St.  Josephs  riv- 
er—  ])urin;r  Novemlier  liuild  Foit  .Miainics 
at  niouthof  St.  .losephs  river  —  lieinlorced 
by  Tonti,  they  ascend  the  St.  JoBejdis  and 
cro8«  tu  Kaukakee. 

JCSO. 

Ltt  Salle  and  his  party  in'  Peoria  lake  — La 
Sail*,  r.nder  great  'depression  of  mind, 
biiildn  and  names  l-'ort  (revecieur  —  Henne- 
pin Bent  to  explore  the  Mississippi  —  La 
Sallo  coiiiniences  his  journey,  relurnin;;  tvi 
Canada— M.  Heniu'iiin  on  the  upper  -Mis- 
sissippi—Touti  eominei.ees  luiildiiK  l'"ort 
St.  Louis  — Hostility  of  the  Iroeiiois  obliges 
Touti  to  leave  the'ccuintry  —  La  Salle  re- 
turns to  lllinoi.s  —  Hennepin  returns  to 
Canada. 

lOSl. 

La  Salle  and  Tonii  meet  at  JIack'.nac  —  La 
Salle  a  third  time  jroes  \vest«ard—  He  is  at 
St.  Josephs  again  —  He  goes  by  I'hicago  to 
Illinois  river  —  He  finds  i'ort  Crevecaui  in 
good  condition. 

JOS-i. 

La  Salle  poes  from  ('liic!n.'o  westward— :  He  is 
on  banks  of  the  Misissippi  —  He  descends 
Alississippi  —  He  discovers  mouths  of  iMis- 
sissippi  — He  takes  possess, on  by  process 
verbal— He  returns  to  SI.  Josi'idis,  of 
Blichigan  —  He  intends  to  ascend  the  .Mis- 
sissii  pi  with  u  colony. 

La  Salic  leaves  Illir.ols  for  Quebef  — Ho  im- 
mediately sails  for  France,  at  Itochelle,  in 
Ueeember. 

ir,s4. 

La  Salle  sails  from  Frauci'  for  mouth  of  Mis- 
sissipi>i  —  He  reaches  St.  Domingo  —  He 
sails  from  St.  Domingo  lor  mouth  of  .Mis- 
sissippi—  He  discovers  the  main  land  — 
The  Iriquois  place  themselves  under  Eng- 
land. 

f«.V.>, 

La  Salle  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico— He  sends 

iiarly  on  shore  to  go  eastward  for  mouth  of 
ilississippi  —  He  reaches  Matagi'.da  Hay  — 
Heaiijeii  sails  for  France,  Leaving  La  siille 
in  great,  distress  —  La  Salle  huiiding  in 
Texas  ;  unfortunate  —  He  in  persLrii  searches 
for  the  Mississippi. 

KiHO. 

La  Salic  returns  to  Matagorda  Tlay  —He  goes 
again  li"  seek  the  .Mississi|)pi —Tonti  goes 
<lovvn  Mississipjii  to  meet  La  Salle  — La 
Sullc  returns  unsuccessful. 

La  Salle  leaves  for  Mississippi  the  third  lime 
—  He  sends  men  to  look  for  stores  -  He  I'ol- 
li>ws  ami  is  killed  bv  those  men  —  His  mur- 
derers quarre!  and  t.ay  one  anollier  —  Seven 
of  La  Salle's  best  ciiinpanions  leave  the 
main  body  —  The  seven  proceed  toward 
Mississippi,  and  reach  Arkansas  — Tlii'y 
reach  Fort  St.  Louis,  ou  the  Illinois  river  — 


La  Salle's  death  was  not  published  until 
next  year. 

loss. 

La  Salle's  former  companions  leave  Fort  St, 
Liuils  for  (Quebec  — Thence  they  sail  for 
France,  and  arrive  at  liochelle,  in  Uctober  — 
l'ivi)ulalioii  of  all  French  JSorth  America, 
about  Vi,MO. 

}ns9. 

War  of  the  European  .dliancc  —  D'Ibervillo 
victorious  ou  Hudson's  luiy. 

D'lhcrville  invades  English  colony  of  New 
York, 

jr,n;i. 

l{ev.  Oravler,  a  missi(.nary  at  Kaskaskia,  Illi- 
nois —  Kaskaskia  founded  by  (iravier;  date 
unknown  —  L'ahokia  setlleineiit  iirior  to 
Kaskaskia;  date  likewise  unknown. 

Treaty  between  France  and  England,  and 
peace  of  Uyswick. 

D'Iberville  appointed  governor  of  Louisiana 

—  Uieiiville  appointed  iiiteiideiit  of  Louis- 
iana —  Dr.  Ooxe  sends  two  vessels  toward 
tlie  Mississippi. 

ntuo. 

D'Iberville  at  the  Hay  of  Mobile  — He  enters 
the  Jlississijipi  —  lie  sails  for  France  — 
Sounds  Mississippi  and  meets  English  — 
F(Ml  L'Huillier  built  on  Blue  Earth  river, 
^Minnesota. 

1 700. 

D'Iberville  returns  Irom  F'rance  —  He  goes  up 
the  .Mississipjii  to  Natches  — He  sends  Lo 
Seur  to  St,  i'eter's,  ill  search  of  copper 
mine. 

ITOI. 

De  La  Motte  Cadillac  fiuiiuls  Detroit  —  D'lbcr- 
V  ille  founds  a  colony  on  .Mobile  river —  Iro- 
quois agaiu  jilace  themselves  under  Eng- 
land. 

Fort  built  on  the  llaj  of  Mobile. 

/  70.~. 

Colony  much  reduced  by  sickness. 

D'Iberville  at  Havana,  on  a  voyage  to  France 

—  Bienville,  governor  pro  tein. 

1707. 

First  grant  of  lands  at  Delroit, 

i70S. 

D'Artaguette  in  Louisiana. 

1 7  to. 

Governor  Spotlswood,  of  Virginia,  explores 
the  Alleghanies. 

1712. 

War  betwe('ii  tlie  French  and  their  allies,  and 
the  t)ttagauiie  and  Mascoiitens  Indians  — 
Monopoly  vjf  Louisiana  granted  lo  Crozal  — 
Tiiscarnras  admitted  in  confederacy  with 
Iroquois. 

]7t:t. 

Treaty  of  Ftreeht.  leaviiiij  boundary  between 
colonies  uusetlled. 

1714. 

Fort  lioeulic  (Natchez.)  commenced. 

J7I7. 

Crozat  reslgi,  ,  his  privilege  of  monnpolv  — 
I'ort  Charlrits  commenced;  llrst  a  wooden 
strucliire— Louisiana  trade  granted  ti;  Com- 
pany of  West—  New  Orleans  commeiiced  — 
.lohii  Law  connected  with  Company  of  the 
West. 


Ji,'  i 


ClIEOXOLOGY  OF  THE  KoRTinrEST. 


185 


17  ts. 

Einitrrnnts  nnpnipiit  llio  prpulatlon  of  Now 
t>rreiui3  —  liciiuiilt  loaves  FniDcu  lor  Illi- 
uoiti. 

1 1 10. 

Company  cf  the  West  iiuulo  Company  of  the 
ln(lie.-<  — tJov.  Ki'illi,  of  reiniHylvaiila,  urges 
the  buililing  a  fori  oil  Lake  Krie. 

Law  inado  minister  of  lliiance  — Slock  of 
t'ompaiiy  of  the  Indies  worth  'JO.")!  ))i^r  et. — 
Sloek  eoniincnees  depreciation  —  ('om;)any 
of  the  Indies  l)ankriil>t  -  t  harlevoix  arrives 
in  America  aijd  lands  at  (Quebec  ~  Henaiilt 
huys  slaves  at  St.  Domingo  for  workini.' 
mines  in  Illinois  —  Jline  l.a  Motle.  Missou- 
ri, discovered  and  wrought  —  Spanish  iiiva- 
(•ioii  of  ,Mis-;oiiries  from  Santa  Fe  —  Sjian- 
iards  totally  (hd'eated  and  all  except  a  single 
individual  slain  — J-u  llarpu  explores  Wa- 
shita and  Arkansas. 

17St. 

Charlevoix  at  Montreal  —  He  is  at  the  Falls 
of  Niairara — lie  is  at  Fort  de  I'ontchai  train 
(l)otrolt)—  He  is  at  Maekiiiae  —  He  is  at  the 
Fort,  on  St.  Josephs  river  — lie  is  at  the 
source  of  the''lieakiki  (Kankakee)  — He  is 
at  I'iiiiiteoiiy  (Peoria)  — He  is  at  Kaskas- 
kia—  He  is  at>;atchez. 

17-ii. 

English  erect  a  trading  post  at  Oswego  — 
t  harlevoix  at  >iew  Orleans- And  at  Hi- 
loxi. 

1720. 
Iroquois  a  third  time  place  themselves  uiuler 
England. 

17i7. 
English  build  a  fort  at  Osw<<go. 

ITJIt. 

French  among  the  Natchez,  murdered. 

1 7:to. 

Natchez  conqni'red  and  destroyed  —  Alleged 
travels  of  Sailing  in  the  West— liov.  Keith 
earnestly  reeonimends  securing  West  to 
England. 

]  7.1S. 
Coiniiany  of  Indies  resign  Louisiana  to  the 
king. 

173.-. 
Vincenncs  Bcttled  according  to  some  author- 
ities. 

1 730. 
Expedition  of  French  against  Chickasaws — 
iJ'Artaguette  coiuiuered  aiul  slain  — Vin- 
eeniies.' Si  nai  and  D'Arlaiiuette  hiirned  — 
Uienvilh!  fails  in  assault  on  (..'hickasaws, 
and  retreats. 

1730. 
French  collect  to  attack  the  Chickasaws. 

17  40, 

Peace  between  French  and  Chickasaws  — 
1-aiise  d'la  (irasse  (at  New  Madrid)  supposed 
to  have  been  inhabited. 

174-i. 

John  Howard  is  said  to  have  gone  down  Ohio 
rivet. 

1744. 
Treaty  of  English  and  Iroqiioisat  Lancaster— 
A'audreuil   fears   KiiKlish   inlluenee   in   the 
West  — Jlenault  returns  to  Franco. 
1 74.1. 
Pierre   Churticr   conciliatcij  Shawa       •■  and 
French. 

Chickasaws  attack  French  post  on  Arkan- 
tias- Conrad  Weiser  sent  to  the  Ohio  — 
Ohio  Lund  Company  formed  — Pierre  Char- 


fier  instigates  war  bolween  Iroquois  anil 
ShawauoM — English  establish  u  trading 
post  on  (ireat  Miami,  Ohio  —  ExceSBivtly 
cold,  fctormy,  and  severe  winter. 
1749. 
Grant  of  land  to  Loyal  Company  —  Celeron 
sent  to  bury  medals  along  the  Ohio  river. 

17.''0. 

English  traders  it  is  said  were  made  in'ison- 
ers  at  tireal  .Miami  — Twigtwoe  or  Miami 
Indians  killed  by  Frencirsoldiers  -  iioih 
lime  aiul  placeare  uncertain  — Eiiulisli 
driven  from  ll:oir  station  on  Miami,  by  the 
Flench  —  Twigtweo  or  .Miami  Indians  do- 
fend  the  Englisli  and  are  killed  — Lar^o 
shipmonls  of  products  from  Illinois  to  New 
Orleans— Five  French  villages  in  Illinois  — 
Forty  sailing  vos.-ils  at  Now  Orleans- Dr. 
Walker  explores  Kentucky. 

17.11. 

Christopher  Gist  (it  is  believed)  exidored  tho 
interior  of  Ohio  —  Oist  surveyed  land  south 
of  Ohio  river,  east  ot  Kanawha  — (Jen.  An- 
drew Lewis  surveyed  for  Oreeubriar  Cem- 
liaiiv. 

17.-ti. 

French  again  attack  English  post  on  Great 
Jliaini  (dou lit fulj  — Treaty  at  Logstown;  In- 
dians conlirin  Lancaster  Treaty  of  11 -11  — 
Families  locate  West  of  the  -Mleghenios  — 
French  organize  an  army  to  occupy  the  Up- 
per Ohio. 

i7.y3. 

I'rench  build  Fort  Presnu'  Isle  —French  bui'Ul 
Fort  l.e  Itu'Ul— Fort  \  enangocommenceAl — 
Pennsyl  VII ilia  .Vssemhly  iiilormedof  I''rencli 
movciuents  — Commissioner  sent  to  warn 
French;  stops  at  Loi;stown —French  sent 
witli  arms  for  friendly  Indians  —  Colonies 
authorized  to  resist  French  by  force  —  Trea- 
ty willi  Northwestern  Indians  at  Winclie?- 
ter  — Trjaty  at  Carlisle  with  Iroquois,  Uel- 
awares,  Shawanese,  Miamiesand  Wyaiidots 
—  Ohio  Company  open  line  at  Hra'ddock's 
road  —  Washington  comniissioned  to  bear 
message  to  French  commandant — He  leaves 
Will's  "creek  for  Fort  Venango-- He  is  on 
Moiiougaliela.  at  Turtle  creek  — He  makes 
accurate  observation  at  the  junction  of  tho 
two  rivers  —  He  is  at  Logstown,  engages 
Indian  chief  to  accompany  him  —  He  is  at 
Venango,  directed  to  proceed  to  Lo  Ba>uf — 
lie  reaches  I''reuch  comniandant  at  Lo 
Hieuf- (iroat  number  of  boats  containing 
French  army  I'asses  Oswego — Washingtoii 
leaves  French  commandant  to  reluru  to 
Virginia. 

iii{4. 

Washington  at  Gist's  house,  on  Mononga- 
hela — Washington  at  Williamsburg,  tho 
the  capital  of  Virginia —  Troops  called  into 
service  by  Virginia  —  French  fort  at  Venan- 
go tlnislied  —  Ei  glish  comuience  building 
a  fort  at  the  junction  —  Controcieur  de- 
inani'.s  surrender  of  the  English  —  I'hisigii 
Ward  caiiitulates;  is  permitted  lo  leave,  to- 
gether wilh  his  men  and  stores  — Virginia 
troops  moving  westward  —  Washinutoa 
crosses  Alleghenies  —  He  attack*  and  kills 
.lunionville  —  New  York  sends  f^tiOO  to 
Virginia -^Washington  at  Fort  JJecossity— 
He  surrenders  Fort  Necessity -- He  retires 
to  Mount  Voruon  — French  liold  the  wholo 
West. 

Franco  )iroposes  a  eomiiroinise  —  Uraddock 
lands  at  .Mexandria  in  Virginia  — Franco 
and  Englaini  send  lleets  to  Aiiiorica-  Urad- 
dock's  army  marehes  by  two  routes  west- 


\  m 


186 


TVTTLEfs  CeNTEXXIAL  NoiiTHWEST. 


wnrd  —  KxpcilitiiSn  ngairiBt  Kova  Scotia 
IcavuH  liDstoii  —  iJraiiridcU  nriivc'«  nt  t'ort 
t'liiiilKTliiiKl  -lie  miirtlu'C  fiDiii  l'"ort  C'liiu- 
lu'iliiiKi  —  He  ruiiclies  tlio  Jloiuiiigulit'la  — 
Ho  ruciDStiU!?  ^loiioiigalicla,  inrt'lK  Froiich 
Hiul  ImliaiiH,  anil  i^  tlul'uatuil  —  JlraiUlock 
(tiua  at  till)  lireut  Muailows. 

1  71:<i. 

Fort  Chnrtreg  rebuilt;  a  f-tmng  Ftoiie  ptriic- 
turu  —  Ja'wIs'  fXpcdillDii  a^raiiift  llio  Hhio 
ImllaiicaiHl  falliirf  — liiiiiaus  till  tlic  vallry 
of  Virjiiiiia— War  lurinally  ck'flarfj  b("- 
twufii  I'rajicu  and  hnylniui  —  Armstrong's 
t'XiiiMlilicii  n;;ainst  Kiltainiinj;—  Firbt  in- 
liian  treaty  lirld  nt  Kaolon  —  iloiii-iur  i)ou- 
TiUu  dflfiitc'd  and  slam. 
1737. 

Mnsisniro  at  Fort  William  Ileury  —  I'itt  made 
juime  minister. 

3  7.5,V. 

Fort  Stnnwix  buili  —  l.niiisburg  and  Fort 
Froutenac  taken  —  Post  leaves  lor  llie  t.)liio 
river  to  eoniiliate  Indians  —  He  eiiconnlers 
ninili  f»ii;,'iio  and  danyer — He  arrives  ut 
Kiiskui  'ikei^  and  goes  Id  Fort  l)u  Uiiesne  — 
Hh  c- liters  Willi  Jndiaiis  near  Fort  ])u 
^iues.ie  —  liraiit  delealed  near  Fort  l)u 
t^Uesne  —  Washington  oiiening  a  road  over 
the  inountaiiis  —  treiuliaud  Indians  attack 
Forbes  at  l.oynlhunna  —  Forbes  marches 
from  Loyalhamia  to  Turtle  creek— I'osl's 
fcecond  mission  to  Clhio  Hidians  —  French 
burn  and  retire  from  Fort  Du  (iuesne  — 
Forl;es  takes  iiossessiun  of  the  Forks 
(Pittsburgh)  — Fnglish  erect  temporary 
works;  Forbes  returns  to  Philadelidiia  — 
Col.  II.  Mercer  left  in  command  -Chero- 
kee Indians  become  hostile  to  culo.iats. 
1 730. 

Forbes  diosnt  Pbiladelidiia  — D'Aubry  brings 
army  stores  ami  trooiis  trom  Illinois  to  Ve- 
nango—tiarrisoii  at  Fort  Pitt  fear  the 
French  at  Venango  —  (ieii.  !st;inwi.'i.  arrives 
a'  Fort  Pitt  —  Ticoiideioga,  Crown  I'oint, 
Niagara  and  liuubec  yield. 
17  GO. 
The  French  yield  ('anada  to  the  Kiiglish  — 
Cherokee  war  against  southwest  I'olonies  — 
tien.  Moiikton  treats  with  the  Indians  at 
l''<rt  I'itt  —  Settlers  again  go  over  the 
mountains  —  Ifogers  takes  possession  of 
Detroit  —  Kogers  return.s  across  Ohio  to 
Fort  Pitt. 

1701. 
Death  of  Pierre  Francois  Xavier  de  Charle- 
voix—AU^\ander  Heiiiy.  Indian  trader,  vis- 
its Northwest  —  Christian  F".  I'osl  goes  to 
settle  on  Tuscarawas  river. 

170-i. 

BoiKiuct  warns  all  persons  from  settling  on 
inilian  lands  —  Post  and  Heckwelder  goto 
'i  uscarawas  —  Dark  day  at  Delroit— Pre- 
liminaries to  Peace  of  Paris  settled  — Loui- 
siana transferred  to  Spain  — The  Canadas 
contain  upward  of  llKJ,(iOO  bouls. 

1  <«.;. 

Mason  and  Dl.xon  commence  to  survey  line 
between  Pen.  ylvaiiia  and  JSIaryland  — 
Treaty  of  Paris  concluded  — Uetroit  at- 
tacked by  Pontiac  — JIackinac  taken  by  Iii- 
iiians— Presipr  Isle  (Frie)  taken  by  In- 
dians—  Sandusky  Fort  riirprised  anil  taken 
by  Indians  — St.  Josephs  Fort,  on  St.  .)o- 
^eplls  river,  taken  by  Poitawatloniies — 
Oulatenon  garrison  surrendered;  weienoi 
massacred  —  Fort  Miami  i^near  F'ort  Wayne) 
garrison  nuide  prisoners —  Fort  at  Green 
Bay  evacuated  and  garrison  escapes  —  Le 


Bcetif  attacked,  fort  burnt,  garrison  es- 
capes—The  date  of  the  massacre  at  forts 
at  Venango  not  known— llattle  of  liusliy 
liiin  —  Fort  Pitt  besieged,  and  relieved  by 
lloiuiuet  —  Proclanialioii  to  protect  Imliaii 
lands  —  Laclede  iirrives  at  Sle.  (ienevieve  ^ 
Laclede  selects  site  of  St.  Louis  —  t'ortu 
Bedford  and  Ligonier  attacked;  not  taken. 

17(tt. 

St.  Louis  founded  by  Laclede  —  Bradstreet 
makes  dislionoiable  peace  with  Norllieni 
Indians  — liompiet  makes  peace  with  Ohio 
Indians  —  French  olllcers  >.irdered  to  givo 
up  Lower  Louisiana  to  Spain. 

170.T.  * 
Sir  William  Johnson  makes  treaty  at  German 
F'lals  —  (ieorge  I'rogan  goes  westward  — 
Cioghan  made  prisoner  at  the  Wabash  — 
lapt.  Stirling,  for  lingland.  takes  jiosses- 
sion  uf  illinois  —  Proclamation  of  Uov. 
tiage. 

1700. 
First  families  known  to  bo  nt  Pittsburgh  — 
"t^ii.  lec  Bill '"  passed  in  the  British  Par- 
liaiii  ,'  — Capt.  .lonatlian  Carver  explores 
the  unknown  Northwest  —  Settlers  ai;aill 
cross  the  mountains  — Walpole  eomiiany 
proposed  —  Col.  James  Smith  visits  iveii- 
tiicky  —  Capt.  Pitman  arrives  m  Illinois  — 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line  tiuished  to  Uunker 
Creek. 

1707. 
Western  Indians  grow  impatient —  Franklin 
labors  lor  Waljiole  company  —  FMnley  visits 
Kentucky  —  Zeisberger  f\>iuu!s  Mission  on 
the  Allegheny —  Gen.  Botniuet  died  at  Pen- 
sacola  —  -Mason  and  Dixon  ceased  surveying 
line  between  Peniisyivaiiiaand  -Maryland  — 
Fnglish  traders  lirst  visit  the  Assiniboiuje 
river. 

iros. 

Treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix;  grand  acquisition  of 
lands  from  Indians  —  Capt.  Pitman  still  at 
Illinois  —  Capt.  Carver  returns  from  North- 
west— Indian  treaty  at  Pittsburgh  —  Severe 
l)enal  laws,  to  prevent  settlement  on  Indian 
lands. 

1709. 

Mississippi  company  proposed —  Boone  and 
others  start  lor  Kentucky;  they  reach  lied 
river,  of  Keimickj —  Boone  mudo  prisoner 
by  the  Indians. 

1770. 

Grave  Creek  settlement.  In  Virginia,  first 
madi  —  Moravians  invited  to  Big  Beaver  — 
Moravians  leavi'  -\lle'_'lu'ny  and  remove  to 
Beaver  —  Treaty  of  Lochaber  —  Ohio  com- 
pany inerired  in  Walimle  CiUhpany  -  Wash- 
ington visits  the  west  —  The  Za  s  found 
Wheeling  —  Spain  takes  p,,ssession  of  St. 
Louis  and  L'pper  Louisiaua- The  Long 
Hunters  explore  the  west. 

1771. 

Boone  returns  to  North  Carolina— The  Long 
Hunters  still  abroad. 

177a. 

Indiana  murdered  by  whites  on  Lower  Kaiia- 
wlia— Moravians, "invited  by  Indians,  re- 
move from  Beaver  to  Tuscnrawa  —  Gen. 
tiage's  proclanialioii  against  settlers  on 
Waliash- Moravians  found  Schoeubrum 
on  Tuscarawa. 

n7:f. 

Boone  and  others  start  to  settle  Kentucky- 
He  and  coinpaniuis  attacked  by  Indians 
and  reliirn  —  Hullilt.  M"-\lee  and  otliers  de- 
scend the  Ghio—Bullitt  and  others  survey 
ut  Falls  and  Kentucky  river --Gen.  Thinnp- 


1   ■'i|?v 


CiinoxoLOur  of  the  Northwest. 


187 


poll  siirTi'}-s  till'  vnlley  of  Licking  — Gen. 
Ij.viiiiui  i^oos  ti)  Natcliuz  —  I'lirciiii.-'o  by  llli- 
luiisi  ciiiiiiniiiy  in  Illinois  —  l!;|j;  Dono  I-ick, 
near  tin;  Ohio,  discovered  —  Kennedy,  from 
Kai^kHHkia,  asceiidH  Illinois  river  inseiireli 
of  11  copper  mine  — Jle  de-icrilxs  riiiiia  of  u 
fort  at  Donthwuht  end  of  Lake  I'eoriu. 

7774. 

Jnmes  llnrrod  in  Kentucky— Contentions 
between  fennsiylvania  and  Virginia  —  (.on- 
nolly  call.''  out  niiliiia,  and  usurps  civil  au- 
thority—St.  I'lair  arrests  Connolly  and 
conipanions  — Connolly  and  as-^ociatos  are 
relea(<cd  on  pinole  — Coniiollf  receives 
iirnied  forces  from  Virginia  —  Coiiiioliy 
takes  possesi-ioii  of  Fort  I'ilt  and  name's 
it  Fort  Duiimori — Magistrates  made  pris- 
oners by  Connolly  —  Pennsylvania  mairi.s- 
trales  carried  prisoners  to  \'ir;;inia  —  J)is- 
cussion  about  llic  uiillnislied  .Mason  and 
Dixon  line  -  Connolly  writes  to  tlie  settlers 
about  Wheeliiiu'  to  allack  Indians  —  Cresap 
unforlnnately  ii'_'riH's  willi  Connolly — (ireat- 
lioiise  murders  several  Indians —  F,OL;aii  re- 
venues his  family;  jireiiaration  fir War- 
Itoone  sent  lor  surveyors  down  the  river- 
Friendly  f>lunvanese"  attacked  by  Connol- 
ly—  Several  Indian  traders  murdered  — 
Ak'Donald  attacks  Wapatoinica  —  Troops 
under  Lewis  march  diwii  Kanawha:  tliey 
leucli  I'oiiit  rirasant  —  Italtle  of  Point 
I'leasiuit  —  Duumore  makes  an  iinpo|)iilar 
peace  — Simon  Uirly  considered  a  valiant 
.loldier  — He  acts  in  concert  with  Virgiu- 
iuus  against  Indians. 

177.",. 

Treaty  of  VVataga:  purchase  by  Transylva- 
nia company —  Hoone  returns  to  Kentucky, 
and  founds  Hoousboro  —  llemlersoii  aiid 
associates  arrive  at  Jloonsiioro — Ilender- 
Hon  calls  representatives  to  the:  llrst  legisla- 
ture in  the  west;  representatives  liold  their 
session  under  a  large  tree  — Ciuy  .tohnson 
inllncnees  Iroquois  against  Americans  — 
Oiieidas  and  Tuscan.iras  adhere  to  Amori- 
ci;  —  Congress  forms  three  Indian  depart- 
ments—  Meeting  of  '  '■"missioiiors  and 
Indians  at  I'ittsburi'  ounolly  arrested 

in  Maryland— Purchase  by  Wabasli  com- 
pany on  Wabash  river  —  Ciijit.  John  Neville 
takes  possession  of  Fort  Pitt  -'•rovincial 
government  of  Peunsylrania  denounces 
Judge  Crawford  —A  very  larsje  meeting  at 
llannastowu  of  citizensof  \\esteru  Penn- 
eylvauia. 

1770. 

Monongalia  ciimty,  Virginia,  made  from  West 
Augusta— Ohio  county,  Virginia,  erected 
from  West  Augusta  district  — An  attack  on 
Detroit  proposed  In  congress  —  WashingtDii 
advises  the  employment  of  In.lian-  —  Indi- 
ans generally  incline  to  the  liritisli  —  Con- 
gress authorizes  the  employment  of  Indi- 
ans—  IndiaiiB  drive  olViveutiuky  settlers  — 
George  Uogers  Clark  moves  to  Kentucky  — 
Kentnckinns  choose  delegates  for  Virginia 
assembly —  Clark  and  Jones  are  their  rep- 
nisentatives  — Clark  procures  gunpowder 
from  Virginia  council  —  Virginia  admits 
Kentucky  among  her  counties  -Clark  and 
Jcnies  return  from  A'irginia  liy  I'ittsburgh  — 
Jones  is  killed  by  Indians —  Clark  returns 
to  Ilarrodsburg  —  Kenluekv  sett'-ments 
made  Kentucky  county,  Virginia —  Fort  Ap- 
pleby built  at  Kittanning. 

1777. 

Cornstalk  (Indian  chief  i  murdered  at  Point 
Pleasant  — Congress  of  Indians  and  British 
at  Uuwogo—  Kentucky  iiUostud  with  uortli- 


ern  Indians  —  Kentncky  electa  (legally)  bur- 
gesscb  to  Virginia  assembly  —  Logan's  sta- 
tion assailed  by  Indians  —  Clark  sends  spies 
to  Illinois  — Logan  crosses  the  mountains 
for  gunpowder —  Itowmnn,  v\\\\  one  hun- 
ilred  men,  comes  west  from  Virgiuiu  —  Fort 
Henry  (Wheeling)  atiaeii.'d —  First  court 
in  Kentucky,  at  llarroelsburg  — The  attack 
on  Detroit  urged  in  congress  —Clark  opens 
his  iilaii  of  coniiiiering  Illinois  to  Ciov. 
Henry —  Ilarrodsburg  attacked  by  Indians. 

Orders  issued  to  Clark  to  attack  Illinois  — 
Jloone  laKeii  prisoner  at  Salt  Licks,  on 
Licking  river  — Boone  taken  to  Detroit, 
thence  to  Scioto  — I.  lark  succeeds  in  gath- 
ering a  small  army  at  Louisville  — tJlark 
liasses  falls  of  t.)hio,  and  descends  to  F'ort 
Massac  — ISooiie  escapes  from  Indian  cap- 
tivity—Clark  marches  from  Ohio  river 
towards  Kaskaskia  — He  conquers  Kaskas- 
kia,  as  likewise  Caliokia —Vincennes  joins 
Hie  American  cause  —  Mcintosh  sent  to 
command  at  F'ort  I'itt—  F'ort  .Mcintosh,  on 
the  upper  Ohio,  built  —  New  Jersey  objects 
to  laud  claims  of  Virginia  -  lioniie  makes 
an  incursion  against  Indians  on  Scioto  — 
lioonsboro  besieged  by  Itritish  and  Indi- 
ans—F'ort  Laurens  Imilt  on  the  Tnscara-  . 
was  — Clark  holds  council  with  Indians  of 
Hie  Illinois-  Treaty  willi  Delaware  Indians 
at  I'ittsluirgli  — Virginia  grants  Henderson 
and  company  the  (ireen  river  land  —  tiov- 
ernor  llauiilion,  from  Detroit,  retakes  Vin- 
cennes. 

1779. 

Boundary  between  Pennsylvania  and  Vir- 
ginia settled  —  Clark  is  noliiled  of  the  cai>- 
tiire  ot  Vincennes  -  C'lark's  e.xlraordinary 
march  from  Kaskaskia  — Clark's  miracu- 
lous recapture  of  Vincennes  — (iovernor 
Hamilton  sent  a  pritoner  to  Virginia  — 
Slate  of  Delaware  objects  to  land  claims  of 
Virginia  —  Americana  suspect  and  attack 
the  Iroquois  —  F"ir;it  selllement  of  Lexing- 
ton, '>'entucky  —  Virginia  passes  additional 
land  laws  — Mary  land  objects  to  land  claims 
of  Virginia— Iji'odliead's  expedition  against 
the  Allegheny  Indians  —  Sullivan's  expedi- 
tion against  the  Iroquois — llowinairs  ex- 
pedition against  Indians  in  Miami  valley  — 
Fort  Laurens  on  Tuscarawas  abandoned  — 
Indians  treat,  wi'ih  Mrodliead  at  Fort  Pitt  — 
Kogers  and  Uenhani  attacked  by  Indians  — 
Land  comiuissiouera  oi>en  their  sessions  iu 
Kentucky  —  Congress  asks  Virginia  to  re- 
consider laud  laws  — Continued  Indian  out- 
rages about  Fort  Pitt. 

17  SO. 

Hard  winter  — Great  sutl'ering  in  the  west- 
New  York  authorizes  a  cession  of  western 
lands  -  Fort  Jeti'erson  built  on  the  Mis- 
sissiiipi- Oreat  emigration  to  the  south- 
west—,  Virginia  grants  lands  in  Kentucky 
for  education— S(,  Louis  attacked  by  lirit- 
ish  and  Indians —  Louisville  established  by 
law  —  Ityrd  with  a  large  force  invades  Ken- 
tucky^ Clark  prepares  to  attac.j  the  Slia- 
wanese  —  iMark  builds  block  house  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Licking  — Marclies  thence  to 
Upiier  Jliami  — ClarK  del'eats  the  Shawa- 
nese  and  destroys  their  property  —  liattle 
of  King's  mountain  in  North  Carolina- 
Scarcity  of  provisions;  almost  famine  at 
Fort  Pitt  —  Southwestern  boundary  of 
Peuusylvania  ileliuitely  established. 

17H1. 

Laws  of  Virginia  prevent  sale  of  provisions  ont 
of  the  state- Keuewed  eflorts  for  an  expo. 


|-'. 


_(.:ill 


ivM 


188 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Xorthwest. 


(lltiiiii  nsninst  Detroit/— Virglnin  makes  her 
first  act  of  oossion  — Spaniiii'il-*  from  St. 
Louis  tnko  lAiit  St.  Joseph-',  near  l.ako 
Michigan  —  Jay  iiistructcil  that,  tie  may 
yit'ld  till!  navi(,'atioii  of  .Mississiiini  — New 
Voi'k  cedes  hei'  western  liimls  —  JtroiUieail 
attacks  Delaware  Indians  on  Muskingum  — 
»<en.  (i.  1{.  Clark  solicits  aid  from  Western 
Pennsylvania  — t'lark  addresses  I'ol.  Locli- 
ry.  of  Westmoreland —  Loclirv,  Urr  and 
others  raise  a  force  and  descend  the  Ohio  — 
Lochrv  killed;  his  troops  taken  (irisoners  — 
JIary  lleckeweldcr  horn,  llrst  white  child  in 
Ohio  — Americans  l)eL'iu  to  settle  in  Illi- 
nois—  (,'liickai'aws  attack  Kort  Jellerson  — 
Jloravians  carried  to  Sandusky  i\v  Jtritish 
iind  Indians  — Moravian  missionary  taken 
to  Detroit  —  Wllliatiison  leads  a  party 
ayainsi  Moravian  Indians  —  (lark  forestalls 
surplus  provisions  of  Pennsylvania  — I'eiin- 
sylvanians  uisgusted  witli  the  frraspiug 
conduct  of  Clark  — Col.  Hrodhead  prevents 
Virginians  removing  cannon  from  Pitt  — 
(ireat  emigration  of  girls  to  Kentucky  — 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  estab- 
llslied. 

17  Si. 

Brili''h  estaldlsh  a  military  post  at  San- 
dusky —  Aloraviim  Indians  murdered  by 
Auu'ricans- Moravian  missionaries  taken 
to  Detroit -Attack  on  EstilTs  ftation; 
whites  del'eated- Crawfora's  exi)edition; 
taken  prisoner  and  burnt  —  .\tlaek  on  Hry- 
nnt's  station  — Battle  at  the  lilue  Licks; 
Kentuckians  defeated  —  Land  ollices  opened 
for  Virginia  lands —  (,'lark's  second  incur- 
Bioii  tlirough  .Miami  valley —  Provisional 
articles  of  peace  with  Great  liritain  — 
Kice's  fort,  near  Wheeling,  nssaili'd  In-  In- 
dians —  Le.\i;igton,  Ky.,  incoriiorated  by 
Virginia  assemhiv  — Kort  Nelson  l)uilt  at 
falls  of  tUiio,  Lo'iiisvllle- Catlisli  (Wash- 
ington}, Pennsylvania,  llrsl  laid  out  as  a, 
town. 

17S,t. 

Ilostililies  between  United  .States  and  Great 
liritain  cease  — Kentucky  formed  into  one 
district-  Congress  calls  on  the  states  to 
cede  lands  —Peace  proclaimed  to  the  army— 
English  propose  to  carry  away  slaves  — 
Washington  protests  against  course  of  Kii^g- 
lisli-- liufus  Putnam  applies  for  lands  in 
the  west  —  Baron  Sleiilien  sent  to  receive 
western  jiosts  -  Cassaty  sent  to  Detroit  — 
Virginia  witlulraws  Clark's  commission  — 
l)elfnite  treaty  of  V)ettce  — Wasliington 
writes  to  Diiane  about  western  lands  — 
Congress  proi>oses  terms  of  cession  to  Vir- 

finia  — Congress  forbids  all  pnrcha.ses  of 
ndian  lands  —  Congress  instructs  Indian 
commissiiuii'rs- Virtjlnia  f^rants  Clark  and 
his  soldiers  lands  —  Virj'inia  authorizes 
cession  on  terms  proposed  — British  leave 
New  York  (taking  slaves)- Col.  Daniel 
Brodheiid  opens  lirst  store  in  Kentucky,  at 
Louisville. 

17  S4. 
Col.  James  Wilkinson  opens  second  store  in 
Kentuekv,  at  Lexinj^ton —Treaty  of  peace 
ratilied  bv  llic  United  States  ^Virginia 
gives  deed  of  cession  —  Indian  commis- 
uioncrs  reinstructed  — Pittsljurgh  resur- 
veyed;  jiopulation  increases  — Treaty  of 
peace  ratitied  by  EngUnul— Virginia  retnses 
to  comiily  with'treaty  —  England  refuses  to 
deliver  up  western  posts  —Treaty  with  Iro- 
quois at  Fort  Stan wix  — Logan  calls  a  meet- 
ing at  Danville  — First  Kentucky  conven- 
tion meets  -  Kentucky  receives  many  emi- 
grRut^j  —  MayBvllle,  Ky.,  fettled. 


ns.i. 

Treaty  with  Delawares,  etc.,  at  Fort  Mcin- 
tosh —  Severe  penalty  against  settling  north 
of  Ohio  river  — All  previous  sidtlers'forceil 
I'roin  theirhomes  —  OlHcersof  IJr.tted  Stales 
eiijoiniMl  to  prevent  families  crossing  Ohio— 
An  attempt  to  settle  at  mouth  of  Scioto  in 
deilanee  of  law  —  The  aggressors  are  killed 
by  Indians —  Ordinance  for  the  snrvi^y  of 
w'estern  lands  pasted  —  Second  Kentucky 
convention  meets  — Don  (iardoiini  comes 
from  Siiain  — Third  Kentucky  convention 
meets- ,V  colony  emigrates  from  Viijiinin 
to  Illinois  —  (ireat  confederacy  of  northern 
li  .Hans  farmed  by  Brant  — ^'Fort  llarmar 
built  at  mouth  of 'Muskingum  -  First  sur- 
vey of  lanils  in  the  northwest  territory 
(congress  laud)  — Morgantown,  Virginia, 
established. 

1780. 

Brant  visits  England  to  learn  purposes  of 
minister.s  —Virginia  agrees  to  independence 
of  Kentucky —Putnam  and  Tui)per  call 
meeting  to  form  Ohio  company  —  Treaty 
with  Siiawauese  at  Fort  Finney  "(month  of 
Jliami)  —  Ohio  company  of  associates 
formed — (iovernor  of  Virginia  writes  to 
congress  res])ecting  Indian  invasions  — 
The  negotialion  about  Mississippi  before 
congress  —  Itesolution  of  congress  produces 
cession  by  Connecticut  —  Cougrcas  author- 
izes the  invasion  of  northwestern  territory- 
Pittsburgh  (iazette  commenced;  llrst  print- 
ing in  Ohio  valley  —  Jay  authorized  to  yield 
navigation  of  Mississippi  at  a  delluile 
term—  I'ursuant  to  invasion  of  northwest- 
ern territory,  Clark  marches  to  Vinc(;nnes  — 
Clark  ascends  the  Wubasli  to  Vermillion 
river  —  Kentucl<y  troojis  become  mutinous, 
and  return  lionui  witliont,  discharge  —  Clark 
abandons  the  expedition,  and  returns  to 
Vincennes  —  Conneclicnl  makes  a  second 
act  of  cession —  .Vmericans  seize  Spanish 
properly  at  Vincennes  — Virginia  protests 
against 'yielding  navigation  of  Mississippi  — 
(ireat  dissatisfactiini  Ihroughout  the  west  — 
(ioveriKU'  of  Virginia  informed  of  Clark's 
movements  —  (ireat  Indian  council  in  north- 
west; tlu'v  address  congress  —  Frankfort, 
Ky.  established  hy  Virginia  assembly. 
■     t7S7. 

Fonr;li  Kentucky  convention  meets- New 
Kngland  O'^io  land  company  choose  direct- 
ors— Meeting  in  Kentucky  relative  to  navi- 
gation of  Mississi|)pi  —  Wilkinson  goes  to 
New  Orleans  — Dr.  Cutler  negotiates  with 
congress  for  lands —  Congress  makes  order 
in  favor  of  Ohio  company  —  (Jrdinance 
passed  for  government  of  norlhwesi  terri- 
tory—Innis  refuses  to  inosecute  invaders 
of  Indian  lands  — Kentucky  (ia/.etle  estab- 
lished at  Lexington  —  Symmes  of  New  Jer- 
sey ai)plies  for  laud  —  l'"irst  entries  of  Vir- 
i;iiiia  reserve  lands  north  of  the  Oliio  — 
■"ifth  Kintucky  convention  meets  — New 
Kngland  Ohio  land  company  comph'tes  a 
contract  -  Symmes'  api)licatl(m  referred  to 
board  ot  treasury  —  United  Stiites  troojis 
ordered  west  —  St.  Clair  appointed  i;overnor 
of  northwestern  territory  —  New  Rnglaud- 
ers  of  Ohio  land  company  |)repare  to  go 
west  —  Symmes  issues  proposals  for  set- 
tlers—  John  Bniwn,  first  western  repre- 
sentative, goes  to  congress  —  Fort  Frank- 
lin, on  the  site  of  Franklin,  Pennsylvania, 
built. 

17SS. 

Indians  expected  to  make  a  treaty  at  Marict- 
til— Denliam  ijurchases  the  bili:  of  Losan- 
tlvllle    (Ciucinuati)  — The    admission   uf 


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ville 


Chronology  of  the  Nohthwest. 


189 


Kentucky  dulmtcd  in  cnnsrcss  — New  Eng- 
lunik'iH  of  Dliio  C'onipuny  liiml  at  MuMkiiiL'- 
uni  — Mariultii  iinil  Irt  iivuniu'8  niinu'il  willj 
pDnij)  and  liaf,'uaMlry  —  AilinifiUiin  of  Kon- 
lucky  i-ffuHcil  liy  rongross  — ISt.  t  lair  rcacli- 
es  lliu  NoriliwcMcnrj'criilory—  Sixlli  Kon- 
tueky  convunllou  niccls —Viixt  law  ul" 
Jh  I)  !■  t  li  w  u  H  1 0  1- 11  Tcrrilory  pul)!  !<hcO  — 
>yniiiu's  HlnrlH  for  tins  wui>t  —  l.o»anlivillu 
(t'inciiinati;  iilaiiiu'd  and  ciiivfynd  — First 
couil  lu'Ul  at  Marletla— .Syininurt  reachu!' 
hi."  jiilrcliu^e;  is  overjoyed  — Another  (,'rand 
Indian  council  in  the  Northwest— Indians 
forhid  treaties  with  separate  nations  —  Sev- 
ei  til  Kentucky  convention  meets  —  Colum- 
bia I'ettled  l)y".Stite«  and  others  —  Dr.  L'on- 
1  oily  in  Kentucky,  as  a  sjiy  and  Uritish 
n";ert  — The  founiler  of  lincinnati  leaves 
Maysviile  —  I'incinnatl  reached  according 
to  McMillan  —  Virginia  passes  third  act  to 
make  Kentucky  independent  — (Jol.  (ieorge 
Jloigan,  jf  New  .Jerssy,  at  New  iladrid  — 
Almanacs  llrst  printed  at  Lexington,  Ken- 
tucky—(ireat  emigration  west;  about  live 
tliousand  persons  pass  Fort  llarniar—  Mays- 
ville,  Kentucky,  establishes  a  town. 

1 7S». 
Treaty  of  Fort  Ilarmar  concluded  — Wilkin- 
son goes  to  New  Urleaiis  again  —  Uaniel 
Story  llrst  clergyman  and  teacher  at  .Mariet- 
ta—Syinmes'  eeitlement  threatened  by  In- 
dians—  The  force  sent  to  protect  Syninies 
goto  I.osantiville  — Major  Doiijjhty  builds 
Fort  Washington  at  LosantivilTe  ^t'incill- 
iiati)  —  Western  scouts  willu'irawi-.  by  Vir- 
ginia—Kiglith  Kentucky  convention  meets 
—  (iov.  Miio,  of  New  Orleans,  writes  to  Se- 
bastian—Congress empowers  president  to 
call  ou>  western  militia —  I'resident  author 
i/.es  (iov.  St.  Clair  to  call  out  militia  —  Gen. 
jlarmar  reaelies  Fort  Washington  with 
three  hundred  troops  —  Thomas  llutchins, 
L'nited  States  geograiiher,  dies  at  I'itts- 
■  biirgh  — Fort  Steuben  (,or  blockhouse)  built 
near  Charleston,  on  upper  Ubio  river. 

1 7I>0. 

G(-v.  St.  Clair  arrives  at  Losantiville  and 
nami's  it  Cincinnati;  descends  the  Ohio  to 
Fort  Steulieii  (JetVersonville);  luoeeeds  to 
Vii.ceiines.  and  crosses  prairies  to  Kaskas- 
kia  —  Anioiiie  (iamelin  sent  to  upper  Wa- 
bash Indians  —  Indian  hostilities  take  pUkce 

—  St.  Clair  calls  out  western  militia  — 
Ninth  Kentucky  convention  meets— Troops 
gather  at  Fort  Washington  tcincinnati  — 
Jlarmar  leaves  Fort  Washington  and  march- 
es northward— Col.  Hardin,  with  the  ad- 
viniee,  reaches  Miami  villages  —  Main  army 
reaches  Miami  villages —  Camp  at  Miami 
village;  men  behave  uiisoldierlike  —  Col. 
Trotter  is  sent  to  reconnoiter  tlie  Indian 
haunts  — Hardin  attacks  Indians;  not  suc- 
cessfully—Me  desires  another  trial  with 
Indians;  is  again  viefeated  —  1I(!  loses  all 
contldence  in  the  militia;  is  dissatislled 
witli  Col.  Trotter,  and  inarches  oil  return  to 
Fort  Washington  — Army  halls  at  vild  Chi'- 
licothe;  soldiers  disobedient  —  Militia  men 
are  punished  by  wliipiiing- Harniar  repri- 
mands Col.  Trotter  and  Jlajor  Mc.Mulleu  — 
Mtiliny  of  Keiituckians  quashed:  army  pro- 
ceeds "  to  Fort  WashiiiL-'loii  —  Western  iu- 
liabitants  p('iitioii  congress  to  light  Indians 
Intlieirown  way  — Massy  and  otliers  con- 
tract to  settle  Majirhester. 

i7in. 

Big  Bottom  settlement  destroved  by  Indians 

—  Excise  lijid  on  ardent  spirits  by  congress 

—  lieu.  t;harles  Scott  authorized'  to  luarclt 


against  Indians  — Proctor  starts  on  his 
western  mission;  reaches  liulValo creek,  and 
is  refuse'  a  vessel  to  cross  lake  Krle  —  Fam- 
ily of  Kirkpatricks  attacked  at  morning 
worshiii  and  murdered  by  Indians  in  Ann- 
strong  county,  I'eniisylvania  — St.  Clair  at 
F'ort  vVashington   prei'iaring  his  expedition 

—  i'roctor  aoandons  his  mission  and  re- 
turns—(Jen.  Charles  Scott  marches  against 
Wabash  Indbms —  .Meeting  at  JJrownsville, 
rennsylvania,  against  excise  — Wilkinson 
inarcii'es  against  Kel  river  Indians  —  Excise 
ollicers  of  Allegheny  and  Wushiiii'lon  coun- 
ties, I'ennsy.vania,  assailed —  .Meeting  at 
rittsburg  to  oppose  excise  law  — St.  Clair 
commences  his  march  northward;  builds 
Fort  ilamillon  on  Creat  Miami— He  and 
Jintler  disagree  —  St.  Clair  builds  Fort  Jef- 
ferson in  Northwestern  territory;  marches 
nortli,  towards  head  of  .Maiimee;  arrives  at 
a  branch  of  Wabash,  supposed  to  be  the  St. 
Mary's;  is  attacked  and  defealed,  iiid  army 
disoVgani/.ed  — Portion  of  the  army  returns 
to  Fort  Washini;ton  —  Feelde  garrisons  are 
left  at  Forts  Jetfersiui  and  Hamilton  —  Ter- 
ror of  Indian  invasion  expressed  by  western 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  —  .Massacre  of 
Jolly's"  family,  near  Wheeling. 

I'eaco  olTered  by  the  United  States  to  western 
Indians,  through  the  Senecas  — Pond  and 
Stedman  sent  west  as  iieacemakers  —  Brant 
invited  by  governmeict  to  1  hiladelphia  — 
Wilkinson  sends  a  party  to  the  Held  of  .St. 
Clair"8  defeat— (iallipo'lls  settled  by  de- 
luded French  colonists —Iroquois  chiefs 
visit  Philadelphia— Instruciioini  issued  to 
Truman  —  Kentucky  admitted  into  the 
union  as  a  state  —  Excise  law  amended, 
though  not  to  satisfaction  —  lleiidrick,  a 
Stockbridge  Indian  chief,  sent  west  — In- 
structions issued  to  Kufus  I'utnam —True- 
man  and  Hardin  leave  Fort  Washington  — 
Pennsylvania  purchases  from  congress  the 
Triangle  trad  — Uen.  Wayne  moves  west- 
ward—Brant, pursuant  to  invitation,  visits 
Philadelphia  — Fire  lands  given  to  siifl'erers 
by  Connecticut —  (ireat  anti-excise  meeting 
at  Pittsburgli  —  Itufus  Putnam  makes  treaty 
with  Indians  at  Vincennes  —  Great  Indian 
council  at  "  Graiid  illdize"^  (Fort  Betlancei 

—  Adair  attacked  near  Fort  St.  Clair — (Jp- 
positioii  to  excise  law  diminishes  — United 
States  troops  at  LegionviUe,  on  the  Ohio.     ■ 

United  States  legion  goes  down  to  Cincinnati 

—  Last  Indian  depredation  in  Kentucky  — 
Pickeriiii;  and  others  appointed  to  treat 
with  Indians  at  Maumee  —  Unsual  prepara- 
tions for  a  council  and  treaty  at  Sandusky 
-—Citizen  Genet  reaches  the  United  States 

—  Cimimissioners  for  council  with  Indians 
reach  Niagara  —  (ienet  is  presented  to 
Washingtoii  — First  Democratic  Society  in 
Philadelphia  — Commissioners  correspond 
with  (iov.  Simcoe  —  They  meet  Brant  and 
hold  a  council  —  Commissioners  at  Elliott's 
house,  head  of  lake  Erie  —  Indians  arrive  at 
Elliott's  and  meet  commissioners  — Ini'i- 
aiis  ('.(■cline  nieetiiiL;  Americans  at  Sandusky 

—  Final  action  of  the  commissioners  and  In- 
dians—  Wayne  leaves  Cincinnati  with  his 
legion ;  encamps  at  (.'reenvibe,  and  is  joined 
bv  Kentuckians  under  Scott  — I.owry  and 
It'oyd  attacked  near  Fort  St.  l^lair  — French 
emissaries  sent  west —  Field  of  St.  Clair's 
defeat  visited  b"  Wayne  — Fort  Hecovery 
built  on  St.  Clair's  battle-ground  — Western 
people  dissatislled  with  governiueut  —  Op- 


1 


i'     i 


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i 
! 

1 

if 

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t 
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i 

If 


m 


190 


Tuttle's  Cextexxial  XonnnrEST. 


i";  ■  ■- 


position  to  I'xcli'f'foi'bk'r  —  First  scsflon  of 
lifiiliiclty  iissi'iiilily  at  Fraiilil'iirt  —  llnuit 
Hivus  ttiu  true  cliaructcrof  tlie  UritiHli. 

I"(irt  liiiill  at  I.o  Hd'iir  (WatorfordK  l.y  Major 
J)oniiy — Wliiclty  riolH  ri'ronmu'iici' —  I.onI 
Doll  lii'Mtor's  H|Hii'i'li  to  imii«ii«  —  Tlic  Mill- 
l,'o  t'li'iik  Afhoilalioii  foriiinl  —  Wayiio  pri'- 
jiarcs  lor  Ills  oaiiipaiyn  — (iov.  Siiiuor  buiiilN 
a  fort  oil  MaiiiiU'i!  —  Di'inoeralic  soiii'iy 
foriiiud  at  I'iltKliiirs,'li  —  SpaiiiaiilsoH'i-r  lu'lp 
to  Imliaii!4  —  Frciu'li  wniis.iarirs  I'orcrii  to 
loavi!  tlif  wi'Ht  —  t'oiitcst  rospi'cliiig  I'ri'Hiiir 
Isle  —  Jiidiaiis  alt.uk  Fort  Kocovi'iy  —  Siilis 
commt'iicuil  against  whisky  riolurs  —  (lath- 
I'riiiK  alioiit  Ni'Villi'"s  house  — Nevilles 
liollse  liiinit  —  Mietiiijr  'it  Miiino  creek  — 
Mail  rohlieil  by  Hradloni  —  C'liarles  Scott, 
with  tlfleeii  hiriidied  men.  ^oiiis  Wayne  — 
(ireat  |.'alheriiig  at  liiaddoek  s  Held  — Wash- 
ington issues  proclaiiiation  against  insur- 
gents —  Wayne  inarclus  toward  Maiiniee  — 
lie  sends  his  last  message  to  Indiana  —  lie 
coinniences  l)iiilding  Fort  Dellaiice  — He 
Imilds  Fort  Deposi;— 11.  meets  and  con- 
quers Indians  —  His  en  .  spoiidence  with 
I'ol.  Caiiipliell  —  lie  thnateiis  Fort  Miami 

—  Ho  returns  to  Fort  Deliaiiee  and  finishes 
It  —  He  marches  to  head  of  Mauinee  —  Fort 
Wayne  bu.lt  at  head  of  Maumee  — Commis- 
cioners  of  government  meet  whisky  insur- 
gents—llrillsh  try  to  prevent  Indians  mak- 
ing pence —  Vote  taken  upon  obedience  to 
the  law  ill  I'eiinsylvania  — Vote  not  satis- 
factory to  the  government -Washington 
calls  I'uit  mlillla  of  four  slates  — (icii.  I,ee 
man  lies  with  militia  against  insurueiits — 
The  most  guilty  malcontents  esca|ie  ny  Higlit 

—  The  less  giliUy  surrender  witliout  resist- 
unco —  Indians  ask  for  peace  of  Col.  Ilani- 
tramck— Last  depredation  by  Indians  in 
western  Virginia— Sandy  Lake  Fort,  Min- 
nesota, erected. 

J?.'>.7. 
Block-house  bnilt  at  Presqn'  Isle  (Krlc),  by 
(ieii.  Irvine  —  Indians  sign  i)reliiiiiiiariesof 
a- treaty  —  rrisoners  are  interchanged  — 
Connecticut  jin^pares  to  sell  her  reserve  — 
t'oniicil  of  (ireein  illu  opens— The  Karon 
de  C'arondelet  writes  to  Sebastian  — .lay's 
protracted  treaty  tlnished — Treaty  t)f  (.Jreen- 
ville  signed  — Coiijicli  with  Indians  at 
tireenvilTe  closed  — (iraiit  by  coniiress  to 
(iallipolis  settlers  —  Connecticut  sells  west- 
ern reserve  to  land  company  —  I'inckney 
concludes  a  treaty  with  bpiiin  —  Dayton, 
Ohio,  laid  out  by  Ludlow. 

1 7««. 

Chillicothe,  Ohio,  laid  tlv>  and  settled  —  Sebas- 
tian visits  the  southwest  —  Cleveland.  Ohio, 
laid  out  and  named  — Hritish  surrender 
jiosts  in  the  northwest  — Dililciilties  with 
Spain  recomiiience  —  (!en.  Wayne  died  at 
Pres(iiie  Isle  (Krie)  —  First  paper  maiiiifac- 
tory  in  the  west —  Dayton.  Cliio,  first  iioim- 
latcd  —  Congress  donates  land  to  Kbi'iiezer 
Ziiiie  —  Fort  Maiden.  Canada  West,  build- 
ing commenced  —  Tract  of  land  granted  to 
the  Zanes. 

inn. 

Power  visits  Kentucky  and  writes  to  Sebas- 
tian—Daniel lioone  moves  west  of  Missis- 
sippi—  Occupyiu"  claimant  law  of  Ken- 
tucky passed  -^  t  levelai.d,  Ohio,  llrst  popii- 
latetf  —  Itrooke  county,  Vir'jinia,  erected  - 
British  Hulijects  from  Detroit  settle  near 
iort  MaUlen. 

170S. 

William  Henry  Harrison  made  aecrctary  of 


Northwest  Territory  —  Alien  and  nedliion 
laws  passed  —  Nullifying  res(dntions  in 
Ki'iitueky  -  Hepreseiiiatives  lor  Nortlvwest 
Territory  first  chosen  —  Washington  iiii- 
ludnted'i  second  I  line  i  comiuanderlii-cliief 
of  Aiiiericaii  army  —  Steiilieiiville,  Ohio, 
founded;  sireiMs  surveyed  at  riiilit  angles  — 
Transylvania  I'liiversiiy  established  at  Lex- 
ington. Kentucky  —  Aniliertsluirg,  adjacent 
to  Fiwt  Maiden',  settled  hy  llriuiiib  fioui 
LHtroit. 

1 «.'»». 
Oreenshurg,  Pennsylvania,  ineornorateil  ft 
borough  —  Kepreseiitalives  of  Northwest 
'I'erritory  meet  —  I!e|ireseiitallves  nomiiiato 
candidates  forcoiiiicll  —  Asseiiiblyof  Norlh- 
wi'st  Territory  organize  at  Cineliinali  —  W, 
H.  Harrison  appointed  delegale  in  congress 
from  Nortewe.-;  Tel  rltory  - /.anesvillii  laid 
out  and  settled  on  Zaiies  tract. 

1.SOO. 

Great  increase  o(  iiroduets  sent  from  Ohio 
river  —  Indiana  'I'erritory  f.irmed  —  Con- 
necticut ylcdds  Jurisdiction  I'f  lier  reserve  — 
I'nited  S'tale>  gives  Connecticut  patents  for 
file  soil -- Treaty  of  St.  lldefonso  —  Assem- 
bly of  Northwest  Terriloiy  meets  at  I  liilli- 
collie—  First  missionary  in  Connect  lent  re- 
serve —  Lancaster.  Ohio,  surveyed  and  set- 
tled—  Congress  authorizes  the  )iresideiit  to 
make  iiupiiry  for  copper  mines  in  north- 
west—  President  John  Ailaiiis  apiioints  an 
agent  to  examine  the  south  side  of  lake  Su- 
perior—A  number  of  new  counties  luadu 
In  western  Pennsvlvaiila. 
J  HO  I. 

W.  H.  Harrison  appointed  governor  of  Indiana 
Tiuritory  —  St.  Clair  reappointed  governor 
of  Northwest  Territory  —  Li'glslature  of 
Nortliwest  'i'erritory  au'iiiii  at  Cincinnali  — 
Wortliiimton  made  agent  to  jirocure  a  state 
(ioveriiiiieiit  for  Ohio  —  Canoiisliiirg,  Penn- 
sylvania, ini-orporaled  a  lioroiii.'li  ~  Heaver, 
Pennsylvania,  incorporated  a  liorough — 
Louisiana  ceded  by  Spain  to  France. 

ISO-i. 

University  nt  Athens,  Ohio,  established  — 
First  bank  In  Kentucky  —  Congre-is  a'jree 
that  Ohio  may  become  a  stati'  —  The  Span- 
ish liiteiidant  forbids  tlie  use  of  New  Or- 
leans by  Americans  —  Convention  meets 
and  forii'is  a  constitution  fur  Ohio  --  Coii.~ii- 
tntioii  f'lu-  Ohio  tlnished  —  Clneinnati  incor- 
porateda  boroiiuh  —  JetVerson  colleue,  Penn- 
Hylvania,  chartered  and  organized  —  Cou- 
,. '1111011  at  Pittsburgh  to  foriii  an  e.xiHirting 
company  —  Advent  of  French  swits  to  In- 
diana. 

iso;i. 

Congreso  approbates  the  constitution,  and 
declares  t)liio  a  stale— New  Orleans  mad" 
free  lor  Ameruan  shlppiiiu' —  Livln..;stou 
and  Monroe  In  France:  piireliase  Louisiana 

—  Lands  located  for  .Miami  Fniversltv — 
Miami  Kxiiorting  Comically  at  Clr.clnnati 
chartered—  rnlted  Stales  M-uate  ratify  tin! 
purcliase  of  L<uilsiana  — Louisiana  gives  up 
to  tlu'  .Xmericans  —  Xeiiia.  Ohio,  town  |ilat 
aurveved  —  Col.  Hamtraiiick  died  at  Detroit 

—  1).  (ioforlii  disc'jvered  maminoth  skelo- 
ton  at  Big  Hone  Lick,  Kentucky. 

IS04, 

Fort  Dearborn  built  at  Chicago  —Territory 
of  Orleans  and  district  of  rpprr  Louisiana 
organize  I  —  Lewis  and  Clark  -t.iit  on  tlieir 
expedition  -  -  Imnienseipiaiitiiy  of  land  piir- 
cliased  from  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  -  Ohio 
I'niversity  chartered  by  >^tiite  Jei;islatiire — 
ij'irBt  inhabitants  In  X'-iua.  ilhio  -  Uarm.)- 


nv  J 


CnnoyoLocY  of  tui-:  XoRTinvEST. 


191 


1 


'  >f '^flii 


nio  Society  nettle  In  ItiitK'r  county.  Pcnn- 
Hylviuilii— Klttii;iiiinj;,  I'l'nnsylvaiihi,  niii- 
Vfjeil  und  settlvil. 

IHO.T. 
Mlclilu'iin  Tonlt.iry  lornicil  —  Detroit  (olil 
town)  Imrnl  to  tlio  ttnuina  —  lliiii'- vi;  it  to 
the  wi'st-Ccniinil  iiHKcnilily  inrct  in  Inilianii 
'I'l'i-rilory  — 'rcciiniHcli  luurtliu  I'roiilicl  lic- 
>.'in  to  iulliu  lu-c  the  ImiIIiuih  —  Indnine  cell 
all  llu'ir  lanil  in  norllicahlern  Dliio  —  IMke 
H>'ci'nils  anil  rxplorrs  thu  MinMiHHii)i)i  aliove 
^t.  Aniliony's  -  I'ikc  iniriliaHcs  land  I'oi- 
miliiaiy  Hlaiiiins  on  nppcr  .MinHlHclppi — 
Stcubchvillf,  Ohio,  incorporated  u  lioroiij,'li. 

ison. 

Gront  oclipm  of  tliii  xiin,  Juno  Kith  — Rmr 
n«ain  active;  writcn  lii  WilliiiiHon  —  Span- 
lards  cross  the  Saliinu  river  — liiirr  again 
(iocs  west;  is  ^it  JMltslinrijIi  —  I.eH  Ih  and 
('larl<  ri'tnrn  Croni  (_lr<-).'.in  —  Daviess  tries 
to  arri'st  Itnrr  —  Sebastian  I'onnd  iruilly  by 
K(!nliielvy  lefzislainri'  —  liurr's  men  descend 
the  Ohio  ri\er — His  t)iiats  and  stores  ar- 
rested—  liiirr  meets  his  men  at  the  niuiith 
of  I'nmlieriand —  l*i lie's  expedition  to  lieads 
ol  A  rliniisas—W'asliington  College,  I'eniisyl- 
vania,  incorporated. 

I  Hit  7. 

Burr  yield?  to  civil  aniliority  of  Missis^ip))!— 
lleeseapes  and  is  sei/.id  —  llis  trnd  at 
Itichnionil  — I'eliiioii  fur  Shivery  in  Indi- 
ana territory  —  Hank of  Kentucky  chartered 
— ^Urant,  the  celebrated  kinj;  of  .Mohawk 
Indians,  dies  — Merriweather  Lewis  ap- 
pointed {.'overnor  of  I'pper  Louisiana  —  (jl. 
C.  iloreau  arrives  at  I'lllsburgh. 

I  SOS. 

Baiik  of  Marietta.  Ohio,  clnutered  —  Tiaiik  of 
Clullicoliie,  Oliio,  duirlered  —  Teciimihe 
and  the  I'ropliet  remove'  to  Tippecanoe  - 
Alaiiison.  Indnina,  settled  —  Hev.  David 
Zeisberj;er,  .NIoravian  missionary,  dies,  aged 
eif;hly-seven  —  Harrison's  Urnt  mlerview 
Willi      icunilhe. 

ISOU. 

Vincen  ■■'  Is  I'our  weeks  without  n  mail—  III- 
imiis  "  erritory  formed  —  .Miami  University 
chartered  —  Settlement  made  at  Itoone's 
Lick.  .Missouri  —  Missouri  Fur  Company 
formed  at  St.  Louis  — (iov.  Lewis,  of  .\lis'- 
Bouri,  alarmed  at  Indians;  caHls  out  milnia. 
tsio. 

Second  interview  of  Harrison  with  Tecumthe 
— -V  trapper  and  hunter,  named  Colter,  de- 
scended .Missouri  via  Jellerson  river,  tluf  e 
t'.iousand  inik's  aloiii;  —  .Monks  of  La  Trappo 
locale  at  the  Ureal  Mound  on  American 
Uottoni,  HlmoiH. 

1811. 

I'itfstniriiih  .Mairazlne  .Mmannc  i)nl)lished  by 
I'ramer,  Spear  &  liichliaiim — Company  oi' 
rangers  organized  in  Illinois  —  -Mammoth 
Ciivit  discovered  in  Kentucky  —  Tecumtlie 
goes  to  tlie  .Sonlli  —  Harrison  jiroposi^s  to 
visit  Indians  —  Harrison  marches  toward 
'I'ippi'canoe—  First  sleamboat  (named  .New 
Ork'ansi  leaves  I'ittsburgli  —  Hallle  of  'I'ip- 
lieeanoe  —  (ireat  eartli,iuakes  l)egiii  -  Wesl- 
ern  people  generally  in  coiisiernation  — 
HuIsoh'm  Hay  Company's  grant  to  Lord 
Selkirk  -  .Meiidville  -Xciidemy  iucorporuled 
l)y  act  of  asbcinbl.v ,  .March  'JU. 
1H  l*w, 

tiov.  .Meig.s,  of  Ohio,  calls' for  L200  volunteers 
or  militia  — Oen.  llnll  marches  from  Uay- 
lon,  Ohio  —  Declaration  of  war  against 
Kngland  —  ririlisli  at  .Maiden  informed  of 
the  declaration  of  war  —  Hull  encounters  a 


tedious  and  tiresome  march  through  the 
forest ;  he  arrives  at  Miiumeo,  near  Hie  head 
of  Lake  Krie;  sends  men  and  goods  l)y 
water  lo  Detroit;  first  informed  of  dechira- 
tion  of  war  —  .\inericans  cross  lo  .Sandwich, 
Canada  — Mackinac  siirprisedand  taken  hy 
the  lirilish —  American  army  relnriiH  toDe- 
troil  —  Hiock  reaches  Maiden,  and  advances 
to  Sandwich;  he  crosses  to  Detroit;  Hull 
surrenders  -.\  delachmeiil  of  Hull's  army 
del'eated  at  Hrownstown  —  .Massacre  of 
trooiis  and  families  near  Cliicago  — Fvirt 
Harrison  attacked  by  Indians  — \V.  H.  llur- 
risoii  appoinle  I  coinmander  in  Nortliwest 

—  (iov,  Kdwards  and  (ieii.  Hopkins'  plan  to 
coiuiner  Indians  —  (len.  Hopkins  with  a 
large  force  at  Vincennis;  lie  marches  up 
Wabash  and  crosse*  at  Fort  Harrison:  en- 
ters the  prairies,  and  marches  lo  meet  Kd- 
wards; lii-  olllcers  are  disobi'dienl,  revolt 
and  return  to  Konluiky  —  Ivlwards  attacks 
the  Indians  on  Illinois  river  —  llol)kin8 
makes  an  expedition  to  i;pi)er  Wabash  — 
Lonl  Selkirk  plants  colony  on  l{cd  river  — 
llojikins  attacks  Indians  on  I'once  I'assu 
(Wild  Cat)  river  —  (Jeiierals  Winchester  nnd 
llarrison  meet  at  Fort  Wayiii^  —Winchester 
marches  I,)  Fort  Detlance  —  llarris,m  makes 
head(|nariers  at  Franklintoii,  Ohio  — Cid. 
Campliell  attacks  Indiuus  on  .Mississinewa 

—  Inhabilants  at  river  Jtaisiii  importune 
Winchester  for  aid  — Massacre  of  families 
at  IMgeon  crc'ek.  Scott  comity,  Indiana,  tiy 
Indians —  Ohio  legislature  selects  ■'High 
Jl'.nk  ""  of  Scioto  river  for  capital  —  Little 
'riirtle,  till'  famoua  Miami  Indian  war  chief, 
dies  — Name  of  rjsper  Louisiana  changeil 
to  Missouri  territory. 

Winchester  marches  down  Mauniee  to  the 
rapids  —  Winchesier  again  imporliined  for 
help ;  sends  troops  to  Fienchlowii  —  Hritisli 
at  Frenchlown  lirst  defealed  —  Americans 
del'euted  at  Frenchlown  with  great  loss  — 
Massacre  of  tlie  wounded  at  Frenchlown  — 
Harrti.oii  relreats  lo  Forlage  river:  he  re- 
turns to  Mauinee  and  builds  Fort  Meigs  — 
Fort  Meigs  liesleged  —  lien.  Clay  reaches 
Fort  Jleigs;  Dudley's  parly  lost  — ItritisU 
return  lo  .Maiden  —  Brilishlleet  prepare  to 
atlack  Krie  — Fort  Stepheinoii  besieged  — 
Siege  of  Fort  Stephenson  raised  —  Perry's 
vessels  first  leave  Krie  harbor  —  Victory  "by 
Perry  on  Lake  Krie  —  lirilish  troops  evacu- 
ate .^lalden;  cilizeiit-  remain  at  Amherts- 
bn;g  —  .Vincricans  take  possession  of  .\m- 
herisburg  and  make  it  headiiuarters  — 
American  governinent  reestahfished  ill 
Lower -Michigan —  lialtle  of  the  Thames  in 
Camuhi — liutlalo  iMiriit  by  the  Hritisli  — 
New  Albany,  Indiana,  founded  — <  Vevay, 
settled  by  Dufours  —  Alonks  of  La  Truiipo 
leave  Illinois  and  return  to  France. 

1SI4. 

Holmes'  expedition  into  Canada  — John 
eleven  Syinmes  dies  at  Cincinnali  —  Kxpe- 
ditioii  under  C'roghan  against  .Mackinac  — 
tiov.  Clark's  cxpcilitioii  to  Prairie  du  Cliien; 
Fort  Shelby  built  —  Lieut,  lampbell  sent, 
to  reinlorceFort  Slielby:  is  attacked  by  In- 
dians at  l„'pper  l{Kpids,'del'ealed  and  rerurns 
to  St.  Loliis  — Fort  Wayne  rebuilt  — Maj. 
Tavliir's  exiiedilion  on  upper  .Mississipjii — 
He  meets  Indians  at  Kock  Island— Is  at- 
tacked by  Indians:  defealed  and  letreals  — 
Second  grand  Indian  treaty  at  (irceiiville, 
Ohio  — .M'.Vrihur's  exi)editioii  into  Canada 

—  Treaty  of  (ihent,  preliminaries  of  peace 
with  Kiiglaud— Fort  Krie  taken  by  Ijeu 


m 


li 

ii-ii- 


'f 


192 


TvTTLii's  Centennial  NoRTinvEST. 


l!r(i«  II  —  KviiiiMvillp,  Imlinnii,  nirvpyc'il  mil 
Hoillid  —  ik'H'laiid,  Ulnu,  iucoriioiiitud  a 
ln)roiiyh. 

/.V/,J. 

Tronty  Willi  I'ljilit  Iiidliui  tillii'H  at  Detroit  — 
Viiiiuus  liciilios  Willi  Jiidlaun  —  Ohio  luxus 
batikiiij,' caidlal. 

tHUI. 

Act  of  coiiKri'HS  oxc'liidiin;  foiiifjiuTS  from  In- 
dian trade  —  I'll  I.- Iiiii'trh  isi  liiconioriiled  a 
t'lly  —  I'oliinibux  made  tapltul  m'  Ulilo  — 
Hank  of  Miawiieetuwn  eliarlerud  —  (ieueral 
IjaiiJiiiij!  law  uf  Uliio  (lafMed  —  Indiana  ad- 
mitted into  tlii' niiKMi  —  Terre  llimie,  Indi- 
ana, pettiemeni  made  — ](ieliinond,  Indiami, 
fiiiiiided  and  settled  liy  ••  Friend»  Society  " 

—  Lord  Selkirk  e(;iuiireis  Norlhwewl  Coui- 
l>any;  talieH  Fort  W  illi.iin  —  Kxplonlou  of 
eteaail""    Washington,  Voiut  llurman. 

IHll. 
First  steamlioat  at  St.  I.oiiln  —  Kortliwest  of 
Ohio  imrdiased  from  Jlldiall^' —  lulled 
Stales  Itiink  open  luanehes  at  I'iiRinnali 
iind  t'lilllicothe  —  Ailei:heuy  Culle^'e  at 
Jleadvillu,  I'ennsylvania,  ineoriiorated  — 
Fort  Dearliorn,  at  Oliiuai,'!),  relniilt  —  Uutlor, 
I'euut'ylvaiiia,  incorporated  a  ljuruu;;li. 

IStH. 

Illinois  becomes  a  suite  —  (ien.  St.  Cluir  dies 
at  Ills  residence  in  VVestmondand  county, 
I'ennsylvania —(ien.  U.  It.  I  lark  dies  near 
Louisville,  Iventneivy  —  llislioj)  Diiboiiri;  ar- 
rives at  St.  Louis  — First  niamifactory  of 
Ihie  rtour  at  I'rairie  dii  Chien —Treaty  at 
St.  Mary's,  Uli.o,  with  Wyaudot,  Seiieca 
aud  SUawanesu  Indians. 

IHIU. 

First  steamboatson  the  .Missouri  river  — First 
steamboat  on  Lake  Krie  —  Military  j-ost  es- 
tnbllslied  nt  Council  Ithifl'a  —  Fxpedltloii  to 
the  Yellowstone  river  —  Conn  st  of  Uliio 
with  the  I'liited  Slates  liiiiik  — Indian 
treaty  at  lOdwanlsville,  Illinois  —  (,'inciii- 
jiali  iiicorixirated  a  city  —  Ureat  depression 
in  linaneial  all'airs  in  "I'ennsylvauia  — Fort 
Snellins;  built  at  nioulli  of  St.  Peter's  — 
Fort  Crawford  liuilt  at  I'rairie  du  Cliieii  — 
<;iti/,ens  of  Missouri  Territory  move  for 
Btate  government. 

IS'iO. 

Indinnn  legislature  ap|ioiiit  coinniissioncr.s  to 
locate  seat  of  government—  NulUllcatloii 
resolutions  of  Oliio  -  Coiistilutlon  formed 
for  Missuri  statu  — Compress  refuses  Mis- 
souri coustltutl,)n— Uov.  Cass  visits  Luke 
Superior  aud  upper  Mississippi. 
IH-il. 

Missouri  received  into  the  union  liy  procla- 
mation of  president  —  Indianapolis  made 
permanent  scat  of  government  for  Indiana 

—  Kpideniio  fever  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri; 
great  mortality  —  Kitliiniiing,  I'euiisylva- 
uia,  incorporated  a  borough. 

Oliio  moves  in  relrtion  to  sdiools  and  cnuiils 

—  I'oimlallon  of  St.  Louis  diminished  by 
sickness  aud  linaneial  depression. 

is'i:t. 

steamboat  Tennessee  sunk  near  Natchez  — 
Illinois  moves  in  relation  to  canals  —  Com- 
mencemcut  of  Btoue  paving  streets  in  St. 
Louis. 

lS-i4. 

Slavery  contest  in  the  stateof  Illinois  — Sem- 
inary establishi'dat  IJlooniington,  Indiana — 
St.  "Louis  revives  and  recommences  im- 
piovemeuts  —  From  Uecember  uutil  March, 


IS'i'),  mostly  warm,  Hunshine    weutlier   at 
Ciucinnati.' 

Olilo  passes  canal  and  school  laws— Gov, 
Clark  holds  council  with  (Js,j;e  Indians  — 
tien.  ilaines  Wilkinson  dies  La  I'liyelle,  In 
(llanii,  pliinnid  and  surveyed  —  First  legls 
lalion  at  indiaimpolis  ~  SlaJ.  (jen.  La  I'ay- 
elle  ascends  ihr  Ohio  river.  Steatnbi>at 
.Mechanic  sunk  on  his  jiassage  —  I'nited 
States  grant  ;t(Ki,lKKi  acrns  to  Illinois  for  ca- 
nal —  Lu  Fayette,  Indiana,  begins  to  popu- 
late. 

iH'HS. 

First  stcainbont  on  Lake  Michigan  —  Kcnyon 
College  founded  at  (iaml'ier,  Dhlo  —  West- 
ern iieservo  College,  at  Jliidson,  Ohio, 
cliarlered. 

lH'i7. 

Congress  donates  lands  for  Wabash  and  Krio 
canal— Fort  Leavenworth  (Kansas),  built 
and  garrisoneil  —  First  seininary  built  and 
opened  in  lllliiids  —  J''lrst  '{nimmai  school 
at  South  Hanover,  Indiiina  — From  Decem- 
ber until  March,  l«i-<,  rain  fell  nearly  every 
ilay. 

IH'JH. 

Kxtraordinary  increase  of  lead  mining  at  Ga- 
lena, Illinois. 

SteubeiivlUe  female  seminary  established  — 
Fort  Leavenworth  tbreatened  by  Indians. 

is;so. 

Treaty  with  Keokuk  at  I'ralrlo  du  Chlen  — 
Attempt  to  drive  Hlack  lluwlc  west  of  Miss- 
issippi. 

1HHI. 

I'niiishment  by  hard  labor  and  imprisonment 
commencedin  Illinois  —  ISlack  Hawk  is 
hostile,  and  is  driven  across  the  Misslssip- 
jii  — lilack  Hawk  War  commenced  —  Legid- 
latuie  of  Indiana  authori/es  making  Wa- 
bash and  iirie  canal  —  Illinois  militia  aro 
sent  against  lllack  liaw'.i-- lulled  States 
troo)(»  sent  again- 1  Hlack  liawk  — Dlack 
Hawk  makes  treaty  at  Fort  Armstrong,  aud 
contlrms  the  treaty  of  1(*W. 
lS3-i. 

Great  flood  of  the  t>bio  river  —  Indianians 
commence  Va-\u  and  Wabash  canal  —  First 
steamboat  at  Chicago  — MiiysviUe,  Ken- 
tucky, incorporated  a  city  —  College  edillcc 
at  Soutli  Hanover  erected  and  charter  ob- 
tained—  Granville  (Unptist)  College,  Ohio, 
chartered  — Scoolcrafis  expedition  to  tlio 
source  of  Mississippi —  Indians  reassert 
their  riglits,  and.  war  is  resumed  — lilack 
Hawk,  ill  great  force,  returns  east  of  Miss- 
issipid  —  Stillnian  and  jiarty  defeated  near 
Hock  river  —  iilack  Hawk  defeated  on  Wis- 
consin; also  on  Mississippi  —  He  is  deliv- 
ered to  f  lilted  Slates  government  —  Cholera 
among  Scott's  troops  and  along  the  lakes  — 
Final  treaty  with  Sac  and  Fo.x  Indians  — 
I'irst  eiiidemic  cholera  on  Ohio  and  Missls- 
sipiu  — Two  liundriul  I'.  S.  soldiers  die  of 
cholera  at  Fort  Gratiot. 

First  settlement  made  in  Iowa  —  E.xtrnorll- 
iiary  meteoric slorn;  in  November —Tniuble 
about  boundary  between  Ohio  state  and 
Michigan  territory  —  (iovernor  of  Ohio 
sends  militia  trooiis  to  the  border  —  Stock- 
bridge  and  lirothertown  Indians  emigrate  to 
Michigan  territory. 

1834. 

John  O'Connor  condemned  and  executed  nt 
Du  Umjue,  without  law  — Oberliii  institute, 
Ohio,  chartered,  with  university  privileges 


)<o| 
Oil 
dlf 
at  I 

ruil 

Wall 

gaf 
fori 
cull 
slit 
Wll 


JiwtmjwiiUBaw 


CiinoxoLocy  of  tui:  Xohtiiwest. 


193 


UM 


—  fia/.i'ttci'r  of  IlllnoiH,  1)ii1)1Ih1i(m1  nt  .Tnck- 
KDiivillu  — 'riTiiiiimlloii  ul'  Imiik  tliai'lfii-  In 
Ohio— WaliHi'li  fi'lli'«(',  Ciiiwriiiilvllli',  lii- 
illaim,  iiiciupoiiiU'd -lapllol  uf  Indlaiia, 
ul  lii(liaiia|i(ilii<,  tliiishod  -  l,iitc>  in  <May  all 
foliiiiju  ill  llio  WL'st  di'Ntroyt'il  by  I'lifl. 

\VRbnsh  college,  Crawlmdvllle,  Iiidiniia,  oi- 
f-'aiiizi'd  — iMulilfiaii    ruriiis    a   ((iii^liliilioii 

for  Htate  tl"^>'''"'i""'' "'^'""K''^'''^ ''i'''"*''^  "'" 
cipn''lUiitiiiii,  but  (illoiH  tfiiim —  Obfiliii  lii- 
Htitiite  ()rt,'aiil/,t'd  an  a  culli|,'c.' —  Mllwaiikuo, 
Wlscuusiii,  BUrvoyc'd  (previously  sottludj. 

JS30. 

Madison,  Wipoonoln,  iilamiod  and  purveyed  — 
Coriiiilaiiter,  Hriieca  Indian  L'liief,  dios, 
ayod  about  uiii'  Imiidred  years  —  'I'lie  coiidi- 
liuiis  ollcri'd  by  C(iiij:rct^«  lo  Micliimiu  ru- 
jectud  — lillii()i«  and  Jliili'nan  Canal  coni- 
nicncud  —  Ti  rrilory  of  WiHcoiisin  (iiicliulin>; 
Iowa)  oi'piiilzed -Cleveland,  Ohio,  incor- 
jioiateda  city  —  Mania  of  iand  and  town  lot 
trading  in  Chicago  — jNineriean  Cannel  Coal 
Company  iliarlered,  Indiana  —  lleallicrly 
war  in  western  Missouri  —  Nicollet  explores 
Mississilipi  to  its  source. 

is:i7. 

Michigan  com])lies  with  the  terms  of  coiiKress 
and  becomes  a  state  —  Internal  inij)rove- 
niont  svstein  ndoptod  in  Illinois  —  Itiots  at 
Alton,  "III  iiois:  U('V.  Klijali  I".  Lovejoy 
killed  —  Chlca!,'o  is  incorporated  as  a  city  — 
State  house  of  .Missouri,  at  ,IelVerson  City, 
Ouriit  —  Asl)ury  uiiiver-  ity,  at  (ireoii  Castle, 
Indiana,  chartered — Kxplosion  of  tho 
Bteamer  •' Dii  liui|uc"  olT  Muscatine  bar  — 
Steamboat  "lien  Shcrrod"  burnt  on  Miss- 
issippi n\er. 

J.V.M. 

Explosion  of  tho  steamboat  "Moselle"  near 
Cincinnati  " —Territory  of  Iowa  organized 

—  Contest  with  Mormons  in  Missouri  — 
Death  of  (iov.  William  Clark  of  Missouri  — 
Indiana  I'niversitv,  at  I!looniiiii;ton,  Indi- 
ana, chartered— l'"lnancial  lillaiis  at  Chica- 
go in  a  des|ierate.  condition  —  Exceeding 
drought ;  Ohio  river  scarcely  navigable  fioui 
July  until  January,  183'.l. 

ISHS.IO. 

Trouble  between  Jlissouri  and  Iowa  territory 
about  boundary  — Militia  forces  sent  lo  the 
border  by  each  government. 

1S30. 

Bank  commissioners  apjiointed  in  Ohio  — 
Mormons  retreat  to  Illinois,  and  locate  at 
Commerce —They  ehaiigc  the  name  of  their 
new  location  to  is'auvoo  — The  llrst  steam 
•irrival  at  Sault  Sle.  Marie:  (the  •■  I,exii  g- 
toni  —  Stockliridge  and  lirothertown  Indi- 
ans, in  Wiseonsin  territory,  made  citizens 
of  the  United  Slates. 

Iowa  City  located  and  made  scat  of  govern- 
ment. 

1S40. 

I'resbytorian  Theological  Seminary  removed 
to  New  Albany,  Indiana  — Bloody  trasiedv 
ntBelleviie,  Iowa;  seven  men  killed  — (Jreat 
]iolitical  excitement  in  the  presidential  can- 
vass. 

Ili41. 

Death  of  W.  11.  Harrison,  president  of  the 
'j'nited  States  —  l'ul)llc  improvements  cease 
in  IlUr.jis  — (ireat  depression  in  linancial 
niatter»  throughout  the  west  —  Smith 
Slaythe  and  Lyman  Crouch  hung,  witliout 
trial,  in  Keuiucky  — Bethany  college  found-  I 

j3 


ed  l.v  Hev.  Alexander  Campbell,  D.  V).  — 
\Vai)asli  and  Krict  canal  compKled  to  I.ii 
Fayette  — Lake  sleanilioat  "Ivrie"  burnt; 
more  Ihun  one  hundred  lives  lost. 

1S4-i. 

Fort  Ues  Moines,  Iowa  territory,  built  and 
garrisoned  — Cincinnati  astronomical  soci- 
ety founded  -  Col.  John  C.  Frcmoiil's  e.\.- 
peditiou  left  St.  Louis, 

Kxccsslvcly  cold  and  protracted  winter. 

JSi.l. 

Illinois  banks  closed  by  legislature  —  Corner 
stone   of     Cincinnati    oljservatory    laid  — 
Dreadful  massacre  of  the  Chippewa  Imliuus 
by^the  Sioux,  in  Miniiesota. 
JS14. 

Steamboat  "Shepherdess"  ?iink  near  St. 
Louis  —  Cireal  tlood  of  .Mississippi  and  -Mis- 
souri rivers^  Steamboat  navigation  over 
the  American  Botloi.i —  American  Bottom 
submerged  sixty-tlve  miles  — State  consti- 
tution lormed  for  Iowa  not  accepted  by 
congress  —  Capt.  J.  Allen  ascends  L)es 
Moines  river  to  its  source  —  Steamboat 
"Lucy  Walker"  exploded  near  New  Al- 
bany. 

JS4.-!. 

Banking  law  in  Ohio  for  state  and  indejiend- 
eiit  ban.is  — Illinois  negotiates  with  bond- 
lioh'ers  to  tinisli  canal  — CoiiHagration  of 
one-fourth  of  i'itlsburgh—Wirteniberg  Col- 
lege, at  Springlleld,  Oliio,  chartered. 
JS4(i. 

Public  improvements  of  Illinois  resumed  — 
Convention  in  Wiseonsin  prejiare  a  coiisli- 
tutlon  for  state  — Constitution  lor  Wiscon- 
sin rejected  by  jieople  —  Milwaukee,  Wis- 
consin, eharteied  by  lerritt)rial  legislature— 
Meadville  Theological  school  incorporated. 

IS47. 

Collision  of  schooner  and  steamboat  near 
Conneaut,  Oiiio- Convention  in  Illinois 
forms  a  new  constitiitiini  — Charter  of  As- 
bury  Iniversity,  Indiana,  amended  — 
Friends"  High  school  established  at  Kieh- 
mond,  Indiana  — Kxplosion  of  steamlio'it 
"A.  N.  Jolinslon  "  near  Manchester,  Ohio- 
Steamboat  "  Flnrnix"  burnt  on  lalve  Mich- 
igan. 

184S. 

Constitution  of  Illinois  adopted  by  the  peo- 
ple— Michigan  and  Illinois  canal  com- 
jileted- Wisconsin  forms  a  constitution 
which  is  accepted  by  congress  —  Culilorniu 
gold  hunting  commences. 

1S49. 

Minnesota  territory  organized  Cholera  is 
again  epideni'c  on  Mississiipi  and  Ohio 
rivers  —  Kpidemic  cholera  and  great  lire  at 
St.  Louis  —  0"I'lain  river  tbranch  of  hi 
nois)  llowed  from  its  course  —  I'acitie  rail- 
road convention  at  St.  Louis —  Migration  to 
California,  via  .Missouri  rivt .,  commences— 
Steamboat  "Virginia"  exploded,  between 
Wheeling  and  Steubcnvilie  —  Ohio  moves 
for  a  new  constitution. 
1850. 

Uf.  Rev.  Benedict  Joseph  Plagot.  (Ir.-t  Catho- 
lic bishop  in  tlie  west,  dies  at  Loiii-jville, 
Kentucky —  California  gol<l  hunters  ascend 
Mii<souri  river  in  great  nnmliers- Dreadful 
mortality  from  cholera  amou''  Calil'ornia 
emigrants  on  Missouri  river  — (Jreat  migra- 
tion to  Minnesota  territory  —  First  steam- 
boat above  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  — Ur- 
bana  University,  Ohio,  chartered- Stcam- 


/::  i; 


up'-  «    i 


194 


TVTTLlfs  CeS'TEXKIAL  NoRTlIWTST. 


\  if  1  U  nl 

(  If.  I 


bont  "(i,  I',  (iilffllh"  hiiriit  on  lako  Kric. 

with      llllllll'IIHII      loHIt     llf     IllU—Uhlll    Pitl'lH 

•luli'giiiuB  lu  coiivcntluii  for  ni'w  countitu- 
tluii. 

tsiti. 
(ifii.  IIii^'li  IliiKlv  (llc'«  III  Detroit  — New  con- 
HlUiiliiin  for  Ulilo  fDrimd. 

Co  Union  on  rullroiid  iiciir  Chicago;    many 

liVL'H  lout, 

is,';4. 

ixpluhion  of  Klciwnhout  "  Kutc  Kciinifv  "  at 
St.  I.oiile  -  KunsHii-Nt'l)ra»kii  bill  imnsi'd 
by  . onKri'HK  —  Suminctr  and  aiiliiiiin  of  iIiIh 
ic'ar  im  iinincccdcntfd  droulli— Kpldonilc 
ilicilrra  lit  riKcliiirKli  — TlilM  year  cIohub 
Willi  liuirliil  fiiif  lioilliiCH  of  fiiinl'iK'. 

IH.'i.'S. 

Explosion  of  the  steamboat  "  Lexington  "  on 


tlir  Ohio  rivor-  from  May  iinlll  Dcccnilior 
of  lliln  yrar  tlio  MIh»«Ih-.1ip1iI  \alli'y  wart 
vlxli.'d  Willi  nn  iimi«iial  i(iiaiillly  of  ralii  — 
Aifi'lciilliirlHiH  rrJoU'u  in  u  larijo  ^luKl  of  tUo 
fniilH  of  llii'lr  toil. 

IHMt. 

Johlah  Copley  ri'iiorix  piarllillilllty  of  Im- 
pro\ln«  llii.  nuvi^'ation  of  tlii!  olilo  river, 
r>y  iiu'unn  ol  daiiiH  und  >teaiiil>oat  locks,  at 
iiiiideraK.'  expeiiHc—  KiiHt  lliree  nioiitliH  of 
thin  year  nimli  eolder  tliaii  iiHiial  Lowest 
water  ever  known  al  llie  lieaJ  of  llie  Ohio 
river— rolltleal  exelteincnl  alleiuling  thu 
preHlduntlal  caiiipalyn  intence.* 


•Thin  l«l)le  iH 
nalH,"   •'lllntiiry   of 
Ohio,"  and  other  works. 


coniiilled  from 
Winci 


Western  An- 
umiii,"   '•  lllsiury   of 


CHAPTER  XYII. 

TERIUTORIAL  HISTORIES  —  OHIO. 

First  Settlomcnt  in  Ohio  —  Cession  of  Virginia  anil  Connccticnt  —  Progross 
of  Settlcnicnts  —  Dayton  —  Cleveland  —  The  Tei-ritoiy  of  Uic  Nofthwest 
—  The  Town  of  Manchester  Laid  Out — Second  Grade  of  Government  — 
Oliio  Admitted  as  a  State. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

At  this  point,  we  will  pause  to  observe  that,  for  convenience, 
we  have  classified  the  subjects  which  fall  under  our  attention  in 
the  following  pages,  so  that  reference  will  be  had  to  either  both 
by  classes  and  by  states.  For  instance,  the  educational  interests 
of  the  northwest  are  presented  in  one  department,  but  the  depart- 
ment is  divided  into  states.  The  same  plan  obtains  with  refer- 
ence to  the  internal  improvements,  laws  and  courts,  etc.  Hence 
the  reader  will  by  no  means  iiiid  all  that  pertains  to  any  one 
state  in  consecutive  order,  but  in  different  places.  This  plan 
enables  us  to  bring  kindred  interests  together,  securing  both  com- 
parison and  contrast,  and  at  tl^.e  same  time  preserving  distinctl}'', 
state  boundaries.  We  will  first  direct  attention  to  a  condensed  nar- 
tative  history  of  each  state;  then  the  internal  improvements,  edu- 
cational interests,  etc.,  will  be  taken  up  in  the  order  of  their  im- 
portance. 


1   li..™»:i 


Tkrhitoiu.  1 1.  If  IS  tohies  —  Onio. 


195 


The  Rnglish  built  a  trndiiig  post  on  the  Great  ^fiaml  river,  in 
1740,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  settlement  of  Ohio. 
Previous  to  this,  however,  the  French  had  explored  the  country, 
and  had  established  a  trading  post  on  the  lower  Ohio,  within  tho 
present  limits  of  the  state  of  Illinois.  The  French  and  Indians 
destroyed  the  English  po.st  on  the  Miami,  in  1752,  and  made 
some  prisoners,  who  were  carried  captives  into  Canada.  As  we 
have  observed  in  the  foregoing  general  .sketch,  the  territory  was 
for  a  long  time  a  matter  of  dispute,  both  the  French  and  the 
English  claiming  the  right  of  po.sscssion.  The  Ohio  Company, 
with  its  charter  from  the  British  king,  claimed  the  right  of  occu- 
pying the  country,  and  the  French  at  the  .^ame  time  were  active 
and  bold  in  their  efforts  to  prevent  English  settlements  in  it. 
"It  was  this  quarrel,"  says  James  D.  McCabe,  Jr.,  in  his  Great 
Republic,  "  which  first  brought  Washington  forward  as  a  mili- 
tary leader.  The  territory  was  inhabited  by  Indian  tribes,  who 
were  friendly  to  the  French,  and  hostile  to  the  English.  They 
made  frequent  incursions  across  the  Ohio  against  the  settlements 
of  the  whites  in  Virginia,  and  were  in  their  turn  frequently  at- 
tacked in  their  own  homes  by  the  English.  During  the  revolu- 
tion, they  were  the  allies  of  the  British,  and  waged  a  bitter  war- 
fare upon  the  western  settlements  of  the  Americans.  This  gave 
rise  to  several  memorable  campaigns  by  the  American  forces 
west  of  the  Ohio,  in  which  the  savages  were  severely  punished. 
After  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  several  of  the  states 
became  involved  in  disputes  as  to  the  right  of  soil  in  this  terri- 
tory, which  were  only  settled  by  the  cession  of  all  the  state 
claims  to  the  United  States.  Virginia,  in  ceding  her  claims,  re- 
served nearly  four  millions  of  acres,  nc  u*  the  falls  of  the  Ohio, 
as  bounty  lands  for  her  state  troops,  and  Connecticut  reserved  a 
similar  tract,  near  Lake  Erie,  which  wa  sold  to  actual  settlers. 
The  sale  of  these  lands  laid  the  foundation  of  the  school  fund  of 
Connecticut." 

The  town  of  ^Marietta  was  founded  by  the  New  England  Ohio 
Company,  in  1788,  and  three  years  la* -^r,  168  French  colonists 
founded  Galliopolis.  Other  settlements  were  started,  and  in  a 
short  time  the  country  began  to  take  on  civilized  appearances. 
The  Indians,  however,  continued  very   troublesome,  and  Gen. 


196 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Nobtiiwest. 


Ilarnicr  made  a  camiDaign  agai  ist  them  in  1700.  lie  subdued 
them  in  some  degree,  but  by  no  iucans  conquered  them,  and  Gen. 
Arthur  St.  Clair,  then  governor  of  the  new  "territory  of  the 
United  States  northwest  of  the  Ohio,"  marched  against  them  with 
a  force  of  3,000  men,  but  was  surprised  and  defeated,  with  a  loss 
of  600  men.  In  .179-1,  Gen.  Anthony  "Wayne,  an  ofTicer  of  revo- 
lutionary fame,  succeeded  Gen.  St.  Clair  in  the  command  of  the 
army,  and  conducted  a  campaign  into  the  Indian  country,  and 
overpowered  the  Indians,  compelling  them  to  beg  for  peace. 
Gen.  "Wayne's  campaign  had  the  effect  of  producing  peace  on  the 
borders. 

Meanwhile  the  settlements  in  Ohio  increased;  Cincinnati  %vas 
already  a  thriving  post,  and  the  Ohio  was  beautified  for  many  miles 
■with  good  farms.  The  southwestern  shore  of  lake  Erie  was  also 
opening  up  its  resources  to  enterprising  settlers.  Meanwhile,  a 
government  was  provided  for  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio 
river  by  the  celebrated  ordinance  of  July  13,  1787.  On  the  7th 
of  August,  1789,  an  act  of  congress  was  passed  to  give  full  cfl'ect 
to  the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  to  adapt  it  to  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States,  providing  for  the  organization  of  a  government 
consisting  of  executive,  legislative,  and  judicial  departments. 
During  this  period,  however,  other  settlements  had  been  taking  place 
in  Dhio,  which  in  their  influence  upon  the  destinies  of  the  state 
were  deeply  felt  — that  of  the  "\^irginia  reserve,  between  the  Scioto 
and  Little  ^[iami  rivers,  that  of  the  Connecticut  reserve,  and  that 
of  Dayton.  In  1787,  the  reserved  lands  of  the  old  dominion, 
north  of  the  Ohio,  were  examined,  and,  in  August  of  that  3'car, 
entries  were  commenced.  Against  the  validity  of  these  entries, 
congress,  in  1788,  entered  their  protest.  This  protest,  which  was 
practically  a  prohibition  of  settlement,  was  withdrawn  in  1790. 
As  soon  as  this  was  done,  it  became  an  object  to  have  surveys 
made  in  the  reserved  region,  but  as  this  was  an  undertaking  of 
great  danger,  in  consequence  of  the  Indian  wars,  high  prices  in 
land  or  money  had  to  be  paid  to  the  surveyors.  The  person  who 
took  the  lead  in  this  gainful  but  unsafe  enterprise  was  Xathaniel 
Massie,  then  twenty-seven  years  old.  He  had  been  for  six  years 
or  more  in  the  west,  and  had  prepared  himself  in  Col.  Ander.^on'."^ 
o.T:ce  for  the  details  of  his  business.     The  town  thus  laid  off  by 


raKH 


•umeut 
■tnients. 

place 

ic  state 

Scioto 

(I  that 

niiiion, 

yeai-, 
ill  tries, 
ell  was 

1790. 

rveys 
:iiig  of 
ces  ill 
11  wlio 
lianiel 

years 
ireonV 


11'  by 


Tl  niiiTOBL  I L  His  Tories  —  Ohio. 


19T 


!N[a?.sie  was  situatcJ  some  twelve  miles  above  Maysville,  and  was 
called  Manchester;  it  is  still  known  to  the  voyager  on  the  Ohio. 
From  this  point,  Massie  and  his  companions  made  savveying  ex- 
peditions through  the  perilous  years  from  1791  to  1796,  but 
though  often  distressed  and  in  danger,  they  were  never  wearied 
nor  afraid ;  and  at  length,  with  Wayne's  treaty,  all  danger  of  i.m- 
])ortanee  was  at  an  end.'''^'  Colinecticut,  as  has  been  stated,  had, 
in  1786,  resigned  her  claims  to  western  lands,  with  the  exception 
of  a  roseived  tract  extending  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  be- 
yond Pennsylvania.  Of  this  tract,  so  far  as  the  Indian  title  was 
extinguished,  a  survey  was  ordered  in  October,  1786,  and  an 
office  opened  for  its  disposal ;  part  was  sold,  and,  in  1792,  half  a, 
million  of  acres  were  given  to  those  citizens  of  Connecticut,  who 
had  lost  property  by  the  acts  of  the  British  troop.?,  during  the 
revolutionary  war,  at  New  London,  New  Haven  and  elsewhere; 
these  lands  are  known  as  the  "  Firelands "  and  the  "  Sufferers' 
lands,"  and  lie  in  the  western  part  of  the  reserve.  In  May,  1795, 
the  legislature  of  Connecticut  authorized  a  committee  to  take 
steps  for  the  disposal  of  tl.e  remainder  of  their  western  domain  ; 
this  committee  made  advertisement  accordingly,  and  before 
autumn  had  dispo.sed  of  it  to  fifty-six  persons,  forming  the  Con- 
necticut Land  Company,  for  one  million  two  hundred  thou.sand 
dollars,  and  upon  the  5th  or  9th  of  September,  quitclaimed  to  the 
purchasers  the  whole  title  of  the  state,  territorial  and  judicial. 

"These  purchasers,  on  th-e  same  day,  conveyed  the  three  mill- 
ions of  acres,  transferred  to  them  by  the  state,  to  John  Morgan, 
John  Caldwell  and  Jonathan  Brace,  in  trust ;  and  upon  the  quit- 
claim deeds  of  those  trustees,  the  titles  to  all  real  estate  in  the 
western  reserve,  of  necessity,  rest.  Surveys  were  commenced  in 
1796;  and  by  the  close  of  1797,  all  the  lands  east  of  the  Cuyahoga 
were  divided  into  townships  five  miles  square.  The  agent  of  the 
Connecticut  Land  Company  was  Gen.  Moses  Cleveland,  and  in 
honor  of  him  the  leading  city  on  the  reserve,  in  1796,  received 
its  name.  That  township  and  five  others  were  retained  for  pri 
rate  sale,  and  the  remainder  vvore  disposed  of  by  a  lottery,  the  first 
drawing  in  which  took  place  in  February,  1798.  Wayne's  treaty 
also  led  at  once  to  the  foundation  of  Dayton,  and  the  peopling  of 
♦McDonald's  Sketch  of  General  Massie  —  Western  Annals. 


w 


V'l 


14 


•4. 


H 


!;';r 


i     \ 


I 


3i  il5 


^jjMtifrt*  ','J11.'*J1'!* 


19S 


Tuttle's  Cextexnial  NoRTmy'EST. 


that  fertile  region.  The  original  proposition  by  Symmcs  hud 
been  for  the  purchase  of  two  millions  of  acres  between  the  Mi- 
amis;  this  was  changed  very  shortly  to  a  contract  for  one  mill- 
ion, extending  from  the  Great  !Miami  eastwardly  twenty  miles ; 
but  the  contractor  being  unable  to  pay  for  all  he  wished,  in  1792, 
a  patent  was  issued  for  24S,5iO  acres.  But  although  his  tract 
was  by  contract  limited  +^ward  the  east,  and  greatly  curtailed 
in  its  extent  toward  the  north,  by  his  failure  to  pay  the  whole 
amount  due.  Judge  Symmcs  had  not  hesitated  to  sell  lands  lying 
between  the  eastern  boundary  of  his  purchase  and  the  Little  Mi- 
ami, and  even  after  his  patent  issued,  continued  to  dispose  of  an 
imaginary  right  in  those  north  of  the  quantity  patented.  The 
first  irregularity,  the  sale  of  lands  along  the  Little  Miami,  was 
cured  by  the  act  of  congress  in  1792,  which  authori;ied  the  exten- 
sion of  his  purcl^ase  from  one  river  to  the  other  ;  but  the  f  les  of 
territory  north  of  the  tract  trt.  ..sferred  to  him  by  congress,  were 
so  entirely  unauthorized  in  the  view  of  the  government,  that  in 
1796  ii  refused  to  recognize  them  as  valid,  and  those  who  had  be- 
come purchasers  beyond  the  patent  line  were  at  the  mercy  of  the 
federal  rulers,  until  an  act  was  procured  in  their  favor  in  1799,  by 
which  preemption  rights  were  secured  to  them.  Among  those 
who  were  thus  left  in  suspense  during  three  yeans,  were  the  sct- 
tlei's  throughort  the  region  of  \,hicli  Dayton  forms  the  center. 
Seventeen  days  after  Wayne's  treaty,  St.  Clair,  Wilkinson,  Jona- 
than Dayton  and  Israel  Ludlow  contracted  with  Sj'mmes  for  the 
seventh  and  eighth  ranges,  between  Mad  river  and  the  Little 
Miami.  Three  settlements  were  to  be  made,  one  at  the  mouth  of 
Mad  river,  one  on  .Lo  Inttlc  Miami,  in  the  seventh  range,  and 
another  nn  the  Mud  river."  '"^ 

On  the  21st  of  September,  1795,  Daniel  C.  Cooper  started  to 
survc}''  and  mark  out  a  road  in  the  purchase,  and  John  Dunlap  to 
run  its  boundaries,  which  was  done  before  the  4th  of  October. 
Upon  the  4th  of  November,  Mr.  Ludlow  laid  off  the  town  of 
Dayton,  which  .was  disposed  of  by  lottery.  From  1790  to  1795, 
the"  governor  and  judges  of  the  Northwest  territory  published 
sixty-four  statutes.  Thirty-four  of  these  were  adopted  at  C"ncin- 
nati  during  June,  July  and  August  of  the  last  named  year,  and 

*  Western  Annals. 


Tehhitorial  Histoihes  —  Ohio. 


199 


were  intended  to  form  a  pretty  complete  body  of  statutor}'  pro- 
visions ;  they  are  known  as  the  Maxwell  Code,  from  the  name  of 
the  publisher,  but  were  passed  by  Gov.  St.  Clair  and  Judges 
Symnios  and  Turner. 

In  1796,  the  Ohio  settlements  progressed  rapidly.  Nathaniel 
Marsie  founded  Chillicothe,  and  secured  considerable  capital  and 
energy  to  his  enterprise.  One  hundred  in  and  out  lots  in  the 
town  were  chosen  by  lot,  by  the  first  one  hundred  settlers  as  a 
donation,  according  to  the  original  agreement  of  the  proprietor. 
"  A  number  of  in  and  out-lots  were  also  sold  to  other  persons  de- 
siring to  settle  in  the  town.  Tlie  first  choice  of  in-lots  was  dis- 
posed of  for  the  moderate  sum  of  ten  dollars  each.  The  town 
increased  rapidly,  and,  before  the  winter  of  1796,  it  had  in  it  sev- 
eral stores,  t  iverns,  and  shops  for  mechanics.  The  arts  of  civil- 
ized life  soon  began  to  unfold  their  power  and  influence  in  a  more 
systematic  manner  than  had  ever  been  witnessed  by  many  of  its 
inhabitants,  especially  those  who  were  born  and  raised  in  the  fron- 
tier seltloments,  where  neither  law  nor  gospel  were  understood  or 
attended  to.  There  were  three  places  in  Ohio  called  Chillicothe 
by  the  Indians,  one  of  which  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  this 
town  site.  It  is  a  Shawanese  word,  and  denotes  ^^j^ttce  or  site.  Old 
Chillicothe  was  on  the  Little  Miami,  and  the  other  was  on  or  near 
the  !Maumee,  or  Miami  of  the  Lake.  The  Shawanese  nation, 
which  originated  from  the  Carolina?,  Georgia  and  Florida,  was 
divided  into  four  tribes — tlie  Piqua,  Mequaehake,  Kiskapocoke 
and  Chillicothe  tribes."  * 

These  were  the  days  of  the  old  northwest  territory.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1796,  Winthrop  Sargent,  secretary  of  the  Northwestern 
Territory,  proceeded  to  Detroit,  and  organized  the  county  of 
Wayne,  and  established  the  civil  authority  in  that  quarter. 
Tiiis  year,  also,  the  settlements  in  the  Muskingum,  Scioto,  and 
Miami  vallevs  were  much  extended.  The  immigrants  from  the 
New  England  and  middle  states  came  into  the  west  by  way  of 
Brownsville  and  Wheeling.  At  Brownsville,  many  fitted  up  flat 
boats,  and  descended  the  Ohio  to  Limestone,  and  other  points  in 
Kentucky,  or  else  landed  on  the  north  side  of  tlie  Ohio.  Otiicrs 
proceeded  by  bnd  from  AV heeling,  to  that  section  of  the  territory 

♦  Western  Annals. 


'I 


200 


TuTTLE's  CeXTLSXIAL  XOItTHWEST. 


tlicy  had  selected  for  tbeir  future  homes.  The  colonies  destined 
for  the  valleys  of  the  !Muskinguin  and  Scioto  chiefly  passed  by 
this  route.  Small  vilhiOTs  and  farming  pcttlcments  were  made  on 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  and  its  tributaries  below  the  Muskingum. 
Symmcs'  ])urchasc,  on  the  Miami,  underwent  rapid  clianges. 
Cincinnati  had  increased  its  population  and  improved  its  style  of 
building.  In  1792,  it  contained  about  thirty  log  cabins,  beside 
the  barracks  and  other  buildings  connected  with  Fort  Washing- 
ton, and  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  inhabitants.  The  first 
house  of  worship,  for  the  first  Presbyterian  church,  was  erected. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  year  179G,  Cincinnati  had  more  than  om 
hundred  log  cabins,  besides  twelve  or  fifteen  frame  houses,  and  a 
population  of  about  si.\;  hundred  persons.  Within  the  Virginia 
military  land  district,  which  lay  between  the  Little  Miami  and 
Scioto  rivers,  several  new  settlements  were  made,  and  surveys 
were  executed  by  Nathaniel  Massie,  the  enterprising  pioneer  of 
the  Scioto  vallev,  over  the  most  fertile  lands  westward  to  the 
Little  Miami,  as  far  north  as  Todd's  fork,  and  on  all  the  branches 
of  Paint  Creek,  and  eastward  to  the  Scioto,  lie  performed  much 
service  as  a  pioneer  in  extending  the  settlements  and  boundaries 
of  civilzation  in  lliis  ]iart  of  Ohio.'"' 

As  early  as  1790,  jNIassic  laid  out  the  town  of  Manchester, 
before  mentioned,  and  by  March,  1791,  he  had  a  f  jmplete  stock- 
ade around  the  ])lace,  and  about  thirty  families  within  it.  "  Emi- 
grants from  Virginia,"  says  Ilcv.  J.  ]\[.  Peck,  an  early  writer, 
'^advanced  in  great  numbers  into  the  Scioto  valle}',  and  settle- 
ments extended  on  the  fine  lands  Ij'ing  on  Paint  and  Deer  creeks, 
and  other  blanches  of  the  Scioto.  At  the  same  time  the  pioneers . 
of  civilization  were  gradually  extending  settlements  along  the 
Muskingum,  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Licking.  It  was  in  this 
year  that  Ebenezcr  Zane  obtained  the  grant  of  a  section  of  land  as 
the  consideration  of  opening  a  bridlepath  from  the  Ohio  river  at 
Wheeling,  across  the  country  by  Clullicothe,  to  Limestone,  in 
Kentucky,  which  was  located  where  Zanesville  now  is.  The 
United  States  mail  traversed  this  route  for  the  first  time  the  fol- 
lowing year.  Before  Uie  clo.se  of  the  year  1796,  the  white  popu- 
lation of  the  Northwestern  Territory,  now  included  in  the  state  of 

*  Peck's  Western  Annals. 


TEnmroiiiAL  Histohies  —  Ohio. 


201 


Ohio,  had  increased  to  about  five  thousand  souls  of  all  ages. 
These  were  chiely  distributed  in  the  lower  valleys  of  the  Musk- 
ingum, Scioto  and  Miami  rivers,  and  on  their  small  tributaries, 
Nvithin  fifty  miles  of  the  Ohio  river.  With  this  progress  of  settle- 
ments, the  end  of  the  Indian  war  by  the  treaty  at  Greenville,  and 
the  deliver}^  of  the  northern  posts  by  the  British,  under  Jay's 
treaty,  all  apprehension  of  danger  on  the  part  of  the  whites 
ceased,  and  friendly  intercour.se  with  the  natives  succeeded. 
Such  disafTected  Indians  as  persisted  in  their  feelings  of  hostility 
to  the  Americans,  retired  into  the  interior  of  the  northwestern 
wilderness,  or  to  their  allies  in  Canada.  Forts,  stations,  and 
stockades,  ^became  useless,  and  were  abandoned  to  decay.  The 
hardy  [lioncer  pushed  further  into  the  forest,  and  men  of  cnter- 
j^rise  and  capital  in  the  older  settlements  became  interested  in 
securing  claims  and  titles  to  extensive  bodies  of  fertile  lands,  and 
sending  out  colonics  for  their  occupation.  Settlements  were 
made  and  towns  and  villages  planted  in  western  Virginia  and 
Kentucky. 

When  Winthrop  Sargent,  the  secretary  of  the  Northwestern  Ter- 
ritor}',  in  179S,  was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  the  Southwest  Terri- 
tory, AVilliani  Ilenry  Harrison  was  appointed  in  his  place.  lie 
held  this  position  until  elected  to  congress.  The  Northwestern 
Territory,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  refcionce  to  the  ordinanr  a  of  1787, 
Avas  to  have  a  I'cprcsentative  assembly  as  soon  as  its  inhabitants 
numbered  five  thousand.  Upon  the  29tli  of  October,  Gov.  St. 
Clair  gave  notice  by  proclamation  that  the  required  population 
existed,  and  directed  an  election  of  representatives  to  be  held  on 
the  third  Monday  in  December.  The  representatives,  when  assem- 
bled, were  required  to  nominate  ten  persons,  whose  names  were 
sent  to  the  president  of  the  United  States,  who  selected  five,  and 
•with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  appointed  them,  for  the 
legislative  council.  In  this  mode  the  country  passed  into  the 
second  grade  of  a  territorial  government. 

The  representatives  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  elected  under 
the  proclamation  of  Gov.  St.  Clair,  met  at  Cincinnati  on  the  22d 
of  Januar}^,-  1799,  "  and  under  the  provisions  of  the  ordinance  of 
1787,"  says  the  writer  from  whom  we  last  quoted,  "nominated 
ten  persons  whose  names  were  sent  to  the  president  of  the  United 


!!  '■;} 


fu   V 


f  > 


ii!        I      ': 


i!    ? 


\<    h 


t 


i^ 


<  I    .'A' 


202 


TuTTLE's   CEXTEyXIAL  NonTUWEST. 


States,  On  the  2d  of  March,  the  president  selected  from  the  list 
of  candidates,  the  names  of  Jacob  Burnet,  James  Findlay,  Henry 
Vanderburgh,  Robert  Oliver,  and  David  Vance,  and  on  the  next 
day  the  senate  confirmed  their  nomination  as  the  legislative  coun- 
cil of  the  Northwest  Territory. 

The  territorial  legislature  again  met  at  Cincinnati  on  the  16th 
of  September,  but  for  v^'ant  of  a  quorum  was  not  organized  until 
the  24th  of  that  month.  The  house  of  representatives  consisted 
of  nineteen  members,  of  whom  seven  were  from  Hamilton  county, 
four  from  Ross,  three  from  "Wayne,  two  from  Adams,  one  from 
Jefferson,  one  from  Washington,  and  one  from  Knox. 

After  the  organization  of  the  legislature,  Gov.  St.  Clair  ad- 
dressed the  two  houses  in  the  representatives'  chamber,  and  recom- 
mended such  measures  to  their  consideration  as,  in  his  judgment, 
were  suited  to  the  condition  of  the  country,  and  would  advance 
the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  people. 

Congress  made  Chillicothe  the  capital  of  the  Northwestern  Ter- 
ritory, and  on  the  3d  of  November,  1800,  the  general  assembly 
met  there.  On  this  occasion,  Gov.  St.  Clair  remarked:  "My 
term  of  office  and  yours,  gentlemen  of  the  house  of  representatives, 
will  soon  expire.  It  is,  indeed,  very  uncertain  whether  I  shall 
ever  meet  another  assembly  in  the  character  I  now  hold,  for  I  well 
know  that  the  vilest  calumnies  and  the  greatest  falsehoods  are 
insidiously  circulated  among  the  people,  with  a  view  to  prevent 
it.  While  I  regret  the  baseness  and  malevolence  of  tlie  authors, 
and  well  know  that  the  laws  have  put  the  means  of  correction 
fully  in  my  power,  they  have  nothing  to  dread  from  rae  but  the 
contempt  they  justly  merit.  The  remorse  of  their  own  consciences 
will,  one  day,  be  punishment  sufficient.  Their  arts,  may,  how- 
ever, succeed.  Be  that  as  it  may,  of  this  I  am  certain,  that  be  my 
successor  who  he  may,  he  can  never  have  the  interests  of  the 
people  of  this  territory  more  truly  at  heart  than  I  have  had,  nor 
labor  more  assiduously  for  their  good  than  I  have  done ;  and  I 
am  not  conscious  that  any  one  act  of  my  administration  has  been 
influenced  by  any  other  motive  than  a  sincere  desire  to  promote 
their  welfare  and  happiness." 

However,  St.  Clair  was  reappointed  governor,  in  1801.  From 
1799  to  1803,  the  territorial  legislature  met  annually,  though  it 


-Wl 


,;;  i 


Territorial  Histories  —  Indiana. 


203 


Tnade  but  few  laws,  owing  to  the  extensive  powers  confeiTcd  upon 
the  governor  by  the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  the  very  arbitrary 
manner  in  which  he  vetoed  every  bill  passed  that  seemed  to  cross 
his  line  of  thought.  lie  erected  new  counties  at  his  pleasure, 
fixed  county  seats,  and  issued  divers  proclamations,  enacting  laws 
by  his  own  authority.  From  these  and  other  like  acts  the  gov- 
ernor became  extremely  unpopular. 

The  territorial  progress  of  Ohio  was  surprisingly  rapid.  With- 
out going  into  the  dry  details  of  legislative  history,  we  find  the 
people  of  the  territorj-,  early  in  1802,  in  convention  at  Chillicothe, 
preparing  a  constitution,  which  was  accepted  by  congress,  and  on 
the  30th  of  April,  1802,  Ohio  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a 
sovereign  state. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

TERRITORIAL  HISTORIES  —  INDIANA. 

"Wlllliam  Henry  Harrison  —  Land  Office  —  Indian  Troubles  —  Tecumsch  and 
tlie  Propliet  —  Indian  Complications  —  The  Battle  of  Tippecanoe  —  Ter- 
ritorial Affairs  —  Legislation. 


iif  ;::i 


In  1800,  when  the  territorial  government  of  Indiana  was  organ- 
ized, although  a  few  places  in  the  state  had  been  settled  for  over 
fifty  years  by  whites,  yet  the  country  was  a  wilderness.*  Its 
numerous  rivers  were  not  disturbed  except  b}'' an  occasional  canoe 
loaded  with  furs,  ^  hich  the  Indians  and  half-breeds  propelled  with 
oars.  Its  scattered  settlements  were  filled  with  scenes  and  inci- 
dents of  border  life,  many  of  which  were  full  of  romantic  situ- 
ations. In  the  meanwhile,  however,  a  considerable  traflfie  was 
carried  on  with  the  Indians  by  fur  traders  at  Vincennes,  Fort 
Wayne,  and  at  different  small  trading  posts  which  were  estab- 
lished on  the  borders  of  the  Wabash  river  and  its  tributaries. 
"The  furs  and  peltries  which  were  obtained  from  the  Indians," 
says  Dillon,  "  were  generally  transported  to  Detroit.  The  skins 
*Tuttlc'3  History  of  Indiana. 


r..:,| 


204 


TuTTI.e's   CiCXThWNIAL  NoiiTllWEST. 


■were  dried,  compressed  and  secured  in  packs.  Each  pack  weighed 
about  one  hundred  pounds.  A  pirogue,  or  boat,  that  was  sufTi- 
cicntly  large  to  carry  forty  packs,  required  the  Uibor  uf  four  men 
to  manage  it  on  its  voyage.  In  favorable  stages  of  the  Wabash 
river,  such  a  vessel,  under  the  management  of  skillful  boatmen, 
■was  propelled  llftccn  or  twenty  miles  a  day." 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  territorial  government  of  In- 
diana, William  Henry  Harrison,  the  governor  of  the  territory, 
turned  his  attention  to  making  treaties  vtith  the  Indians,  relin- 
quishing their  claims  to  the  territory.  lie  entered  into  several 
treaties  with  the  natives,  by  which,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1S05, 
the  government  of  the  United  States  had  obtained  about  forty-six 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  including  all  the  lands  lying 
on  the  borders  of  the  Ohio  river,  between  the  mouth  of  the  Wa- 
bash river  and  the  western  boundary  of  Ohio.  After  i)assing  to 
the  second  grade  of  government,  in  1807,  the  territorial  statutes 
were  revised,  and  under  the  new  code,  treason,  murder,  arson  and 
horse  stealing  were  each  punishable  by  death.  The  crime  of 
manslaughter  was  punishable  by  the  common  law.  Burglary  and 
robbery  were  each  punishable  by  -whipping,  fine,  and  in  some 
cases  by  imprisonment  "not  exceeding  forty  years."  liiotous 
persons  were  punishable  by  fine  and  imprisonment;  the  crime 
of- larceny  by  line  or  whipping,  and  in  some  cases  by  being  bound 
to  labor  for  a  term  not  exceeding  seven  years.  Forgery  was  pun- 
ishable by  fine,  disfranchisement,  and  standing  in  the  pillory. 
Assault  and  battery,  as  a  crime,  was  punishable  by  fine  not  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred  dollars.  Hog  stealing  was  punishable  by 
fine  and  whipping.  Gambling,  profane  swearing  and  Sabbath 
breaking  were  each  punishable  by  fine.  Bigamy  was  punishable 
by  fine,  whipping  and  disfranchisement.  The  code  provided  for 
the  punishment  of  disobedient  children  and  servants  by  the  fol- 
lowing section  :  "  If  any  children  or  servants  shall,  contrary  to 
the  obedience  due  to  their  parents  or  masters,  i-csist  or  refuse  to 
obey  their  lawful  commands,  upon  complaint  thereof  to  a  justice 
of  the  peace,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  such  justice  to  send  him  or  them 
so  offending  to  the  jail  or  house  of  correction,  there  to  remain 
until  he  or  they  shall  humble  themselves  to  the  said  parent's  or  mas- 
ter's satisfaction.     And,  if  any  child  or  servant  shall,  contrary  to 


1         •  t: 


>«]-    ,I.LU-U.«'W 


TKiiiiironiAL  Histories  — IsDiANA. 


205 


his  boundcn  dut}-,  presume  to  assault  or  strike  liis  parent  or  mas- 
ter, upon  complaint  and  conviction  thereof,  before  two  or  more 
justices  of  the  peace,  the  offender  shall  be  whipped  not  exceeding 
ten  stripes."  By  the  act  of  congress  of  180-1,  three  land  offices 
wore  opened  for  the  sale  of  lands  in  Indiana  territory'.  One  of 
these  was  located  at  Detroit,  another  at  Vincenncs,  and  another  at 
Kaskuskia.  By  an  act  of  congress  approved  1807,  a  fourth  land 
ofTice  for  the  sale  of  Indiana  lands  was  opened  in  Jcffersonville, 
Clark  county.  This  town  was  first  laid  out  in  1802,  agreeably  to 
the  plans  suggested  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  was  then  president  of 
the  United  States.  •*  "  In  his  annual  message  to  the  territorial  legis- 
lature, in  1806,  governor  Harrison  congratulated  the  people  upon 
the  peaceful  disposition  of  the  Indians.  lie  was  inclined  to  the 
opinion  that  they  would  never  again  have  recour.sc  to  arms,  unless 
driven  to  it  by  a  series  of  injustice  and  oppression.  They  did,  as 
we  shall  see,  again  resort  to  arms,  and  it  is  not  improper,  even  at 
this  late  day,  to  make  the  inquiry  as  to  whetlicr  or  not  they  were 
not  driven  to  do  so  by  the  very  policy  which  governor  Harrison 
pointed  out  as  dangerous  in  1806.  In  the  same  message  the  gov- 
ernor remarked  that  they  were  already  making  complaints  — 
complaints  far  from  being  groundless.  The  laws  of  the  territor}^ 
provided  the  same  punishment  for  offenses  committed  against 
Indians  as  against  white  men,  but,  unhappily,  there  was  alwaj-s  a 
wide  difference  in  the  execution  of  those  laws.  Tlie  Indian  was, 
in  all  cases,  the  sufferer.  This  partiality  did  not  escape  their  ob- 
servation. On  the  contrary,  it  afforded  them  an  opportunity  of 
making  strong  comparisons  between  their  own  observance  of 
treaties  and  that  of  their  boasted  superiors.  All  along,  from  1805 
to  1810,  the  Indians  complained  bitterly  against  the  encroachments 
of  the  white  people  upon  the  lands  that  belonged  to  them.  The 
invasion  of  their  favorite  hunting  grounds,  and  the  unjustifiable 
killing  of  many  of  their  people  were  the  sources  of  their  discontent. 
An  old  chief,  in  laying  the  trouble  of  his  people  before  governor 
Harrison,  remarked  :  '  You  call  us  your  children ;  why  do  you 
not  make  us  as  happy  as  our  fathers,  the  French,  did?  They 
never  took  from  us  our  lands;  indeed,  they  were  in  common  be- 
tween U3.     T..ey  planted  where  they  pleased,  and  they  cut  wood 

♦History  of  ludiaua. 


:  -1  >    I  i\m\ 


i 

ii    •'    ! 

h  '.■' 

Ik 

. 

l) 


Bi\' 


206 


Tuttlk's  Cks'texkial  XoiiTinVEST. 


•where  they  pleased;  ami  so  did  we.  But  now,  it  a  poor  In- 
dian attempts  to  take  a  little  bark  from  a  tree  to  cover  him  from 
tlic  rain,  up  comes  a  white  man  and  threatens  to  shoot  him, 
claiming  the  tree  as  his  own.' 

•'  These  complaints  were  notgroundles.^,  nor  will  any  fair  minded 
person  blame  the  savages  for  lifting  up  the  hatchet  in  iheii-  de- 
fense. Indeed,  at  this  time,  it  was  the  only  thing  in  their  charac- 
ter worthy  of  admiration.  Surely  here  was  an  opportunity  for 
an  Indian  patriot  to  leave  a  name  worthy  of  remembrance  and  ex- 
ample among  the  nations  of  civilization.  Nor  Wiid  the  oftportuni- 
ty  neglected.  La\v-lewas-i-kaw,  no  doubt  at  the  suggestion  of 
his  brother,  the  sagacious  warrior,  Tecumsch,  took  upon  himself 
the  character  of  a  prophet,  and  assumed  the  name  of  Pems-quat-a- 
wah,  or  the  Open  Door.  Thus  was  the  crafty  Shawanee  warrior 
enabled  to  work  efTectually,  both  upon  the  superstitious  and  the 
rational  sides  of  the  dissatisfied  tribes  around  him." 

The  Prophet  was  a  good  orator,  somewhat  peculiar  in  his  ap- 
pearance, and  withal,  well  calculated  to  win  the  attention  and  re- 
spect of  the  savages.  He  began  by  denouncing  witchcraft,  the 
use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  the  custom  of  Indian  women  intermar- 
rying with  white  men,  the  dress  and  habits  of  the  white  people, 
anil  the  practice  of  selling  Indian  lands  to  the  United  States.  "lie 
told  the  Indians  that  the  commands  of  the  Great  Spirit  required 
them  to  punish,  with  death,  those  who  practiced  the  arts  of  witch- 
craft and  magic.  He  told  them,  also,  that  the  Great  Spirit  had 
given  him  power  to  find  out  and  expose  such  persons;  to  ci.re  all 
kinds  of  diseases;  to  confound  his  enemies,  and  to  stay  the  arm 
of  death  in  sickness,  and  on  the  battlefield,  llis  harangues  aroused, 
among  some  bands  of  Indians,  a  high  degree  of  superstitious  ex- 
citement. An  old  Delaware  chief,  whose  name  was  Tate-a-bock- 
o-she,  through  whose  influence  a  treaty  had  been  made  with  the 
Del%wares  in  1804,  was  accused  of  witchcraft,  tried,  condemned, 
and  tomahawked.  His  body  was  then  consumed  by  fire.  The 
wife  of  the  old  chief,  his  nephew,  who  was  known  by  the  name 
of  Billy  Patterson,  and  an  aged  Indian  whose  name  was  Joshua, 
were  then  accused  of  witchcraft,  and  condemned  to  death.  The 
two  men  were  burnt  at  the  stake  ;  but  the  life  of  the  wife  of  Tate- 
e-bock-o-she  was  saved  by  her  brother,  who  suddenly  approached 


TEitmroiiiAL  Histories  —  Indiana. 


207 


■:t''l! 


her,  took  licr  by  tlio  hand,  aTitl,  without  meetnig  with  any  oppo- 
sition from  the  Indians  who  were  present,  led  her  out  of  the  coun- 
cil house.  He  then  immediately  returned  and  cheeked  the  grow- 
ing inOiienco  of  the  prophet  by  exclaiming,  in  a  strong,  earnest 
voice:  '  The  evil  spirit  has  come  among  us,  and  wc  arc  killing 
each  otlicr.'  ''*  As  soon  as  Gov.  Harrison  was  made  acquainted 
with  these  events,  he  sent  a  special  messenger  to  the  Indians, 
strongly  entreating  them  to  renounce  the  prophet  and  his  works, 
which,  to  a  small  extent,  destroyed  the  prophet's  influence.  In 
the  spring  of  1808,  having  aroused  nearly  all  the  tribes  of  the  lake 
region,  the  prophet,  with  a  considerable  number  of  followers,  set- 
tled near  the  mouth  of  the  Tij)pccanoe  river,  at  a  place  which  af- 
terwards bore  the  name  of  the  Prophet's  Town.  Taking  advan- 
tage of  the  influence  which  the  prophet  was  exerting  over  the 
tribes,  as  well  as  of  his  own  popularity  as  u  warrior,  Tecumseh  ac- 
tively engaged  himself  in  forming  the  various  tribes  into  a  con- 
federacy. In  his  speeches  before  tlie  many  Indian  councils  that 
he  assembled,  he  proclaimed  that  the  treaties  by  which  the  United 
States  had  acquired  lands  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,  were  not 
made  with  fairno.ss,  and  should  be  considered  void.  He  said  that 
no  single  tribe  of  Indians  was  invested  with  the  power  to  sell  lands 
•without  the  consent  of  all  the  other  tribes,  and  that  he  and  his  broth- 
er, the  prophet,  would  oppose  and  resist  all  future  attempts  which 
the  white  people  might  make  to  extend  their  towns  in  the  lands 
that  belonged  to  the  Indians.  Early  in  1808,  Gov.  Harrison  sent 
a  speech  to  the  Shawanee  tribe,  warning  them  not  to  listen  to  the 
prophet.  This  act  wounded  the  pride  of  the  native  orator,  and  he 
assured  the  speech  bearer  that  he  was  not  in  league  with  the  Brit- 
ish, but  friendly  with  the  Americans.  In  August,  the  prophet 
visited  Vincennes  and  remained  there  for  several  weeks  in  friend- 
ly interviews  with  the  governor,  but  it  was  not  long  after  before 
both  Tecumseh  and  the  prophet  were  in  open  accord  with  the  British 
interest.  In  the  face  of  all  these  troubles,  Gov.  Harrison  continued 
to  prosecute  the  work  of  extinguishing  Indian  titles  to  the  lands 
in  the  Indiana  territory  with  very  good  success.  In  1810,  the 
"land  title  controversy"  absorbed  the  attention  of  the  officials, 
and  was  the  means  of  much  spirited  discussion.  The  question  of 
♦Dillon's  Early  History  of  Indiana. 


?  \"i\ 


208 


Ti'TTLfj's  Ckxtexnial  Nortiiwest. 


a  division  of  tlio  territory  of  Tiuliana  was  iliscusacil  In  ISOO,  1807, 
and  in  1808,  and,  in  1801),  congress  passed  an  act  declaring  that 
"all  that  part  of  the  Indiana  territory  lying  west  of  the  Wabash 
river  and  a  direct  line  drawn  from  the  said  NVulmsh  river  and  I'ont 
A'inccnnes,  duo  north  to  the  territorial  line  between  the  I'niied 
States  and  Canada^"  should  constitute  a  separate  territory,  antl  bo 
called  Illinois.  This  occasioned  some  confusion  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  territory' of  Indiana,  but  indue  time  the  new  elections 
\vcre  confirmed  and  the  new  territory'  started  ofT  on  a  journey  of 
prosperity  which  its  people  arc  still  i)ursuing  with  great  uilvantage. 

During  the  year  1810,  the  movements  of  Tecumseh  an<l  the 
Prophet  were  full  of  suspicious  situations.  Their  confessed  ob- 
ject was  to  unite  the  tribes,  with  a  view  to  prevent  the  fiale  of 
their  lands,  but  the  train  of  circumstances  which  followed  jirovcd 
that  English  revenge  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  scheme  of 
Tecumseh's  confederacy,  and  that  his  true  motive  was  to  oppose 
the  power  of  the  American  government. 

We  condense  the  following  account  of  the  Ilarrison-Tccumsch 
conflict,  from  the  History  of  the  Stale  of  Indiana.:  In  order  to 
counteract  the  bad  influence  of  the  English  which  was  being  ex- 
erted over  the  Indians,  and  to  promote  good  v.iii  between  the 
Prophet's  followers  and  the  Americans,  Gov.  Ilanison  exhausted 
all  the  means  at  his  command  to  no  purpose.  T!'(\"e  was  a  power 
behind  this  crafty  Shawancc  that  constantly  lce[it  his  restless 
spirit  alive  to  an  intention  of  revenge  upon  the  Americans.  In 
the  spring  of  ISIO,  the  followers  of  the  Prophet  refused  to  re- 
ceive their  "  amiuity  of  salt,"  and  the  officials  who  offered  it  were 
denounced  as  "American  dogs/'  and  otherwise  treated  in  a  dis- 
respectful manner.  Immediately  after  this.  Gov.  Harrison  sent  a 
succession  of  messengers  to  the  Prophet's  town,  in  order  to  ob- 
uiin  information  concerning  the  intentions  of  the  hostile  Indians 
there,  and  to  warn  them  of  the  danger  of  engaging  in  a  war  with 
the  Americans.  To  all  of  these  the  crafty  Shawancc  disclaimed 
any  intention  of  beginning  a  war,  and  gave  as  an  excuse  for  as- 
sembling the  tribes,  "  that  the  Indians  had  been  cheated  out  of 
their  lands ;  that  no  sale  was  good  unless  made  by  all  the  tribes  ; 
that  ho  had  settled  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe  by  order  of 
the  Great  Spirit,  and  that  he  was  likewise  ordered  to  assenable  as 


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aa^? 


ThL  niTOUIAL  Ills  TORIES  —  IXDIAXA. 


209 


many  Indians  as  lie  could  collect  at  that  place."     Gov.  Harrison, 
in  July,  ISIO,   made  an  attempt  to  go  in  the  friendship  of  the 
Prophet  liy  sending  him  a  letter,  olfering   to  treat  with  him  per- 
sonally in  the  matter  of  liis  grievances,  or  to   furnish  means  to 
send   him,  with  three  of  his  principal  chiefs,  to  the  president  at 
"Washington.     The  bearer  oC  this  letter  was  coldly  received,  both 
by  Tccumseh  and  the  Prophet,  and  the  only  answer  he  received 
was  that  Tccumseh,  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  would  visit  Vin- 
cennes  for  the  purpose  of  holding  an  interview  with  the  governor. 
Accordingl}'  on  the  twelfth  of  August,  1810,  the  celebrated  Sha- 
wanee  chief,  with  seventy  of  his  principal  warrio  '^  marched  up 
to  the  governor's  door  at  Vinccnncs,  in  Indian  file.     They  were 
directed  to  a  small  grove  near  the  governor's  house,  where,  from 
that  time  until  the  twenty-second  of  August,  Gov.  Harrison  was 
almost  daily  engaged  in  holding  councils  and  interviews  with 
tliem.     In  all  of  his  speeches,  Tccumseh  was  haughty,  and  some- 
times arrogant.     On  the  twentieth  of  August  he  delivered  his 
celebrated  speecli,  in  which  he  gave  tlie  governor  the  alternative 
of  returning  their  lands  or  meeting  them  in  battie.     It  was  while 
the  governor  was  replying  to  this  speech  that  he  was  interrupted 
by  Tccumseh.  svho  manifested   great  anger,  declaring   that  the 
United  States,  through  Gov.  Harrison,  had  ''cheated  and  imposed 
on  the  Indians."     When  Tecumseh  first  rose,  a  number  of  his 
party  also  sprung  to  their  feet,  armed  .vith  clubs,  tomahawks  and 
spears,  and  made  some  threatening  demonstrations.     The  govern- 
or's guards,  which  stood  a  little  way  off,  were  marched   up  in 
haste,  and  the  Indians,  awed  by  the  presence  of  this  small  armed 
force,  abandoned  what  seemed  to  be  an  intention  to  make  open 
attack  on  the  governor  and  his  attendants.    As  soon  as  Tecum.  As 
remarks  had  been  interpreted,  the  govci'nor  reproached  him  for 
his  conduct,  and  commanded  him  to  depart  instanly  to  his  camp. 
Tlie  next  day  Tccumseh  repented  his  rash  act,  and  requested 
the  governor  to  grant  him  auotlier  interview,  and  protested  against 
any    intention    of  offense.     Gov.    Harrison   consented,    and   the 
eo.,ncil  was  reopened  on  the  twenty-first,  when   the  Shawanee 
chief  addressed  him  in  a  resjicctful  and  dignified  manner,  but  re- 
mained unniovable  in  his  polic3^     The  governor  then  requested 
Tccumseh  to  state  plainly,  whether  or  not  the  surveyors  who 
14 


1^ 


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It. 


I'  I 


^ 


210 


Tuttle's  Cextexxial  Northwest. 


miglit  be  sent  to  survey  the  lands  purciia.sed  at  the  treaty  of  Fort 
Wayne,  in  1809,  would  be  uiolested  by  Indians  ;  and  whether  or 
not  the  Kiekapoos  would  receive  their  annuities.     Tecumaeh  re- 
plied :  "Brother,  when  you  speak  of  annuities  to  re,  I  look  at 
the  land,  and  pity  the  women  and  children.     I  am  authorized  to 
say  that  they  will  not  receive  them.     Brother,  we  want  to  save 
that  piece  of  land.     We  do  not  wish  you  to  take  it.     It  is  small 
enough  for  our  purpose.     If  you   do  take  it  you   must  blame 
yourself  as  the  cause  of  the  trouble  between  us  and  the  tribes 
who  sold  it  to  you.     I  want  the  present  boundary  line  to  con- 
tinue.    Should  you  cross  it,  I  assure  you  it  will  be  productive  of 
bad  consequences."     This  talk  terminated  the  council,  but  on  the 
following  day  the  governor,  attended  only  by  his  interpreter,  vis- 
ited the  camp  of  the  great  Shawanee,  and  in  the  course  of  a  long 
interview,  told  him  that  the  president  of  the  United  Spates  would 
not  acknowledge  his  claims.     "  Well,"  replied  the  brave  warrior, 
"as  the  great  chief  is  to  determine  the  matter,  I  hope  the  Great 
Spirit  will  put  sense  enough  into  his  head  to  induce  him  to  direct 
you  to  give  up  this  land.     It  is  true,  he  is  so  far  oflf  he  will  not 
be  injured  by  the  war.     lie  may  sil  still  in  his  town,  and  drink 
his  wine,  while  you  and  I  will  have  to  fight  it  out." 
.  When  the  new  territorial  legislature  convened  in    1810,  Gov. 
Harrison,  in  his  message,  called  attention  to  the  dangerous  views 
which  were  held  and  expressed  by  the  Shawanee  l^rophct  and  his 
brother,  Tecumseh;*  "  to  the  pernicious  influence  of  alien  enemies 
among  the  Indians  ;    to  the  unsettled  condition  of  the  Indian 
trade;  to  the  defects  in  the  revenue  laws,  the  judiciary  system, 
and  the  militia  laws  ;  to  the  policy  of  extinguishing  Indian  titles 
to  land,  and  to  the  subject  of  popular  education."     The  ^'ovcnor 
further  remarked  that  although  much  Iiad  been  done  toward  the 
extinguishment  of  Lidian  titles  in  the  territory,  much  still  re- 
mained to  be  done.     There  was  not  yet  a  sufficient  space  to  form 
a  tolerable  state.      The  eastern  settleuTents   were  separated  from 
the  western  by  a  considerable  extent  of  Indian   lands;  and  the 
most  fertile  tracts  that  were  within  the  territorial   bounds  wero 
still  their  property.      Almost  entirely  divested  of  the  game  from 
which  the}  had  drawn  their  subsistence,  it  had  become  of  little 
*  Dillon's'Early  Ilistorj*  of  Iiuliar.a. 


i*i#*- 


TERmTORIAL  IIlSTOniES  —  INDIANA. 


211 


use  to  them;  and  it  was  the  intention  of  the  government  to  sub- 
stitute, for  the  pernicious  and  scanty  supplies  which  the  chase 
affords,  the  more  certain  support  which  is  derived  from  agricul- 
ture, and  the  rearing  of  domestic  animals.  By  the  considerate 
and  sensible  among  them,  this  plan  v\."^  considered  as  the  only- 
one  which  would  save  them  from  utter  extirpation.  But  a  most 
formidable  opposition  was  raised  to  it  by  the  warriors,  who  would 
lever  agree  to  abandon  their  old  habits,  until  driven  to  it  by  ab- 
solute necessity.  As  long  as  a  deer  was  to  be  found  in  their  for- 
ests, they  would  continue  to  hunt.  It  was,  "therefore,  supposed 
thoG  the  confining  them  to  narrow  limits  was  the  only  means  of 
producing  this  highly  desirable  change,  and  averting  the  destiny 
which  seemed  to  await  them.*  "Are,  then,"  continued  the  gov- 
ernor "  those  extinguishments  of  native  title,  which  are  at  once 
so  beneficial  to  the  Indian,  the  territory  and  the  United  States,  to 
be  suspended  upon  the  account  of  the  intrigues  of  a  few  indi- 
viduals? Is  one  of  the  fairest  portions  of  the  globe  to  remain  in 
a  state  of  nature,  the  haunt  of  a  few  wretched  savages,  when  it 
seems  /''..■tiued,  by  the  Creator,  to  give  support  to  a  large  popula- 
tion, ";i  t'  be  the  scat  of  civilzation,  of  science,  and  true  re- 
lig"  VI  '  .  :  the  same  message  the  governor  referred  to  the  neces- 
sity (if  >...;>•  i.hing  a  popular  system  of  education.  Among  the 
acts  passc:'  '/this  legislature,  there  was  one  which  authorized 
the  president  and  directors  of  the  Vincennes  library  to  raise  the 
sum  of  one  thousand  dollars,  by  lottery.  A  petition  v,  as  sent  to 
congress  for  a  permanent  seat  of  government  .^or  thj  territory, 
and  commissioners  appointed  to  select  the  site.  With  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1811,  the  British  agent  for  Indian  affairs  adopted 
mf^^sures  calculated  to  secure  the  support  of  the  savages  in  the 
•>-■  ■'■  .N'hich,  at  this  time,  seemed  almost  inevitable.  Meanwhile 
Ui-.  Tr -i-is.;!'.  did  all  in  his  po\\'er  to  destro3'- the  influence  of 
Tecumsch  and  the  Prophet,  and  thus  break  up  the  Indian  con- 
fedcrac}^  which  was  being  organized  in  the  interests  of  Great 
Britian.  It  soon  became  a  difiicult  matter  to  preserve  peace  be- 
tween the  pioneer  settlers  of  Indiana  and  the  followers  of  the 
Prophet.  Straggling  parties  of  Indians  occasionally  committed 
depredations  on  the  property  of  the  settlers.      I^ow  an  Indian 

*  Gov  Harrison's  Message. 


i% 


pk'  ■■■■ 


I:;i1 


212 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


was  picked  off  and  then  a  white  man  was  tomahawked  in  return. 
Thus  matters  were  progressing  when  Gov.  Harrison  sent  a  speech 
to  Tccumseh  and  the  Prophet,  warning  them  of  the  danger  of  a 
war  which  their  actions  wouhi  inuncdiatcly  bring  upon  them. 
This  speecli  was  long  and  i.  ;  '  •  '  -iblc  in  its  tone.  Its  bearer 
was  politely  received  by  Tecu.  ,vho  sent  by  him  to  Gov.  Har- 

rison a  brief  reply,  stating  that  iiu  would  visit  Yincennes  in  a  few 
days.  He  arrived,  accordingly,  on  July  27,  1811.  He  brought 
with  him  a  considerable  force  of  Indians,  which  created  much 
alarm  among  the  inhabitants.  On  the  day  of  the  arrival  of  Tccum- 
seh, Gov.  Harrison,  in  adopting  various  precautionary  mcnsures, 
reviewed  the  militia  of  the  county — about  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  well  armed  men  —  and  stationed  two  companies  of  militia 
and  a  detachment  of  dragoons  on  the  borders  of' the  town.  In  the 
course  of  the  interview  which  took  place,  at  this  time,  between 
Gov.  Harrison  and  Tccumseh.  the  latter  decla''ed  that  it  was  not 
his  intention  to  make  war  against  the  United  States  —  that  he 
would  send  messengers  among  the  Indians  to  prevent  murders  and 
depredations  on  the  white  settlements  —  that  the  Indians,  as  well 
as  the  whites,  who  had  committed  murders,  ought  to  be  forgiven  ; 
that  he  had  set  the  wliite  people  an  example  of  forgiveness, 
which  they  ought  to  follow;  that  it  v;as  his  wish  to  establish  a 
union  among  all  the  Indian  tribes  ;  that  the  nortliern  tribes  were 
united ;  that  he  was  going  to  visit  the  southern  Indians,  and  that 
he  would  return  to  the  I'rophet's  town.  He  said  that  he  would, 
on  his  return  from  the  south,  in  the  next  spring,  visit  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  settle  all  causes  of  dinicully  be- 
tween the  Indians  and  him.  He  said,  further,  that  ho  hoped  no 
attempts  would  be  made  to  make  settlements  on  the  lands  which 
had  been  sold  to  the  United  States,  at  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne, 
because  the  Indians  wanted  to  keep  those  lands  fur  hunting 
grounds. 

Immediately  after  his  interview  with  Gov.  Harrison,  Teeumseh, 
with  about  twenty  of  his  followers,  departed  for  the  south,  for  the 
purpose  of  inducing  the  tribes  iu  that  quarter  to  join  his  confed- 
eracy. "In  the  year  1811,"  says  Dillon,*  "a  lawsuit,  in  which 
Gov.  Harrison  was  plaintiff,  and  a  certain  William  Alclntosh 
♦Dillon's  Early  History  of  Indians  —Davison's  Life  of  Uurrison. 


(f  (Jj-.*..->«^»ffWf  i^***^^ 


TEiiniTORiAL  IIisToniES  —  Ikdiaxa. 


213 


I 


was  defeiulant,  was  determined  in  the  supreme  court  of  tlic  terri- 
tory, at  Yineennes.  T!ie  jury,  in  the  case,  found  a  verdict  in  favor 
of  the  plaintiff,  and  assessed  his  damages  at  the  sum  of  four 
thousand  dollars."  The  defendant,  Mr.  Mclnto.sh,  was  a  wealthy 
resident  of  Vinccnncs,  a  native  of  Scotland,  well  educated,  and  a 
man  of  considerahle  influence  among  those  who  were  opposed  to 
the  treat}'  making  policy  which  had  distinguished  the  adminis- 
tration of  Gov.  Harrison.  The  suit  at  law  was  instituted  against 
!McIntosh,  for  asserting  "  that  Gov.  Harrison  had  cheated  the 
Indians  out  of  their  lands ;  and  that,  by  his  conduct  in  so  doing, 
he  had  made  them  enemies  to  the  United  States."  To  satisfy  the 
verdict  of  the  jury  in  this  case,  a  large  quantity  of  land,  owned 
by  the  defendant,  was  sold,  in  the  absence  of  Gov.  Ilarrison.  The 
governor,  some  time  afterward,  caused  about  two-thirds  of  the 
property  to  be  restored  to  Mr.  Mcintosh,  and  the  remainder  was 
given  to  some  orphan  children. 

Gov.  Ilarrison,  after  exhausting  every  possible  means  for  main- 
taining peace  with  the  Indians,  determined  to  resort  to  military 
measures.  Such  were  his  instructions  froii  the  President.  Hi" 
first  movement  was  to  erect  a  new  fort  on  the'^Yabash  river,  and 
to  break  up  the  assemblage  of  hostile  Indians  at  the  Prophet's 
town.  For  this  purpose  he  ordered  Col.  Boyd's  regiment  of  in- 
fantry to  move  from  the  falls  of  the  Ohio  to  Vinccnncs.  On  the 
twcnty-flCth  of  September,  1811,  when  the  military  expedition 
that  had  been  organized  b}'  Gov.  Ilarrison,  was  nearly  ready  to 
march  to  the  Prophet's  town,  several  Indian  chiefs  arrived  at  Vin- 
ccnncs from  that  place,  and  declared  that  the  Indians  would  com- 
ply with  the  demands  of  the  governor  and  disperse.  Tliis,  how- 
ever, did  not  cheek  the  military  proceedings.  The  army,  under 
the  jom.mand  of  Harrison,  moved  from  Vinccnncs  on  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  September,  1811,  and  on  the  third  of  October,  having 
encountered  no  opposition  from  the  enemy,  encamped  at  the  place 
where  Fort  Ilarrison  was  afterwards  built,  and  near  where  the 
cit}'  of  Tcrre  Haute  now  stands.  On  the  night  of  the  eleventh  of 
October,  a  few  hostile  Indians  approaohcd  the  encampment  and 
wounded  one  of  the  sentinels.  This  caused  considerable  excite- 
ment. The  army  was  immediately  drawn  up  in  line  of  battle, 
and  small  detachments  were  sent  in  all  directions,  but  the  enemy 


4; 


•ati&i 


1 

ll 

( 

§' 

-1    i 

•ni) 


'I 
I  ■ 


214 


Tuttle's  Cextei^sial  Northwest. 


if 

I    f 


could  not  be  found.  At  this  point  the  governor  sent  a  message 
to  tlie  Prophet's  town,  requiring  the  Shawanees,  Winnebagoes, 
Pottawattoniies  and  Kickapoos,  who  were  at  that  phace,  to  return 
to  their  respective  tribes.  It  also  required  the  Prophet  to  restore 
all  the  stolen  horses  in  his  possession,  and  to  deliver  up  the  mur- 
derers of  white  people,  or  to  give  satisfactory  proof  that  such  per- 
sons were  not  then,  "nor  had  lately  been"  under  his  control. 
To  this  message  the  governor  received  no  answer,  unless  that  an- 
swer was  delivered  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  Tlic  new  fort  on 
the  Wabash  was  finished  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  October,  and  on 
that  day,  at  the  request  of  all  the  subordinate  officers,  it  was  called 
Fort  Harrison.  This  fort  was  garrisoned  with  a  small  number  of 
.lien,  under  Lieut,  Col,  Miller,  and  on  the  twenty-ninth  the  re- 
inamder  of  the  army  moved  toward  the  Prophet's  town.  This 
force  amounted  to  about  nine  hundred  and  ten  men,  and  it  was 
composed  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  'cgular  troops,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Cul,  Boyd,  about  sixty  volunteers  from  Kentucky,  and 
about  six  hundred  citizens  of  the  Indiana  territory.  About  two 
hundred  and  seventy  of  the  troops  were  mounted. 

With  this  army  Gen,  Harrison  marched  to  the  Prophet's  town, 
where  the  celebrated  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  fought,  and  the 
Indians  completely  humiliated. 

This  triumph  over  the  Indians  broke  up  the  power  of  the 
Prophet  for  the  time  being,  and  temporarily  relieved  the  frontier 
settlements  from  Indian  depredations.  This  temporary  re- 
lief, ho.vever,  was  fully  ended  when,  in  June,  1812,  the  United 
States  declared  war  against  C'reat  Britain.  Tliis  event  was  not 
unexpected  by  the  citizens  of  the  Indiana  territory  ;  and  from  the 
hour  that  it  occurred,  or  was  made  known  in  the  northwest,  scat- 
tering bands  of  hostile  Indians  began  to  commit  depredations  on 
the  frontier  settlements.  Tecumseh  had  forsaken  the  soil  of  the 
United  States,  and  settled  in  Maiden,  Ontario,  where,  counseled 
by  the  English,  he  continued  to  excite  the  tribes  against  the 
Americans.  In  the  early  part  of  the  month  of  September  parties 
of  hostile  Indians  began  to  assemble  in  considerable  numbers  in 
the  vicinity  of  Fort  Wayne,  and  about  the  same  time  a  large 
force  attacked  Fort  Harrison,  while  oiher  bands  of  Indians  passed 
through  the  territory  of  Indiana  to  the  counties  of  Clark   and 


I,  ¥'- 


t^Uiitrnmff^wvfi 


131 


TiniinroRiAL  IIis  Tories — Indiana. 


215 


Jefferson,  where  they  massacred  twenty  four  persons  at  a  place 
which  was  called  "the  Pigeon-roost  Settlement.'' 

The  attack  on  Fortliarrison,  which  at  that  time  was  command- 
ed by  Captain  Zachary  Taylor,  is  described  by  that  hero  in  his  re- 
port as  follows  :  "  About  eleven  o'clock  I  was  awakened  by  the 
lu'ing  of  one  of  the  sentinels.  I  sprung  up,  ran  out,  and  ordered 
the  men  to  their  posts  —  when  niy  orderly  sergeant,  who  had 
charge  of  the  upper  blockhouse,  called  out  that  the  Indians  had 
fired  the  lower  blockhouse.  *  *  The  guns  had  begun  to  fire 
pretty  smartly  from  both  sides.  I  directed  tlic  buckets  to  be  got 
ready,  and  water  brought  from  the  well,  and  the  fire  extinguished 
imniediatel}',  as  it  was  perceivable  at  that  time  ;  but,  from  debili- 
ty, or  some  other  cause,  the  men  were  very  slow  in  executing  my 
orders.  The  word  "fire!  "  appeared  to  throw  the  whole  of  them 
into  confusion,  and  by  the  time  they  had  got  the  water  and  brok- 
en open  the  dour,  the  fire  had  unfortunately,  communicateu  to  a 
quantity  of  whisky,  *  *  and,  in  spite  of  every  exertion  we 
could  make  use  of,  in  less  than  a  moment  it  ascended  to  the 
roof,  and  baffled  every  effort  we  could  make  to  extinguish  it.  As 
that  blockhouse  adjoined  the  barracks  that  made  part  of  the  forti- 
fications, most  of  the  men  immediately  gave  themselves  up  for  lost, 
and  I  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  getting  mj^  orders  executed. 
And,  sir,  what  from  the  raging  of  the  fire  —  yelling  and  h.owling 
of  several  hundred  Indians  —  the  cries  of  nine  women  and  child- 
ren (a  part  soldiers'  and  part  citizens'  wives,  who  had  taken  shel- 
ter in  the  furt),  and  the  desponding  of  so  many  of  the  men,  which 
was  worse  than  all,  I  can  assure  you  that  my  feelings  were  un- 
pleasant. And,  indeed,  there  were  not  more  tlian  ten  or  fifteen 
men  able  to  do  good  deal  ;  the  others  being  sick,  or  convalescent ; 
and,  to  add  to  our  other  misfortunes,  two  of  the  strongest  men  in 
the  fort,  and  that  I  had  every  confidence  in,  jumped  the  pickets 
and  left  us.  But  my  presence  of  mind  did  not  for  a  moment  for- 
sake me.  I  saw  by  throwing  off  a  part  of  the  roof  that  joined 
the  blockhouse  that  was  on  fire,  and  keeping  the  end  perfectly 
wet,  the  whole  row  of  buildings  might  be  saved,  and  leave  only 
an  entrance  of  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  for  the  entrance  of  the  In- 
dians, after  the  house  wa.s  consumed  ;  and  that  a  temporary  breast- 
work might  be  erected  to  prevent  their  even  entering  there.     I 


m 


m 


•I 


216 


TUTTLI'fs   CKNTE^'^'IAL  NOUTIIWEST. 


t    m\ 


convinced  the  men  that  tins  might  be  accomplished,  and  it  ap- 
peared to  inspire  them  with  new  life;  and  never  did  men  act  witli 
more  firmness  and  desperation.  Tliosc  that  were  able  (while  the 
others  kept  up  a  constant  fire  from  the  other  blockhouse  and  the 
two  bastions)  mounted  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  with  Dr.  Clark  at 
their  head  (who  acted  with  the  greatest  firmness  and  presence 
of  mind  the  whole  time  the  attack  lasted,  which  was  about  seven 
hours),  under  a  shower  of  bullets,  and.  in  less  than  a  moment 
threw  off  as  much  of  the  roof  as  was  necessary.  *  *  Although 
the  barracks  were  several  times  in  a  blaze,  and  an  immense  quantity 
of  fire  against  them,  the  men  used  such  exertions  that  they  kept  it 
under,  and  before  day  raised  a  temporary  breastwork  as  high  as  a 
man's  head,  although  the  Indians  continued  to  pour  in  a  heavy 
fire  of  ball  and  an  immense  quantity  of  arrows  during  the  whole 
time  the  attack  lasted.  '"^  *  After  keeping  up  a  constant  fire 
until  about  six  o'clock  the  next  morning-,  which  we  began  to  re- 
turn  with  some  effect  after  da3'light,  they  removed  out  of  the  reach 
of  our  guns.  A  party  of  them  drove  up  the  horses  that  belonged 
to  the  citizens  here,  and,  as  they  could  not  catcli  them  very  readi- 
Iv,  shot  the  whole  of  them  in  our  sight,  as  well  as  a  number  of 
their  hogs.  They  drove  ofi!  the  whole  of  the  cattle,  which 
amounted  to  sixty-iive  head,  as  well  as  the  public  oxen." 

During  the  absence  of  Gov.  Uarrison  on  military  duty,  the  func- 
tions o):  governor  of  the  territory  of  Indiana  were  discharged  by 
John  Gil'son,  the  secretary  of  the  territory.  On  the  first  of 
February,  181''  the  legislature  convened  at  Vinccnnes,  when  the 
seat  of  government  was  moved  to  Corydon,  and  the  session  was 
prorogued  by  Secretary  Gibson  to  meet  at  the  latter  place  in  De- 
cember of  the  same  year.  In  1813,  Mr.  Thomas  Posey,  who  was 
at  that  time  a  senator  in  congress  from  the  state  of  Teimessee,  and 
who  had  been  an  ofTicer  of  the  army  of  the  revolution,  was  ap- 
pointed governor  of  the  territory  of  Indiana,  to  succeed  Gen.  Har- 
rison. The  new  governor  arrived  in  Vincennes,  and  entered  upon 
the  discharge  of  his  ofiicial  duties,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  May, 
1813.  During  this  year  there  were  several  expeditions  set  on  foot 
in  the  Indiana  territory,  against  the  Indian  settlements,  but  these 
will  be  considered  so  fully  in  tlie  Secoxd  Paut  of  this  work  as 
to  make  a  reference  to  them  here  inexpedient.     The  general  as- 


I 


ii 


TERUrrORIAL  IlwrOBIES —  IXDIAXA. 


217 


scmlly  of  tlic  Iiuliaiia  territory  met  at  Coryuon,  iu  December, 
1813,  where  the  new  governor  delivered  his  firrit  message  to  the 
legislature.  During  this  session  of  the  territorial  legislature  several 
laws  were  passed,  and  the  general  welfare  of  the  settlements  pro- 
vided for.  In  the  following  year,  owing,  prineipally,  to  the  great 
success  of  the  army  under  Gen.  Harrison  in  the  northwest,  the 
settlements  in  Indiana  began  to  improve.  Tl\c  fear  of  danger 
from  the  incursions  of  the  hostile  Indians  had,  in  a  great  measure, 
subsided,  and  the  tide  of  eastern  emigration  again  began  to  flow 
into  the  territory.  In  January,  I'^li,  about  one  thousand  Miamis, 
in  a  state  of  great  destitution,  assend)led  at  Fort  Wavne  for  the 
})urposc  of  obtaining  food  to  prevent  starvation.  They  met  with 
ample  hospitality,  and  their  example  was  speedily  followed  by 
others.  These,  with  other  acts  of  kindness,  won  the  lasting  friend- 
ship of  the  Indians,  many  of  whom  had  fought  in  tha  interest  of 
Great  Britain.  General  treaties  between  the  United  States  and 
the  northwestern  tribes  were  subsequently  concluded,  and  the 
way  was  full}-  opened  fo)'  the  improvement  and  settlement  of  the 
lands. 

The  last  regular  session  of  the  territorial  legislature  of  Indiana 
was  held  at  Corydon,  convening  in  December,  1815.  Owing  to 
the  sickness  of  Gov.  Posey,  who  lived  at  JefTersonvillc,  he  was  un- 
able to  be  present,  but  his  regular  message  was  delivered  to  both 
houses  in  joint  session  by  his  private  secretary.  Col.  Allen  D. 
Thorn.  In  this  message  he  congratulated  the  people  of  the  terri- 
tory upon  the  general  success  of  the  settlements,  upon  the  great 
increase  of  immigration  to  the  territory ;  recommended  light  taxes, 
and  a  careful  attention  to  the  promotion  of  education  and  the  im- 
provement of  tiic  state  roads  and  highways.  He  also  recommended 
a  revision  of  the  territorial  laws,  and  an  amendment  to  the  militia 
system.  During  this  session,  which  lasted  only  a  month,  several 
laws  were  passed,  and  measures  adopted,  most  of  which  were  cal- 
culated to  promote  the  desired  change  from  a  territorial  to  a  state 
government.  On  the  fourteenth  day  of  December  a  memorial  wa-" 
adopted  praying  for  the  authority  to  adopt  a  constitution  and  state 
government.  This  was  laid  before  congress  by  the  territorial  dele- 
gate, Mr.  Jennings,  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  the  same  month,  and 
on  the  nineteenth  of  Aprd,  1816,  the  president  approved  a  bill, 


m 


m 


*' 


)' 


I 


it   I 


Mi' 


.|Li 


218 


T utile's  Centennial  Northwest. 


enabling  the  pcoi)le  of  Indiana  territory  to  form  a  constitution 
and  state  government,  and  providing  for  the  admission  of  such 
state  into  the  Uniun  on  an  equal  fooling  with  tlie  original  states. 


CHAPTEll  XIX. 

TERRITORIAL  HISTORIES  — MICUIGAN. 

Tecumscli's  War — Organi/ation  of  the  Micliijxan  Territory  —  Gov.  Hull  Ap- 
pointed—  Hull  Invailcs  Canada  —  Tlio  British  and  the  Amuricaus  Cou- 
teuding  for  Detroit  — Hull's  Inglorious  Surrender. 

Tecumseh's  wau  had  its  full  cllect  upon  the  infant  settle- 
ments in  the  Michigan  territory,  and  upon  the  outposts  of  civili- 
zation in  the  lake  region.  The  Michigan  territory  was  organized 
in  1805,  and  William  Hull  was  appointed  governor.  When  he 
first  arrived  at  his  post,  Detroit  was  about  the  only  place  of  im- 
portance in  the  country,  and  it  was  but  a  weak  trading  post.  In 
the  same  year  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and,  on  being  rebuilt,  it 
■wa§  left  without  a  stockade  which  had  previously  surrounded  it. 
However,  the  hostile  appearances  of  the  Indians  caused  the  gov- 
ernor to  have  it  rebuilt. 

In  September,  1809,  a  special  council  of  the  Ilarons  was  cal^'^d 
near  Brownstown,  and,  at  the  instigation  of  their  principal  chief, 
Walk-in-the-water,  they  freely  spoke  of  their  grievances  to  Gov. 
Hull.  Tlie  speech  addressed  by  this  chief  to  the  governor,  set- 
ting forth  the  title  of  his  tribe  to  a  large  tract  of  territory  near 
the  Detroit  river,  which  was  claimed  by  the  United  States,  under 
the  treaty  of  Greenville,  shows  how  dissatisfied  they  were  with 
this  treaty,  and  with  the  encroachments  of  the  Amcrioan  pcoi)le. 
In  the  midst  of  all  these  evidences  of  war,  the  territory  of  ^Iichi- 
gan  remained  in  a  comparatively  defenseless  state.  There  were 
at  this  time,  in  the  whole  territory,  but  nine  settlements  of  any 
importance  ;  nor  were  the  inhabitants  of  these  villages  calculated 
to  show  any  considerable  resistance  to  the  approaching  incursions 
of  the  savages.     These  settlements  were  situated  on  the  rivers 


Tehhitoiual  Uistohies  —  Miciiioan. 


219 


Miami  arnl  Ilaisin,  on  the  Huron  of  lake  Erie,  on  the  Ecorse, 
llonge  and  Detroit  rivers,  on  the  Huron  of  St.  Chiir,  the  St.  Clair 
river,  luid  tiie  island  of  Afaekinaw.  In  addition  to  the.se  there 
■were,  here  and  there,  groups  of  huts  belonging  to  the  French  fur 
traders.  The  villages  upon  the  Maumee,  the  Kaisin  and  the  Hu- 
ron of  lake  Erie  contained  a  po[)alation  of  .nbout  thirteen  hun- 
dred ;  the  post  of  Detroit  and  the  settlements  on  the  nvers  Kougc 
and  Ecorse,  and  on  the  Huron  of  lake  St.  Clair,  numbered  about 
two  tliousand  two  hundred;  the  islaud  of  itackinaw  about  one 
thousand.  Detroit  was  garrironed  by  ninety-four  men,  and  Macki- 
naw by  sovent3'-nine.  Thus,  the  entire  population  of  the  state 
was  only  about  four  thousantl  eight  hundred,  four-fifths  of  whom 
■were  French,  and  the  remainder  Americans.  An  Indian  war  be- 
ing now  apparent,  a  memorial  was  presented  to  congress,  setting 
forth  the  defenseless  condition  of  the  territory,  and  praying  for 
aid  from  that  body.  This  memorial  was  signed  by  the  principal 
inhabitants  of  Detroit,  and  sent  to  AVashington  on  the  27th  of 
December,  1811.  Tecumseh  had  collected  his  warriors,  and  was 
now  ready  for  action.  The  first  hostile  demonstration  was  in  the 
shape  of  marauding  parties,  going  from  one  settlement  to  anodier 
and  committing  depredations.  On  the  banks  of  the  Kalamazoo 
river  a  smitli's  forge  had  been  erected,  where  hatchets  and  scalp- 
ing knives  were  made  by  the  savages;  and,  at  no  great  distance 
from  this,  the  Indian  women  were  cultivating  corn  with  which 
to  supply  the  warriors  with.  food.  All  the  plans  having  been 
fully  matured,  the  contest  at  length  began  on  the  banks  of  the 
Wabash,  at  tlie  Prophet's  town.  The  Indian  warriors  from  ill 
quarters  came  to  join  Tecumseh,  and  the  English,  on  the  oppo- 
site shores,  looked  on  with  deep  interest  upon  what  was  passing, 
regarding  the  savages  as  important  allies  in  the  conflict  in  which 
they  expected  shortly  to  be  engaged.  A  body  of  troops  was  col- 
lected in  Oliio,  consisting  of  about  twelve  hundred  men,  raised 
by  order  of  the  president  of  the  United  States ;  and  this  number 
was  largely  increased  by  volunteers.  These  troops  were  formed 
into  three  regiments,  under  the  commtind  of  Cols.  McArthur, 
Finelly  and  Cass ;  and  a  fourth  regiment,  about  three  hundred 
strong,  under  Col.  ^Miller,  afterwards  joined  them,  the  whole  be 
ing  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Hull,  the  governor  of  Michigan. 


I  .1 


^ 


220 


TcTTfj'fa  CnsTEKSiAL  Northwest. 


"Witli  this  force,  Gon.  Hull  niarclicd  from  Dnytoii  towards  Detroit.'* 
"  Wliilo  under  niarcli,  near  tho  river  Hiiisin,  on  the  od  of  July, 
1812,  Gen.  Hull  received  dispatelies  from  Washingtou  City,  au- 
uonncing  the  declaration  of  war  against  Kngland.  Two  days 
after,  they  reached  tlie  river  Huron,  where  a  floating  bridge  \\*a.s 
con.structed,  so  that  the  entire  army,  with  all  the  baggage  and 
stores,  passed  over  in  safety.  On  the  5th  of  July,  the  army 
passed  tho  Indian  council  ground  at  Brownstown,  crossed  t! 
river  Rouge,  and  encamped  at  Springwells,  about  three  miles  be- 
low Detroit.  The  fourth  regiment  marched  to  the  fort  and  (X'ou[)ied 
it  on  the  following  day.  The  volunteers  took  up  their  position 
near  the  fort,  anel  a  movement  was  made  to  procure  a  large  num- 
ber of  boats  for  the  purpose  of  transporting  tho  army  into  Canada. 
Orders  were  accordingly  i.ssued  for  the  army  to  be  in  readiness  to 
cross  the  river  early  on  the  following  mori  ing;  and,  at  this  time, 
the  army  moved  up  the  river  to  a  point  opposite  the  lower  end  of 
Hog  island.  It  was  now  daylight,  of  a  delightfully  bright  suiu- 
mer  morning.  The  whola  line  entered  the  boats,  which  had,  on 
the  previous  evening,  been  taken  from  o})posite  tho  fort,  at  a  point 
near  Sandwich,  in  order  to  mislead  the  enemy  as  to  the  place  se- 
lected for  their  advance.  The  army  was  not  attacked  on  landing 
in  Canada,  as  they  expected,  and  marched  down  tho  road  along 
the  bank  of  the  river,  to  a  point  o]ipositc  the  town,  presenting  a 
fine  appearance  from  the  opposite  shore.  The  inhabitants,  nearly 
all  Canadian  French,  welcomed  the  troops  as  friends,  and  white 
handkerchiefs  and  flags  waved  from  every  house,  and  many  greet- 
ed the  army  with  shouts  of,  '  We  like  the  Americans  I '  A  vacant, 
unfinished  two-story  brick  house,  belonging  to  Col.  Baby,  with 
extensive  grounds,  became  the  headquarters  and  intrenched  camp 
of  the  northwestern  army  in  Canada.  The  roof  of  tho  house  was 
shingled,  the  floors  laid,  and  the  windows  in;  otherwise,  it  was 
entirely  unfinished.  A  partition  cif  rough  boards  was  put  up  on 
each  side  of  the  hall,  which  I'an  entirely  through  the  building. 
Gen,  Hull,  with  his  aids,  occujjied  the  north  half  of  the  house; 
Gen.  James  Tajdor,  quartermaster-general  of  the  army,  with  his 
two  assistants,  occupied  the  south  side.  The  councils  of  war  were 
held  in  the  second  story,  over  the  room  occupied  by  the  com- 
*  Tuttle's  History  of  Michigan. 


TmiuiTOBiAL  IfisTOiiiKs  —  MiciuaAN. 


221 


mantling  goiioi'ul,  access  to  which  was  liad  by  a  rough  stairway. 
Gen.  Hull  aiul  his  son,  Capt.  Hull,  lodged  most  oi  the  time  at 
headquarters;  Gen.  Taylor,  being  unwell,  lodged  in  Detroit." 

While  in  Canada,  Gen.  Hull  issued  a  prochunation  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Canada,  in  which  ho  i)romised  i)rotcction  to  life  and  prop- 
erty, if  the  inhabitants  maintained  a  strict  neutrality,  and  an- 
nounced that  if  resistance  was  made,  the  w;ir  would  be  prosecuted 
to  extermination,  lie  warned  them  tliat  no  white  man  caught 
fighting  by  the  .side  of  an  Indian  would  be  talceti  prisoner,  ^ut 
would  instantly  be  put  to  death  ;  and  closed  with  the  hope  that 

c  Divine  Kuler  would  guide  them  in   their  choice  to  a  result 

-ySt  comj)atible  with  their  rights,  interests  and  happiness.  This 
address  is  said  to  have  been  written  by  Gov.  (then  colonel)  Cass. 

The  troops  quartered  at  Sandwich  for  four  weeks,  during  which 
time  a  detachment  under  Col.  McArthur  marched  up  the  Thames 
river,  and  returned  with  large  supplies  of  flour,  wheat,  beef,  cattle, 
and  about  a  thousand  shccj).  The  following  sketch  of  Hull's 
disgraceful  speculations  in  Michigan  territory  is  condensed  from 
Tuttlc's  History  of  Michigan  :  "The  latter  were  all  sent  over  the 
river,  and  were  permitted  to  range  at  large  upon  the  extensive 
common  back  of  the  fort,  where  they  remained  until  after  the 
surrender  of  the  army,  when  they  were  killed  by  Indians,  and  the 
meat  appropriated  to  their  u.se.  A  reconnoisancc  in  force,  under 
Cols.  ^IcArthur  and  Cass,  marched  to  the  vicinity  of  ^Maiden, 
where  they  dislodged  a  picket  guard,  posted  at  the  bridge  over 
the  Canard  river,  fourteen  miles  from  camp,  and  four  miles  above 
Maiden.  Another  reconnoissance  by  the  light  infanry  and  a 
small  detachment  of  tlie  Fourth  U.  S.  regiment,  commanded  by 
Capt.  Snelling,  was  made  about  the  twentieth  of  July,  by  which 
it  was  ascertained  that  the  enemy  had  witlidrawn  his  outpost  at 
the  Canard  bridge,  and  had  stationed  a  vessel,  named  the  Queen 
Charlotte,  off  and  near  the  mouth  of  the  Canard  river,  in  a  posi- 
tion of  t)bservation.  A  plan  was  formed,  by  these  oHicers  and 
others  to  construct  some  floating  batteries,  place  a  twenty-four 
pound  gun  upon  each,  and,  with  the  .addition  of  a  few  gunners 
and  sailors  then  in  Detroit,  to  descend  along  the  shore  of  the  river 
on  the  first  dark  night,  and  cai)ture  the  Queen  Charlotte.  This 
project  met  with  a  refusal  at  headquarters,  and  all  that  could  be 


■^■-^-1 


T"  t 


222 


TutTLE's  CeNTEXXIAL  NOBTnWEST. 


obtained  was  a  permission  to  make  a  furtiicr  reconnoissance,  and 
ascertain  tlie  exact  position  of  the  vessel.  In  making  this  ivcon- 
poisance,  it  was  intended,  if  possible,  to  carry  her  bj  boarding, 
but  tlie  attempt,  for  the  want  of  the  batteries  and  sailors,  and  ow- 
ing to  the  niglit  brightening  after  twelve  o'clock,  did  not  succeed, 
"  A.t  this  timCj  the  British  had  posted  a  small  Indian  force  on 
the  line  of  communication  betvveen  Detroit  and  Onio,  and  had 
captured  a  bearer  of  dispatches  from  head»^uartcrs,  as  well  as  pri- 
vate correspondence,  which  of  course  were  taken  to  Maiden. 
Gen.  Hull,  therefore,  ordered  Major  Vanhorne,  of  the  second 
regiment  of  volunteers,  with  two  companies  of  infantry,  a  part  of 
a  company  of  volunteei  cavalry  together  with  a  part  oi  a  ride 
company,  to  escort  the  mail  awd  dispatches;  as  well  as  a  few  gen- 
tlemen, belonging  to  the  commissary  department,  returning  to 
Oliio.  lie  proceeded  down  the  same  road  the  army  hud  marched 
np  on  its  approach  to  Detroit,  and,  on  reaching  a  point  nearly 
oppo'ite  ^Maiden,  about  the  center  of  Grosse  Isle,  was  attacked, 
and,  iuter  the  loss  of  many  brave  men  and  officers,  compelled  to 
retreat  back  to  tlie  fort.  This,  together  with  the  reception  at  head- 
quarters of  the  news  that  Fort  M';,":kinaw  had  been  captured  by 
Koberts,  seemed  to  have  shocked  the  commanding  general,  and 
to  have  divested  him  of  all  control  over  his  fears.  From  the 
twentieth  of  July,  the  army  w;;.  in  hourly  expectation  of  ortlers 
to  march  on  Maiden.  The  enemy's  weakness  was  well  known, 
and  it  is  believed  that  the  English  would  have  made  but  a  small 
resistance.  But  time  passed  on,  and  no  such  orders  wore  given. 
On  the  evening  of  the  seventh  of  Auignst,  marching  orders  wei'e 
given.  At  eleven  o'clock,  tents  were  .struck  and  loaded,  and  tho 
wagon  train  was  moving;  but,  instead  of  moving  down  tlio  road, 
in  the  direction  of  the  enemy,  it  was  driven  to  the  landing,  and 
taken  by  ferry  boats  across  the  river,  and  stationed  on  the  com- 
mon, north  of  the  fort.  Orders  were  issued  during  the  nigiit  to 
break  up  camp,  and  tho  army  recrossed  to  Detroit.  This  act  cre- 
ated astonishment  and  indignation  among  the  soldier.s,  and  it  was 
freely  whi.spcred  that  Gen.  Hull  had  disgraced  liimself  and  the 
army.  This  act  of  Hull's  Is  the  more  astonishing,  when  we  con- 
sider that  the  enemy's  force  war^  known  to  him  to  be  slight,  and 
huurly  becoming  weaker.     It  had  already  been  reduced  by  dcser- 


wm'A 


\ 


■TtntniToniAL  Histories  —  Michigan: 


223 


m  ■ 


tion  from  six  hundred  and  sixty  Canadian  militia  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  ;  from  one  hundred  Indians,  under  Tecumseli,  to  si::ty, 
and  having  but  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  reguhirs.  It  was 
also  known  to  Hull  that  the  British  oflieers  had  already  sent  their 
most  valuable  eflects  on  board  their  vessels  in  the  port,  prepara- 
lory  to  a  jireeipitate  evacuation  of  the  post.  Such  were  the  forces, 
and  suci'  the  comlition  ot  the  British.  Now  let  us  see  what  was 
the  strength  of  the  American  army.  According  to  the  official 
report  of  t!ie  brigade  major,  acting  as  adjutant  general  of  the  army, 
the  forces  numbcrcl  2,300  eflfeetive  men,  well  supplied  with  artil- 
lery, independent  of  the  guns  of  the  fort  and  advanced  batteries. 
As  wu  have  already  seen,  there  was  an  abundance  of  provisions, 
and  nothintr  v  as  wanting  to  secure  the  most  favorable  action  of 
the  troops.  B  .t,  with  this  superiority  of  numbers,  with  the  ene- 
my already  defeated  with  alarm.  Gen.  Hull  ingloriously  sur- 
renders Detroit  and  his  Vvhole  army  to  a  handful  of  English  ! 

"  But  we  shall  see  more  particularly  how  this  was  done.  On  the 
ninth  of  August  a  strong  detachment  was  marched  down  the  road, 
with  orders  to  attack  the  encm}--,  who  had  crossed  from  ]\Ialdcn 
ir.  ^orce,  and  taken  up  a  position  nearly  opposite  the  center  of 
Grosse  Isle,  cutting  off  the  road  of  communication  with  Ohio. 
The  detachment  reached  them  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
and  immediately  charged  upou  their  lines,  and  drove  them  three 
miles  to  their  boat:5,  when,  as  it  had  become  dark  and  wa'^  rain- 
ing, the  most  of  them  escaped  to  Maiden.  In  this  action,  some 
say  that  the  fo  ■je:s  were  about  ef][ual ;  but  it  is  probable  Luat  the 
Americans  had  the  strongest  force.  The  British  brought  into  the 
held  a  large  part  of  ihcir  regulars,  together  with  all  the  Indian 
contingent,  tlic  whole  being  under  the  command  of  Maj.  ]Muir. 
The  following  day,  the  Americiin  detachment,  after  sending  for- 
ward the  mails  and  dispatches,  returned  to.the  fort.  The  Ameri- 
cans lost  sixty-eight  men  in  the  battle  ;  the  English  loss  was  some- 
what less.  This  action  is  known  as  the  battle  of  Brownstown." 
This  light  developed  the  fact,  that  a  largely  increased  Indian  force 
had  gone  over  under  the  flag  of  the  Shawanee  chief,  who  had 
circulated  the  news  of  the  fall  of  ^Cackinaw  among  the  tribes,  and 
summoned  ihem  tc  his  aid  with  promises  of  plunder.  He  had' 
now  one  thousand  men  under  his  command.      "  A  su.spieion, 


™'' 


221 


Tl'ttle's  Cextesxial  XonTinvEST. 


iiiii^ 


strongly  grounded  and  deeply  felt,  on  tlic  part  of  the  most  active 
antl  intelligent  of  the  volunteers,"'  says  Col.  W.  S.  Hatch,  "  had 
now  risen  to  such  a  ])oint,  that  there  was  no  longer  any  confi- 
dence reposed  in  the  valor  or  patriotism  of  the  commanding  gen- 
eral. A  consultation  was  held,  and  it  was  decided  to  get  up  a 
'  Hound  Jiobin  ' — a  written  document,  signed  hy  names  in  a  ring 
or  circle,  so  as  not  to  show  who  signed  it  lirst  —  addressed  to  the 
colonels  of  the  Ohio  volunteers,  requesting  the  arrest  or  displace- 
ment of  the  general,  and  devolving  the  command  on  the  eldest 
of  the  colonels,  !N[cArthur."  ^I'his  was  on  the  twelfth  of  August, 
and  on  the  following  day,  it  was  reported  that  an  armistice,  or,  at 
least,  a  temporary  cessation  of  hostilities,  had  been  agreed  upon 
by  the  British  authorities  and  the  American  armies  on  the  Niag- 
ara and  northern  frontier ;  and  that  Maj.  Gen.  D  rock,  governor 
of  Upper  Canada,  an  officer  of  high  reputation,  had  arrived  at 
Maiden,  to  conduct  operations  in  that  quarter.  "  The  suspicion 
and  distrust  of  'the  army,"  says  Col.  Hatch,  "  was  increased  by 
Gen.  IIull's  peremptory  refusal  to  allow  that  distinguislied  ofiiccr, 
Capt.  (afterwards  Col.)  Snelling,  to  cross  the  river  in  t^.ic  niglit,  to 
carry  and  destroy  an  unfinished  battery,  which  was  being  con- 
structed on  the  opposite  bank,  under  the  direction  of  Capt.  Dixon, 
of  the  ro\-al  artillery.  This  was  the  only  battery  of  any  conse- 
quence established  by  the  enemy,  and  the  only  one  that  injured 
the  Americans.  It  opened  on  the  afternoon  of  the  fifteenth,  and 
continued  its  cannonade  during  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth, 
^vbcn  one  of  its  bails  .-truck,  and  instantly  killed,  Lieut.  Ilanks, 
v.'ho  had  been  in  command  at  Mackinaw.  The  same  ball  passed 
on  and  mortally  wounded  Surg,  lleynolds,  of  the  third  regiment 
of  volunteers. 

On  Thursday,  August  thirteenth,  it  was  ab.solutely  necessary 
that  the  greatest  vigilance  should  be  maintained,  and  that  the 
outlying  pickets  should  be  largely  increased.  At  eleven  o'clock 
of  this  evening  .i  boat  was  discovered  approaching  the  fort  from 
the  Canadian  side  of  the  river,  and,  as  it  neared  the  shore,  two 
men  were  noticed  sitting  aft,  and  two  more  at  the  oar.s.  On  hc'iwj, 
challenged,  the  boat  came  up,  and  one  of  the  gentlemen  gave  the 
countersign.  "  He  was  well  known,  and  known  to  have  the  con- 
fidence of  the  commanding  general  more  than  any  other  officer," 


u 


i  I  :        'i 


w 

■  i 

li 

J..,- 

: 

i 
i 

1 

.-'■■>' ^■;'.    /«:■ 


V. 


♦wMrw  "■*w 


|gid»WWI'IT;*Jr«Hinm 


H  ;i. 


ilffi; 


Terbitoihal  Histories  —  Michigan. 


225 


says  the  same  authority,  already  quoted,  "and,  in  almost  every 
instance,  had  been  intrusted  with  the  duty  of  intercourse  by  flag 
with  the  enemy.  The  other  gentleman  appeared,  as  near  as  could 
be  judged  by  the  dim  light,  to  be  young,  well  formed,  and  of 
military  bearing.  They  directed  their  steps  to  the  headquarters 
of  tlie  commanding  general,  remaining  Lhere  three  hours.  They 
then  returned  to  the  boat,  and  crossed  to  the  Canadian  sliore. 
The  boat  came  back;  but  one  of  the  gentlemen  only  was  with 
her.  lie  gave  the  word,  and  passed  on.  At  that  time,  on  that 
night,  the  capitulation  c^f  the  fort  and  the  surrender  of  the  north- 
western army  was  agreed  upon.  The  parties  to  that  agreement 
were  Gen.  null,_  and,  on  the  part  of  the  British,  ^[aj.  Glegg,  one 
of  the  aids-de-camp  of  Gen.  Brock"  Col.  Hatch  further  sub- 
stantiates his  views  as  follows:  "This  is  a  historic  fact,  which 
Maj.  Glegg,  if  alive,  will  corroborate,  as,  after  the  war  in  1815,  at  a 
hotel  in  Philadelphia,  he  communicated  his  participation  in  the 
rcL,  as  above  stated,  to  the  late  quartermaster  general  of  the 
northwestern  army,  Gen.  James  Taylor,  of  Newport,  Kentucky." 
Previous  to  this  time  a  reinforcement  of  two  hundred  and  thirty 
men,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Henry  Brush,  of  Chillicothe, 
Ohio,  conveying  supplies,  including  one  hundred  head  of  cattle, 
had  arrived  at  tlic  little  French  settlouient  at  the  crossing  of  the 
river  Raisin,  thirty-five  miles  from  the  fort.  Here  they  halted, 
in  consccpienee  of  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  enemy,  and 
reported  to  the  commanding  general,  who  issued  orders  on  the 
afternoon  of  Frida}',  the  fourteenth  of  August,  for  a  detachnient 
of  about  three  hundred  and  sixt}'  men,  under  command  of  the 
colonels  of  the  first  and  third  regiments  of  Ohio  volunteers,  to 
rr.arch  at  twilight  on  the  line  of  a  circuitous  route  or  trail,  which 
passed  by  the  river  Eouge,  several  miles  above  its  mouth,  and 
continued  far  into  the  interior,  passing  the  Huron,  and  striking 
the  Raisin,  and  passing  down  that  stream  to  Frenchtown.  Ac- 
compan^-'ng  the  order  was  the  information  that  Col.  Brush  had 
been  ordered  to  move  from  his  camp  up  this  route,  and  would 
doubtless  be  met  bciiween  the  Rouge  and  Huron,  and  at  a  distance 
not  exceeding  twelve  miles  from  the  fort ;  but  the  detachment 
was  to  continue  its  march  till  he  was  met.  "Tlie  officers  of  the 
detachment,"  says  Col.  Hatch,  "  believing  tliat  they  would  meet 
15 


'H 

•'I'J 


:| 


.    I 


;f  : 


:U: 

Mi 

:\U 

i'  ■* 

-**'-!-■ 


ll'l; 


226 


Tuttle's  Cextesxial  XoJiTinrEST. 


Col.  Brush  and  party,  and  return  with  it  to  Detroit  by  two  or 
thrco  o'clock  A.  m.,  and,  desu'ing  the  troops  to  march  light  and 
rapid,  directed  that  no  food  or  baggage  be  taken  along,  not  even 
their  blankets,  nor  would  they  remain  for  supper.  This  order  at 
the  time  excited  no  particular  suspicion.  The  course  adopted 
was  attributed  to  timidity,  overruling  sagacious  and  ])rompt  mili- 
tary conduct  on  the  part  of  the  commanding  general.  But  hero 
all  were  deceived,  as  no  order  had  been  sent  to  Col.  Brush  to  movo 
in  the  direction  stated,  or  to  movo  at  all.  Tlic  sole  object  of  the 
movement  was  to  reduce  the  active  force  at  the  fort,  preliminary 
to  carrying  into  effect  the  capitulation  which  had  already  been 
agreed  upon ;  to  get  rid  of  a  large  number  of  officers  and  men 
known  to  be  keenly  sensitive  to  an  honorable  success,  and  had  been 
openly  hostile  to  the  inaction  of  the  army  when  in  Canada,  and 
to  the  recrossing  the  river,  and  wdio,  if  present,  would  have  re- 
sisted to  the  extremest  point,  regardless  of  all  or  an}'  conse- 
quences, any  attempt  to  surrender  the  fort  or  the  army."  The  de- 
tachment left  the  fort  at  dusk,  and  entered  the  woods  just  in  the 
rear  of  the  common.  They  continued  their  march  until  thirty-five 
miles  from  Detroit,  when,  ascertaining  that  Col.  Brush  had  not 
started  from  his  camp,  they  returned.  As  they  neared  the  fort  a 
brisk  cannonading  was  heard,  from  which  it  was  supposed  that 
the  enemy  had  cros.sed  the  river  below  the  town  and  made  an 
attack  on  the  fort,  "If  the  firing  had  continued  until  the  detach- 
ment had  reached  the  little  settlement  on  the  river  Rouge,''  says 
the  same  authority,  "  it  would  have  entered  by  the  Springwclls 
road,  and  have  come  in  on  the  left  flank  and  rear  of  the  enemy  ; 
and,  doubtless,  as  we  believed,  would  have  captured  the  entire 
British  forces,  as  they  would  have  been  between  the  fires  of  our 
volunteers  in  front  of  the  fort,  and  ours  in  the  rear.  Entertaining: 
these  exhilarating  hopes,  although  without  food  for  so  long  a. 
time,  the  troops  composing  this  detachment,  without  exception, 
appeared  stimulated  by  the  anticipated  and  hoped  for  conflict. 
With  these  high  and  cheering  expectations,  they  not  only  marched 
in  double  quick  time,  but  actually  kept  up  with  the  slow  trot  of 
the  horses  for  at  least  twenty  miles,  when  the  cannonading  ceased. 
iWe  resumed  this  unusual  march,  and,  without  once  halting  until 
•we  arrived,  at  about  midnight,  at  the  edge  of  the  woods  which  we 


"TJ^^^T. 


mmmmm  mfmr  mmm'l'i>«kimimmMt. 


Tlsritoria  l  His  Tories  —  Michigan. 


227 


entered  the  night  before ;  when,  to  our  utter  astonishment  and  in- 
dignation, we  beheld  the  British  flag  floating  horn  the  flagstaff  of 
the  fort  and  the  Indians  in  the  extensive  common  before  us,  tn':- 
ing  horses  and  cattle."  The  fort  of  Detroit  and  the  northwestcin 
army  had  been  surrendered.  The  detachment  that  we  have  just 
followed  was  also  included,  as  well  as  that  under  Col.  Brush,  at 
the  Raisin.  Col.  Brush,  however,  decided  that  he  would  not  be 
surrendered.  lie  detained  the  British  flag  sent  to  inform  him  of 
the  capitulation,  only  long  enough  to  obtain  supplies  for  his 
soldiers,  and  the  whole  force  v/as  then  started  for  Ohio,  which 
they  reached  in  safety. 

On  the  17th  of  August  the  British  celebrated  their  success  by 
firing  a  salute,  using  the  cannon  belonging  to  the  fort.  A  provis- 
ional government  was  established  by  the  British  at  Detroit,  and  a 
small  force  placed  in  the  fort.  The  Indians,  who  were  numerous, 
and  claimed  large  rewards  for  their  co'^*~""\tion,  and  who  were  but 
slightly,  if  at  r.ll,  restrained  by  the  gu  ._..n,  carried  plunder  and 
devastation  into  almost  every  house,  and  through  almost  every 
farm  in  the  territory.  The  miserable  inhabitants  had  no  alterna- 
tive but  to  submit,  or  incur  the  ha.iiard  of  more  aggravated  out- 
rage. Mo>t  of  the  citizens  of  Detroit  were  sent  into  exile,  ^nd 
distress  and  ruin  appeared  to  be  the  inevitable  lot  of  all. 


CHAPTER   XX. 


TERRITORIAL  HISTORIES- 

(conttnu,  il.) 


■MICHIGAN. 


Michilimackinac — Contest  for   this  Northern  Post — Gen.  Cass  appointed- 
Governor —  Progress  of  the  Territory  —  State  Govcnmicnt  Organized. 

About  one  year  after  the  memorable  massacre  at  Michilirnac- 
inac  under  the  conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  the  British  sent  troops 
iinder  Capt.  Howard,  to  garrison  the  fort.  Soon  after  this  the  fort 
was  removed.  In  1779,  a  party  of  British  officers  from  the  post 
of  Michilimackinac  visited  the  Island  of  Mackinaw,  which  lies  in 


SI 


m 


m 


(■111,. 


1..II' 


1! 


rt 


\i    >H 


n^^ 


228 


TUTTLEfs  CeXTEXNIAL  NoiiTfnVEST. 


the  straits  separating  the  two  peninsulas  of  Michigan,  for  the 
purpose  of  selecting  a  suitable  site  for  the  fort.  This  done,  they 
gained  permission  from  the  Indians  to  occupy  it,  and  the  fort  was 
removed  to  the  island  in  the  summer  of  1780,  the  troops  talcing 
possession  July  fifteenth.  The  removal  of  the  inhabitants  from 
the  mainland  was  gradual,  and  the  fort  was  not  completed  until 
1783.  Ill  1795,  when  the  British  gave  up  Fort  Mackinaw  to  the 
Americans,  they  repaired  to  the  island  of  St.  Joseph,  which  is 
situated  in  the  St.  Mary's  river,  about  twenty  miles  above  Detour, 
and  there  constructed  a  fort.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war 
of  1812,  the  fort  was  garrisoned  by  a  small  detachment  of  British 
regulars,  under  command  of  Capt.  Eoberts.  At  this  time  the 
garrison  of  Fort  Mackinaw  consisted  of  only  fifty-seven  effective 
men,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Hanks.  The  walls,  which 
had  been  built  by  the  English  in  1780,  and  which  are  still  stand- 
ing, were  surmounted  by  a  palisade  of  cedar  pickets,  about  ten 
feet  hicjh,  intended  as  a  defense  against  the  Indians.  To  make  it 
impossible  to  scale  this  palisade,  each  picket  was  protected  at  the 
top  by  sharp  iron  prongs.  Through  it  were  numerous  port-holes, 
through  which  a  leaden  shower  of  death  might  be  poured  upon 
any  loo  that  should  come  near.  Two  or  three  guns,  of  small 
calibre,  were  planted  at  convenient  places  upon  the  walls,  and 
one  small  piece  in  each  of  the  three  block  houses.  When  the 
war  of  1812  was  declared,  the  Americans  were,  for  some  cause, 
slow  to  notify  the  western  outposts,  while  the  British  were  very 
prompt.''*  "With  almost  incredible  dispatch,  a  messenger  was 
.sent  to  the  island  of  St.  Joseph,  situated  in  the  St.  Mary's  river, 
bearing  a  letter  to  Capt.  lioberts,  containing  the  information  of 
the  declaration  of  vrar,  and  also  the  suggestion  of  an  immediate 
attack  on  Fort  Mackinaw.  Eoberts  was  bat  poorly  prepared  for 
an  enterprise  of  such  moment,  yet,  entering  warmly  into  the 
views  of  his  superior  officer,  and  being  cordially  supported  by  the 
agents  of  the  Northwest  Fur  company,  he  was  not  long  in  de- 
ciding upon  his  course.  The  Ottawas  and  Ohippewas,  two  neigh- 
boring Indian  tribes,  soon  flocked  to  his  standard  in  large  num- 
bers. The  French,  jealous  of  the  Americans,  still  further  aug- 
mented his  strength ;  and,  in  the  short  space  of  eight  days,  he  had 
♦From  Tattle's  History  of  Michigan. 


TKIlJilTOlilAL  HlSTOUlES  —  MlCIIIOAX. 


229 


a  force,  naval  and  military,  of  more  than  a  thousand  men  at  hig 
command.  On  the  sixloenth  day  of  July  he  embarked  for 
;N[ackinaw.  But  all  tliis  was  unsuspected  by  the  little  garrison 
and  the  inhabitants  of  Mackinaw.  The  first  intimation  which 
they  received  that  all  was  not  right  was  from  the  conduct  of  the 
Indians.  In  obedience  to  the  summons  of  Capt.  lloberts,  they 
•were  going  toward  the  Sault  in  large  numbers.  This  caused 
some  uneasiness,  and  Lieut.  Hanks,  witli  the  citTzens  of  the 
place,  made  every  effort  to  learn  from  them  the  object  of 
the;;*  journey.  Several  councils  were  called,  but  in  vain. 
Scegenoe,  chief  of  the  Ottawas,  was  questioned  closely,  but  not 
a  word  could  be  elicitedfrom  him  which  in  any  way  explained 
their  conduct. 

"  Failing  to  get  any  satisfaction  from  the  Indians,  they  next 
called  a  public  meeting  of  the  citizens,  where  it  was  resolved  to 
make  yet  another  effort  to  unravel  the  mystery.  One  Mr.  Dous- 
man,  an  American  fur  trader,  had,  sometime  before,  sent  two  of 
his  agents  into  the  Lake  Superior  region,  to  trade  with  the  Indians 
for  f'ur.s.  He  had  heard  of  their  return  to  the  Sault,  but  knew  of 
no  reasons  why  they  had  not  returned  to  his  headcpuirters  at 
^fackinaw.  He,  therefore,  on  the  sixteenth  of  July,  under  the 
pretense  of  ascertaining  the  reason  of  their  dehi}'',  but  really  to 
learn  what  it  was  that  called  so  many  of  the  Indians  in  that  di- 
rection, set  out  for  the  Sault.  He  had  not  gone  far  before  he 
learned  the  wliole  truth  ;  for  meeting  Capt.  lloberts'  expedition, 
he  was  taken  prisoner,  barely  escaping  with  his  life.  In  the 
evening  of  the  same  day,  when  the  expedition  was  nearing  the 
island,  it  was  proposed  by  Capt.  Roberts  to  send  one  Oliver,  a 
British  trader,  to  the  people  of  the  town,  to  inform  them  of  his 
approach,  and  conduct  them  to  a  place  of  safety.  Mr.  Dousmau 
now  urged  upon  Capt.  lloberts  that  the  people  would,  perhaps, 
be  slow  to  believe  such  a  report  from  a  stranger  ;  and,  anxious  for 
the  safety  of  his  friends,  asked  leave  to  return  on  that  mission 
himself.  This  he  was  permitted  to  do,  having  first  taken  oath 
that  he  would  not  give  information  of- their  approach  to  the  gar- 
rison, lie  returned  to  the  harbor,  in  front  of  the  town,  and  an 
hour  before  day,  proceeded  to  the  house  of  Mr.  A.  R.  Davenport, 
and  rapped  loudly  at  the  door.     Mr.  Davenport,  on  learning  who 


I 


I 

I 

St' 


|!|;i 


•kt.' 


ft-  ,  t  ■  : 


230 


TuTTLE's  CEXTEXyiAL  NORTint'EST. 


ii| 


iii|i 


■was  at  the  door,  rose  hastily,  and  went  out,  where  he  learned 
from  his  friend  that  war  had  been  declared,  and  that  the  British 
had  come  to  take  tlie  fort,  being  already  upon  the  island.  Tiio 
news  spread  rapidly  from  one  settler  to  another,  yet  the  fort  re- 
mained in  ignorance  of  danger,  for  none  dare  betray  the  secret. 
Word  was  circulated  that  if  the  citijcens  took  refuge  in  the  distil- 
lery, they  would  be  safe.  Like  wildlire,  the  message  went  from 
mouth  to  mouth,  until  every  man,  woman  and  child  were  on  their 
way  to  the  place  of  promised  safety. 

"  Meanwhilr,  Ca})t.  Kobcrts  proceeded  to  the  northwest  side  of 
the  island,  landed  his  forces,  and  began  his  march  toward  the  fort. 
At  the  farm  near  the  landing  they  took  possession  of  a  number 
of  cattle,  and  before  the  dawn  of  day,  reached  the  hollow  which 
may  be  seen  a  ?hort  distance  to  the  rear  of  the  fort.     Upon  a 
little  ridge,  which  separates  this  hollow  from  the  parade  ground, 
they  planted  a  gun  in  the  road,  and  anxiously  awaited  the  ap- 
proach of  day.     The  dawn  appeared,  and  the  unsuspecting  garri- 
son began  to  move.     As  Lieut.  JTanks  looked  out  from  his  quar- 
ters, he  was  surprised  at  the  unusual  quiet  that  prevailed  in  the 
town  below.     No  smoke  was  seen  curling  from  the  chimney  tops 
and  no  footsteps  were  heard  in  the  streets.     This  looked  stravjge, 
and  he  ordered  Lieut.  Darrow,  with  two  men,  to  go  down  and  as- 
certain  the  reason.     When  this  officer  arrived  at  the  distillery, 
the  truth  fla.sbed  upon  him.     Under  a  strong  guard  whica  had 
been   sent  by  Capt.   Roberts,  the  inhabitants  of  the  place  were 
awaiting  the  decision  that  would  again  make  them  subjects  of  tho 
British  Crown.     Darrow  entered  the  distillery,  and  shooK  hands 
with  its  inmates;  but  when  he  started  to  return  to  the  fort,  the 
guards  proposed  to  make  him  prisoner.     Taking  a  pistol  in  each 
hand,  and  demanding  permission  to  return,  he  faced  the  guards, 
and  followed  by  his  men,  walked  backwards  till  beyond  their 
reach,  when  lie  returned,  without  molestation  to  the  fort.     But 
Lieut.  Hanks  did  not  have  to  wait  for  the  return  of  Darrow,  to 
learn  the  state  of  affairs  below,  for  the  sharp  report  of  a  British 
gun  soon  told  him  all.     The  r(>port  had  scarcely  died  away,  when 
a  British  officer,  with   a  flag  in  hand,  appeared  and  demanded  a 
surrender,  emphasizing  the  demand  by  a  statement  ot  the  over- 
whelming numbers  of  the  in\'ading  army,  and  a  threat  of  indis- 


cr 
ui 

g 
an 
cd 
Di 


.<jV», 


x  ri(  i*T^-»  1^  tf  f  Tf :?yTf  TT 


TKIWITOniAL  HlSTOItlES  —  MlCUIQAy. 


231 


criminate  slaugiitorhy  tlicsrvviigcsat  tlic  first  motion  towarus  rcMst- 
ance.  Wlien  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  had  been  gatliorcd  under 
guard  at  the  distillery,  Messrs.  Davenport,  Abbot,  Bostwick,  Stono 
and  Doiismun,  who  were  among  tlic  leading  citizens,  were  advis- 
ed to  go  at  once  to  the  landing,  and  give  themselves  u})  to  Col. 
Dickinson,  who  had  been  loft  at  that  jioint  by  Capt.  Roberts,  for 
that  purpose.  This  they  accordingly  did.  Tiiey  were  then  urged 
by  Col.  Dickinson  to  petition  Lieut.  Hanks  to  surrender  the  fort  at 
once,  stating  that  the  Indians  would  be  entirely  unmanageable  in 
case  there  should  be  any  resistance.  This  they  did  proin[itly. 
Lieut.  Hanks'  position  can  now  be  easily  imagined.  Not  having 
received  intelligence  of  the  declaration  of  war,  he  was  wholly  oil 
his  guard,  and  unprepared  to  defend  himself.  The  British  troops 
though  less  in  numbers  than  the  garrison  under  his  command,  had  a 
position  which  commanded  thefort,and  were  supported  by  nearly  a 
thousand  Indian  warriors,  who  had  been  instructed  to  show  no  mer- 
cy, in  case  an}'  resistance  was  made.  Lender  these  circumstances, 
Lieut.  Hanks  surrendered  ;lie  fort  at  once,  and  his  men  were  parol- 
ed and  sent  to  Detroit.  After  the  surrender,  the  citizens  were  as- 
sembled at  the  government  honse,  and  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
British  crown  administered  to  tliom.  They  were  generally  willing 
to  take  the  oath,  but  Messrs.  Davenport,  Bostwick,  Stone,  Abbot 
and  Dousman  refused  to  turn  traitors.  Tliesc  men  were  immedi- 
ately sent  away  with  the  soldiers,  and  were  not  permitted  to  re- 
turn until  after  the  declaration  of  peace.  Ca})t.  llobevts  and  his 
men  were  highly  complimented  by  the  British  government,  and 
richly  rewarded,  for  thus  surprising  and  capturing  the  fort.  Prize 
money,  to  the  amount  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  was  distributed 
among  the  volunteers  and  soldiers,  and  merchandise  and  arms 
given  to  the  Indians.  Having  thus  easily  and  cheaply  succeeded 
in  wresting  from  the  American  people  one  of  their  most  import- 
ant military  positions,  the  English  at  once  set  about  strengthen- 
ing them.selves  in  their  new  possession.  Fearing  that  they  would 
not  be  able  to  hold  what  they  had  so  easily  gained,  they  hasten- 
ed to  construct  a  fortification  on  the  qrowning  pomtof  the  island, 
which,  in  honor  of  their  reignmg  sovereign,  they  called  Fort 
George.  The  remains  of  the  old  fort,  afterwards  called  Fort 
Holmes,  may  still  be  seen.* 

*  From  History  of  Micliigau. 


!• 


!i!| 


ill' 
ill 


I  % 


■'!■'  J; 


11!^ 

i'ii'l 


ill  ll 


TrTTLi;\s  CtWTKXxrAL  Xonrii ir/^sr. 


■  i.   it 


|L:4v-f. 


|--:.:f 


EvoiiLs  thus  transpiring,  so  uiifortunntc  to  the  Aniurioaii  arms 
nnd  so  triiun[)haiit  to  tlio  13ritsh,  throw  a  gloom  over  tlic  ter- 
ritory of  Michigan.  However,  with  tlie  gh)riou.s  termination  of 
the  war  in  thi  noithwest,  under  Cien.  Harrison,  Detroit  was  again 
occupied  by  an  Atnoriean  force  in  1813,  under  (jen.  Cass.  So  far 
as  tlio  northwo:5t  was  concerned,  the  war  was  now  practically 
closed,  yet  Fort  Mackinaw  was  in  the  hands  of  the  British,  and 
it  remained  to  plant  the  stars  and  stripes  in  that  quarter.  Several 
very  persistent  attempts  were  made  to  this  end,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose;  all  terminated  disastrously  for  the  Americans,  and  it  was 
not  until  1815,  after  ])eace  had  been  declared  that  the  English 
evacuated  the  post  and  it  was  occupied  by  American  troops. 

As  we  have  observed,  in  1805,  Michigan  began  its  territorial 
existence.  In  JS18,  upon  the  admission  of  Illinois  into  the  union, 
all  the  territory  lying  north  of  that  .state  and  of  Indiana  was  an- 
nexed to  Michigan.  From  1805,  when  the  territory  was  erected, 
to  1810,  the  political  condition  was,  in  every  respect,  that  })rc- 
scribcd  by  the  ordinance  of  1787.  By  an  act  passed  in  the  latter 
year,  the  territory  was  authorized  to  elect  a  delegate  to  ci:)ngrcss. 
Under  tho  ordinance,  the  privilege  only  accrued  to  a  territory 
when  it  should  have  entered  ui)on  the  second  grade  of  govern- 
ment, and  the  delegate  was  then  to  be  chosen  by  the  general  as- 
selnbly.  By  the  act  referred  to,  the  power  was  given  direct  to 
the  people,  and  the  right  of  suffrage  was  extended  to  all  taxable 
citizen.s.  In  the  year  1823,  the  form  of  the  territorial  government 
was  essentially  changed  by  an  act  of  congress,  which  abrogatsd 
the  legislative  power  of  the  governor  and  judges,  and  granted 
more  enlarged  ones  to  a  council,  to  be  comjioscd  of  nine  persons, 
selected  by  the  president  of  the  United  States,  from  eighteen 
chosen  by  the  electors  of  the  territory.  By  this  law,  eligibility  to 
office  was  made  coextensive  with  the  right  of  sutlrage  as  estab- 
lished by  the  act  of  1819.  The  limitation  of  the  tenure  of  the 
judicial  office  to  a  term  of  four  years  is  another  important  feature 
of  the  act  of  1823.  In  the  year  1825,  all  county  officers,  with  the 
exception  of  those  of  a  judicial  character,  or  whose  functions  con- 
nected them  with  the  administration  of  justice,  were  made  elect- 
ive; and  the  appointments  which  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
executive  were  made  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  legislative 


Ti'.itniTouiAL  Histories  —  MicniOAN. 


233 


council.  Til  1827,  tlic  electors  of  tlio  territory  were  aiitliorizcd  to 
elioo.su  a  iiuiiilier  of  per.^on^,  corresponding  witii  tluit  at  which  tlic 
inembcrs  of  tlic  council  was  (ixcd,  and  their  election  made  abso- 
lute. This,  indeed,  was  the  last  form  of  the  territorial  goveru- 
mcnt  oi  Michigan.  The  legislative  council  was  empowered  to 
enact  all  laws  not  inconsistent  with  the  ordinance  of  1787;  their 
acts,  however,  wei'o  subject  to  be  annulled  by  congress,  and  t,»  the 
absolute  veto  of  the  executive  of  tlie  territory.  Gen.  Hull  was 
the  first  governor  of  the  territory  of  !^[ichigan.  When  ho  arrived 
at  Detroit  to  assume  his  ofTicial  duties,  lie  found  the  town  in  ruins, 
it  having  been  destroyed  by  fire.  Whether  this  disaster  had  been 
occasion.  I  by  accident  or  design  was  not  known.  However  this 
may  i^  "^'^  'iccn,  as  the  town  was  very  compact,  covering  only  two 
acres  of  ground,  and  the  materials  were  of  the  most  combustible 
character,  it  was  soon  entirely  consumed,  and  the  unfortunate  in- 
habitants were  obliged  to  encamp  in  the  open  fields,  almost  des- 
titute of  food  and  shelter.  Still,  they  were  not  discouraged,  and 
soon  commenced  rebuilding  their  houses  on  the  same  site.  The 
general  government  also  took  their  case  into  consideration,  and 
an  act  of  congress  was  passed,  granting  to  the  suflerers  the  site  of 
the  old  town  of  Detroit,  and  ten  thousand  acres  of  land  adjoin- 
ing.* As  before  mentioned,  a  judiciary  systen\  was  now  estab- 
lished, and  the  territorial  militia  organized.  In  October  of  the 
.«amc  year,  a  report  was  made  to  congress  of  the  condition  of  the 
territory;  and  in  ^fay  of  the  following  year,  a  code  of  laws  was 
adopted  similar  to  those  of  the  origin;^'  states.  This  code  was 
signed  by  Gov.  Hull,  Augustus  B.  Woodward,  and  Frederick 
Bates,  judges  of  the  territory,  and  was  called  the  "Woodward 
Code."  The  bounds  oi  the  territorial  government,  as  then  estab- 
lished, embraced  all  the  country  on  the  American  side  of  the  De- 
troit river,  cast  of  a  north  and  south  line  drawn  through  the  cen- 
ter of  lake  Michigan.  The  Indian  land  claims  had  been  partially 
extinguished  previous  to  this  period.  By  the  treaty  of  Fort  Mc- 
intosh, in  1785,  and  that  of  Fort  Ilarmer,  in  1787,  extensive  ces- 
sions had  either  been  made  or  confirmed,  and,  in  the  year  1807, 
the  Indian  titles  to  several  tracts  became  entirely  extinct.  In 
consequence  of  the  settlements  which  had  been  made  under  the 
*  From  Tuttle's  History  of  Michigan. 


ii 


ii'l!     . 


'n^^'-} 


234 


TvTTLe's  CSNTENXfAL  x\OIiTnWKsr. 


French  and  English  governments,  some  conaision  sprang  np  in 
regard  to  the  titles  to  valuable  tracts  that  were  claimed  by  diiTer- 
ent  individuals,  under  the  Frenc  ;  laws.  Coiigress,  according!}-, 
pasrcd  an  act  establishing  a  board  of  commissioners,  to  examine 
and  settle  these  conflicting  claims;  and,  in  1807,  another  act  was 
passed,  confirming,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  titles  of  all  such  as  had 
been  in  possession  of  the  lands  then  occupied  by  them  from  the 
year  1796,  when  the  territory  was  surrendered,  up  io  the  date  of 
that  act.  Other  acts  were  subscquentl}'  passed,  extending  Lhe 
same  conditions  to  th.c  settlements  on  the  upper  lakes. 

Tn  addition  to  the  settlements  along  the  shores  of  the  Detroit 
and  St.  Clair  rivers,  and  the  lake  of  the  latter  name,  where  'here 
was  a  continued  line  of  cottages,  with  farms  adjoining,  containing 
orchards  of  pear  and  a]iplc  trees,  planted  at  an  early  date,  a.^d  the 
old  posts  on  the  island  of  Mackinaw,  at  Ste.  Marie,  and  at  St.  Jo- 
seph, the  French  (-"olonists  had  a  line  of  cabins  on  the  river  Raisin, 
•where  the  city  of  Monrot  w  stands.  The  interior  of  the  coun- 
try was  bat  little  known,  except  by  those  who  were  engaged  in 
the  fur  trade  and  these  av'M'c  iiiorcsted  in  rcjircsenting  it  :n  as 
uriavorable  a  Mght  as  possible.  iS^o  })ortion  of  tlie  public  domrin 
had  yet  been  bro  ight  into  ilie  market.  But  few  American  settlers 
had,  therefore,  ventured  into  this  region,  though  the  adjoining 
state  of  Ohio  had  already  acquired  a  considerable  population. 
Such  was  the  conditioi.  of  Michigan  just  before  the  Tecunif  eh 
war,  a  full  account  of  which  is  given  in  a  pre  dous  chapter.  /.  t'tcr 
this  contc.-*-  tJichigan  emerged  into  a  new  existence.  (Jol.  Cass, 
who  hiiu  served  with  much  zeal  during  thewai,  was  a])pointed 
go-  ernor  uf  the  territory;  and  under  his  administration  it  gr.'iuu- 
nly  advanced  in  prosperity. 

*"Bnt  wc  must  not  enter  upon  the  successful  administration  of 
Gov.  Cass,  without  followmg  'aen.  Uull,  the  lirst  governor  of  the 
territory,  a  little  further.  In  our  last  mention  of  him,  he  was  be- 
ing convevcd  to  Montreal,  a  prisoner  of  war.  We  next  find  him 
before  a  c  jurt  martial,  at  Albany,  New  York.  The  court  con- 
vened January  3,  1814,  with  a  full  board,  and  Gen.  Dearborn  was 
the  president.  No  objection  was  taken  to  the  constitution  of  this 
court  by  Uie  accused.  The  session  of  the  court  was  |)rotractcd, 
*  From  Tiittle's  History  of  Michigan. 


TEnniToiiiAL  TIisToniES  —  Michigan, 


235 


and  every  facility  aflonled  to  Gen.  IIull  to  present  his  defense. 
The  judge  advocate,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  was  remarkably  fair  and 
impartial  in  conducting  the  examination.  The  cliarges  were  three 
in  number:  treason,  cowardice,  and  neglect  of  duty.  The  court 
acquitted  the  accused  of  the  high  crime  of  treason.  As  to  the 
other  charges,  the  court,  upon  mature  deliberation,  found  Gen. 
Uull  guilty,  and  sentenced  him  to  be  shot ;  but,  b}^  reason  of  his 
services  in  the  vvar  of  the  revolution,  and  his  advanced  age,  earn- 
estly recommended  him  to  the  mercy  of  the  president.  The  pres- 
ident appro't  ed  of  the  finding  oi  the  court,  but  remitted  the  exe- 
cution of  the  sentence,  and  dismissed  him  from  the  service. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  affairs  in  ]\richigan  territory  were  indeed 
gloomy  when  Lewis  Cass  v;as  appointed  governor.  Civil  govern- 
ment WH'^  yet  to  be  established,  and  laws  enacted  and  enforced, 
before  any  permanent  advancement  in  prosperity  could  be  hoped 
for.  His  task  was  a  delicate  and  difficult  one.  lie  was  not  only 
a  part  of  the  legislative  power,  but  was  the  sole  executive.  The 
laws  >vhich  were  enacted  in  the  one  capacity,  lie  was  obliged  to 
execute  in  the  other.  How  well  he  performed  his  task,  the  con- 
dition of  the  state  when  he  resigned  his  office,  after  eighteen  years 
of  service,  abundantly  testifies.  In  1817,  Gen.  Cass  made  a  most 
important  treaty  with  the  Indians,  by  which  their  title  was  extin- 
guished to  nearly  i\\  the  land  in  Ohio,  a  part  in  the  state  of  Indi- 
ana, and  a  portion  in  the  state  of  Michigan.  This  was  not  only 
the  most  valuable  treaty  that  had  at  that  time  been  made  with 
the  Indians,  but  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  tlie  territory  of 
Michigan.  It  attached  the  isolated  population  of  Michigan  to  the 
state  of  Ohio;  made  the  territorial  government,  in  a  fuller  sense, 
an  integral  prrt  of  the  federal  union,  and  removed  all  apprehen- 
sion of  a  hostile  confederacy  among  the  Indian  tribes  along  the 
lake  and  riv'ei"  frontier.  Up  to  this  time  there  was  not  a  road 
within  the  bmits  of  /die  territory,  save  the  military  road  along  the 
Detroit  river.  But,  now  that  the  Indian  settlements  and  lands 
could  not  be  interposed  as  a  barrier  to  the  undertaking,  Gen.  Cass 
resolved  to  bring  the  attention  of  congress  to  the  necessity  and 
advantage  of  a  military  road  from  Detroit  to  Sanc'usky.  He 
pointed  out  the  i)eculiar  political  and  pecuniary  advantages  of 
such  an  undertaking,  and  congress  immediately  authorized  the 


W: 


!';;■  :it 


m 
I' 


».:iy.<:./' 


w 


't.l' 


236 


Tuttle's  Cextexxial  Northwest. 


road  to  lie  built  over  tlic  route  indicated  ;  taking  in  its  course  wliat 
was  known  as  tlie  Black  Swamp,  then  a  trackless  morass  for  teams 
and  wagons,  but  now  one  of  the  most  fertile  regions  of  the 
countrv. 

Two  events  occurred  in  1819,  which  may  be  regarded  as  start- 
ing points  of  Michigan  progress.  The  first  was  when  the  steam- 
boat, the  AYalk-in-the-Water,  made  her  appearance  on  Lake  Erie, 
crossing  that  lake  and  passing  up  to  Mackiiiaw.  The  second  was  the 
granting  to  the  people  of  Michigan  the  privilege  of  electing  a  dele- 
gate to  congress.  These  events  were  great  advances  in  the  hopes 
and  prosperity  of  Michigan.  By  the  first,  a  new  and  valuable 
means  of  commercial,  intercourse  was  introduced ;  and,  by  the 
latter,  a  new  channel  of  communication  was  opened,  through 
which  the  people  could  communicate  to  congress  and  the  national 
government  their  wants  and  situation.  Again,  what  was,  jier- 
haps,  of  as  great  in.^  ^vtance  as  either  of  the  above  events,  fur- 
ther sales  of  public  lands  ,vere  ordered  and  made.  This  would 
cause  settlements  to  be  made  further  into  the  interior  of  the  pen- 
i:.sula,  and  land,  now  studded,  at  long  intervals,  on  the  banks  of 
her  lakes  and  rivers,  by  the  Frenchman's  hut,  or  the  solitary  post 
of  the  fur  trader,  would  soon  become  the  sites  of  towns  and  vil- 
lages, teeming  with  commerce  and  civilization. 

The  census  taken  about  this  time  showed  a  population  in  the 
Michigan  Territory  of  8,890.  Detroit  contained  250  houses  and 
1,450  inhabitants,  exclusive  of  the  garrison.  The  island  of  !N[ack- 
inaw,  which  continued  to  be  the  central  mart  of  the  fur  trade, 
had  a  stationary  population  of  four  hundred  and  fifty,  which  oc- 
casionally increased  to  not  less  than  two  thousand,  by  the  Indi- 
r.;is  and  fur  traders  who  resorted  there  from  the  upper  lakes. 
The  settlement  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie  contained  fifteen  or  twenty 
houses,  occupied  bj'  French  and  English  families. 

The  territory  now  rapidly  increased  in  population  ;  roads  were 
built,  and  general  improvements  went  forward  ;  settlers  were  ex- 
tending themselves  along  the  rivers  St.  Clair,  Raisin  and  Huron, 
and  settlements  were  made  where  now  stand  the  cities  of  Ann 
Arbor,  Ypsilanti,  Jackson,  Tecumsoh  and  Pontiac.  But  they 
were  not  yd  free  from  the  annoyance  of  the  Indians.  The  P'oxes 
and  Sacs  annually  made  their  appearance  to  receive  thousands  of 


TERniTORiAL  Histories  —  MicniQAX. 


237 


dollar.s  of  presents  from  the  British  agents  at  !Maldon.  It  was  no 
unfrequent  occurrence  for  tliem,  as  they  passed  along,  to  commit 
depredations  upon  the  property  of  the  whites.  Tliis  annual  trib- 
ute also  had  a  tendency  to  create  and  strengthen  an  attachment 
and  sympathy  between  the  Indians  and  the  British  government. 
It  became  obvious,  then,  that  some  measures  were  necessary  to 
2)ut  a  stop  to  this  custom,  and  to  remove  the  Indians  as  far  as 
possible  from  British  influence,  so  annoying  to  the  settlers  even 
in  time  of  peace,  and  in  time  of  war  so  dangerous. 

In  1823  congress  passed  an  act  changing  the  form  of  territorial 
government.  This  act  abrogated  the  legislative  power  of  the 
governor  and  judges,  and  established  a  legislative  council,  to 
consist  of  nine  members.  These  members  were  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  president  of  the  United  States,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  out  of  eighteen  candidates 
elected  by  the  people  of  the  territory.  This  council  and  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  territory  were  invested  with  the  same  powers  which 
had  been  before  granted  by  the  ordinance  of  1787  to  the  govern- 
or, legislative  council  and  house  of  representatives  of  the  north- 
western territory.  By  this  law  the  term  of  a  judicial  office  was 
limited  to  four  years,  and  eligibility  to  ofTTice  required  the  same 
qualifications  as  the  right  of  suffrage.  This  act  met  the  cordial 
approbation  of  the  people  of  the  territory.  They  were  now  in- 
vested with  a  more  compact  and  energetic  government.  An  in- 
terest was  awakened  in  the  minds  of  the  people  in  the  affairs  of 
their  government,  and  they  began  to  experience  that  sensation  of 
citizenship  which  underlies  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  all  civil- 
ized communities.  Tlie  first  legislative  council  convened  under 
this  act,  met  for  the  first  time  at  the  council  house  at  Detroit,  on 
the  seventh  day  of  June,  1824.  Gov.  Cass  then  delivered  his 
message,  briefly  reviewing  the  progress  of  the  territory  since  his 
administration  commenced,  and  marking  out  what  he  considered 
the  proper  line  of  policy  in  its  existing  condition.  Amongst 
other  matters  to  which  the  governor  called  the  attention  of  the 
council  was  that  of  schools  and  education — a  subject  not  so 
much  discussed  or  generally  appreciated  as  since.  In  the  course 
of  this  vear.  Gov.  Cass  called  the  attention  of  the  general  irovern- 
ment  to  the  mineral  resources  of  the  Lake  Superior  country,  and 


rill  ' 

m 


\^ ' 


'F! 


238 


TvTTLifs  Centexnial  Northwest. 


asked  that  steps  might  be  taken  to  procure  from  the  Indians  the 
privilege  of  exploring  and  mining  in  that  country.  In  conipli- 
ancewith  this  recommendation,  the  senate  passed  a  bill  conferring 
authority  on  the  president  to  appoint  a  commissioner  to  treat 
M'ith  the  Indians  for  this  purpose,  The  house,  however,  refused 
to  concur ;  but  at  the  next  session  of  congress  the  bill  passed 
both  houses.  This  was  the  fir.st  legislation  which  led  to  the  com- 
mencement of  mining  operations  on  Lake  Superior. 

In  November,  1S26,  the  council  again  convened.  Daring  that 
session  they  were  called  upon  to  consider  a  question  which,  sev- 
eral years  after,  threatentl  to  embroil  the  territory  in  an  armed 
conflict  with  the  state  of  Ohio.  This  was  in  reference  to  the 
dividing  line  between  Michigan  and  the  contiguous  .states  of  Ohio, 
Indiana  and  Illinois.  A  discussion  of  this  question  is,  however, 
more  properly  reserved  for  a  future  chapter. 

"  In  the  meantime,  a  change  had  been  made  in  the  manner  of 
selecting  the  minor  officers  of  the  territory.  All  the  county  ofli- 
cers.  save  those  of  a  judicial  character,  were  made  elective  by  the 
people,  and  all  executive  appointments  were  required  to  be  ap- 
proved by  the  legislative  council.  An  act  was  also  j)assed  cm- 
powering  the  governor  and  council  to  divide  the  territory  into 
townships,  to  incorporate  the  same,  and  to  define  their  rights  and 
privileges.  The  country  was  now  rapidly  increasing  in  wealth 
and  population.  A  new  impetus  had  been  given  to  the  growth 
of  the  whole  northwest,  by  the  o2)cning,  in  1825,  of  the  Eric  canal 
from  Hudson  river  to  Buffalo.  The  effect  of  the  completion  of 
this  magnificent  enterprise  was  to  cheapen  transportation,  and 
give  to  the  west  the  foreign  merchandise  of  which  it  stood  in  need, 
at  a  greatly  reduced  price.  At  the  same  time  it  had  the  effect  of 
enhancing  the  price  of  the  agricultural  products  of  the  west  in  a 
still  greater  proportion.  Consequently  lands  increased  in  value, 
and  new  facilities  and  new  motives  were  ofifered  for  scUlcment. 
The  "Walk-in-the- Water  was  now  found  too  slow  and  of  insufficient 
capacity  to  accommodate  the  travelers  and  their  goody  over  the 
rough  waters  of  the  lakes.  To  accommodate  this  increase,  the 
Henry  Clay  and  other  steam  vessels  were  built.  To  meet  the 
increasing  demand  for  land,  new  surveys  were  made,  and  large 
tracts  of  land  thrown  upon  the  market.     Capital  began  to  flow  in 


at 

fo 
sn 
pr 
w; 


*  1; 


TininiTouiAL  IIistoeies  —  Michigan. 


239 


i 


and  seek  investment  in  tlic  fertile  acres  which  were  thrown  open 
for  settlement.  Improvements,  local  and  general,  were  made;  the 
small  settlements  began  to  swell  into  villages;  public  edifices  and 
private  mansions  were  projected  and  built;  the  echo  of  the  woods 
was  supplanted  by  the  busy  hum  of  commerce;  and  rich  fields  of 
golden  grain,  and  other  products  of  agricultural  industry,  were  to 
be  seen  on  every  hand,  and  were  harvested  and  ship].ied  to  the 
.seaboard.  Michigan  now  began  to  be  considered  the  asylum  and 
the  retreat  for  all  who  would  better  their  fortunes  by  industry. 
In  the  meantime,  in  order  to  meet  the  claims  of  the  increasing 
population  of  the  territory,  new  privileges  of  a  political  character 
had  been  granted  them.  The  legislative  council  was  increased  to 
thirteen  n^embcrs,  to  be  chosen  by  the  president,  from  twenty-six 
selected  as  candidates  by  the  people.  This  change  was  made  in 
1825.  In  1827  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  electors  to 
choose  their  representatives  directly,  without  the  further  sanction 
of  either  the  president  or  congress.  The  power  of  enacting  laws 
was  given  to  the  council,  subject,  however,  to  the  apprc  "1  of 
congress,  and  the  veto  of  the  governor  of  the  territory.  Upon 
this  footing  the  government  of  the  territory  remained  until  the 
organization  of  the  state  government."* 

In  1631,  Gov.  Lewis  Gass  was  appointed  secretary  of  war  in  the 
cabinet  of  Prest.  Jackson,  and  he  thereupon  retired  from  the 
ofTice  of  governor  of  Michigan,  having  served  in  that  capacity  for 
the  period  of  eighteen  years.  He  had  been  appointed  six  times, 
running  through  tlie- presidcncjMif  Madison,  !N[onroe,  and  John 
Quincy  Adams  —  without  a  single  representation  against  him 
from  the  people  in  all*  that  time,  or  a  single  vote  against  him  in  the 
senate.  He  had,  in  the  meantime,  faithfully  discharged  his  duties 
as  Indian  commissioner,  and  had  concluded  nineteen  treaties  with 
the  Indians,  and  acquired  large  cessions  in  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Wisconsin  and  Michigan.  The  people  of  the  territory  fully  ap- 
preciated his  worth  at  the  time,  as  was  more  than  once  manifested 
in  after  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  Gen.  Geo.  B.  Porter  in 
July,  1831. 

On  the  si.xlh  of  July  183-1,  the  office  of  governor  became  va- 
cant,   by   the  death  of    Gov.  Porter.     By   the  provision  of  law 

♦llibtory  of  Michigan. 


11 


240 


Tuttle's  Cextexxial  Northwest. 


for  the  government  of  tlie  territory  in  case  of  the  death,  removal, 
resignation,  or  necessary  absence  of  the  governor,  the  secretary  of 
the  territory  was  required  to  execute  the  powers  and  perform  all 
the  duties  of  the  governor  during  the  vacancy.  The  functions  of 
the  office,  eonscquenth',  devolved  upon  the  secretary,  Stevens  T. 
Mason. 

Coteraperaneous  with  the  question  of  forming  a  state  govern- 
ment, that  of  the  southeastern  boundry  of  the  .state  became  im- 
portant, and  caused  much  bitter  feeling  between  Michigan  and 
Ohio.  After  the  boundary  contest  which  was  conducted  with  no 
great  credit  to  the  officials  of  Micliigan,  the  territorial  govern- 
ment was  succeeded  by  a  state  government  and  Michigan  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  union  a  soverign  state. 


CKAPTER    XXI. 


; 


TERRITORIAL  HISTORIES  —  ILLINOIS. 

Illiuois  under  the  Fivnch  —  Englisli  Virginia — Territorial  Government 
Formed  in  1809  — The  Chicago  Massacre  —  Horrible  IjiUcliery  of  the 
Garrison — Indian  Treachery  —  Formation  of  tlie  State  Government. 

The  great  event  in  the  northwest  in  1809  was  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  territory  of  Illinois.  The  people  of  this  section  had, 
at  several  period.s,  been  left  without  a  government.  As  we  have 
already  observed,  it  was,  originally  a  portion  of  ancient  Louisiana 
under  the  French  monarchy.  By  the  treaty  of  France  with  Great 
Britian,  in  17G3,  all  Canada,  including  the  Illinois  country,  was 
ceded  to  the  English.  However,  British  authority  and  laws  did 
not  reach  Illinois  until  17(35,  when  Capt.  Sterling  in  the  name 
and  by  the  authority  of  the  British  Crown,  established  the  pro- 
visional government  at  Fort  Chartres.  In  ITGG  the  passage  of  the 
celebrated  "  Quebec  bill  "as  it  was  called,  })laced  Illinois  and  the 
Northwest  territory  under  the  local  adminis'tration  of  Canada. 
But  the  memorable  conquest  of  the  country  by  Clark  in  1778, 
brought  it  under  the  jurisdiction  -'  Virginia,  and  in  the  month  of 


TEiiiiiroiuA  L  His  touies  —  Illinois , 


211 


October  of  that  year  the  legislature  of  that  state  organized  the 
county  of  Illinois.  The  cession  of  the  country  to  the  Continental 
congress  was  made  in  1784,  and  the  ordinance  which  provided  for 
the  erection  of  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  was  adopted  in 
1787,  and  the  governor  and  judges  who  exercised,  in  one  body, 
legislative  and  judicial  authority,  did  not  go  into  operation  until 
July,  1788.  Still  the  Illinois  country  remained  without  any  or- 
szanized  government  till  March,  1790,  when  Gov.  St.  Clair  or- 
ganized  the  county  that  bears  his  name.  Hence,  for  more  than 
six  years  at  one  period,  and  for  a  shorter  time  at  other  periods, 
there  was  no  executive,  legislative,  and  judicial  authority  in  the 
country.  The  people  were  a  "law  unto  themselves,"  and  good 
feelings,  harmony,  and  fidelity  to  engagements  predominated. 
From  1800  they  had  been  a  part  of  the  territory  of  Indiana.  In 
all  the  territories  at  that  period,  there  were  two  grades  of  territor- 
ial government.  The  first  was  that  of  governor  and  judges.  These 
constituted  the  law  making  power.  Such  was  the  organization  of 
Illinois  in  1809.  The  next  grade  was  a  territorial  legislature  ;  the 
people  electing  the  house  of  representatives,  and  the  president  and 
senate  appointing  the  council.  By  an  act  of  congress,  of  February 
3,  1809,  all  that  part  of  Indiana  territory  which  lies  west  of  the 
Wabash  river,  and  a  direct  line  drawn  from  that  river  and  Post 
Vinccnnes,  due  north,  to  the  territorial  line  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  was  constituted  into  a  separate  territory,  by 
the  name  of  Illinois  ;  and  the  first  grade  of  territorial  government 
was  established.  For  eight  years  Illinois  had  formed  a  part  of 
Indiana,  and  the  principal  statutes  of  that  territory  were  reen- 
acted  by  the  governor  and  judges,  and  became  the  basis  of  statute 
law  in  Illinois. 

The  principal  event,  or  wc  may  say,  the  most  shocking  event 
that  occurred  during  the  territorial  existence  of  Chicago,  was  the 
massacre  at  Fort  Dearborn  (Chicago)  in  1812.  A  small  tradin"- 
post  had  been  established  at  Chicago  in  the  period  of  French  ex- 
plorations, but  no  village  formed  ;  and  it  will  be  remembered  that 
at  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  in  1795,  the  Pottawatomies,  Miamia 
and  other  nations  agreed  to  relinquish  their  right  to  a  piece  of 
land,  six  miles  square,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  river,  "  where 
a  fort  formerly  stood."  The  United  States  erected  a  small  fort 
10 


1 

f 

i 

1 

i 


:  s- 


;  I..' 

1-  :  I  1 


',!« 


If  !t   - 


i* 


■I!^i:'^ 


]»!:' 


I 


'I 


1 


2i-3 


TuTTLE's  CEXTEXyiAL  KonTim'EST. 


upon  the  site  of  tlic  present  city  of  Cliicngo,  in  1804,  called  F)rt 
Deai'hnrn.  It  stood  in  the  same  place  where  the  fort  was  erected 
in  ISOo,  but  was  of  a  diftcrcnt  construction,  having  two  block 
houses  on  the  southern  side,  and,  on  the  northern  side,  a  sally 
port  or  subtcri'ancan  passage  from  the  parade  ground  to  the  river. 
In  1812,  the  fort  was  garrisoned  by  Capt.  Ileald,  commanding, 
Lieut.  Ilclm,  Ensign  Konan,  Surg.  Voorhces  and  .sevcnty-fivc 
men,  very  few  of  whom  were  effective. 

The  Indians  in  the  vicinity  had  always  manifested  a  friendship 
for  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  garrison.  However,  the  prin- 
cipal chiefs  and  braves  of  the  Pottawotomic  nation  visited  Fort 
!^[aldcn  on  the  Canada  side,  annually,  received  presents  to  a  large 
amount,  and  were  in  alliance  with  Great  ]^>ritaiu.  Many  Potla- 
watomics,  Winnebagocs,  Ottavvas  and  Sliawanoes  were  in  the  bat- 
tle of  Tippecanoe,  yet  the  principal  chiefs  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
ity were  on  amicable  terms  with  the  Americans  at  this  post. 
Besides  those  persons,  attached  to  the  garrison,  there  was  in  the 
fort  the  family  of  Mr.  Kinzie,  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  fur 
trade  at  that  spot  from  1804,  and  a  few  Canadians,  or  oigit'jes,  with 
their  wives  and  children. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1812,  a  band  of  hostiV  "Winnebagocs  at- 
tacked ]\Ir.  Lee's  settlement,  at  a  jjlace  called  Ir  .-dscrabble,  cbout 
four  miles  from  Chicago,  and  massacred  a  'Mr.  "White  and  a 
Frenchman  in  his  employ.  Two  other  men  escaped.  For  some 
days  after  this  there  were  signs  of  hostile  Indians,  and  repeated 
alarms  at  the  garrison,  but  the  whole  passed  oil'  in  (juiotncss  until 
all  apprehension  was  dismissed.  On  the  7th  of  the  following 
August,  W^innemeg,  or  Catfish,  a  friendly  Pottawatomie  chief,  ar- 
rived at  Chicago  (Fort  Dearborn)  bringing  dispatches  from  Gov. 
Hull,  the  commander-in-chief  in  the  Korthwest.  These  des- 
patches announced  the  declaration  of  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  IJrit.iin  ;  that  (icn.  Hull,  at  the  head  of  the 
arm\f  in  the  Northwest,  was  on  his  way  from  Fort  "Wayne  to  De- 
troit, and  that  the  British  had  possessed  themselves  of  Mackinac. 
His  orders  to  Capt.  Ilcald  were,  "to  evacuate  the  post,  if  practi- 
cable, and,  in  that  event,  to  distribute  the  property  belonging  to 
the  "United  States,  in  the  fort  and  in  the  factory  or  agency,  to  the 
Indians  in  the  ueighborliood."  '"' 

*  ■Western  Annals. 


Ti:niiiTomAL  Historiks  —  Illixots. 


243 


Chief  Arinnomog,  aftci'  delivering  lii.s  dispatches,  repaired  to 
the  lioiisc  of  Mr.  Kinzie  and  stated  to  him  that  he  was  acquainted 
\yh\i  the  purport  of  the  communications  he  had  brought,  and 
begged  liim  to  ascertain  if  it  were  tlie  intention  of  Capt.  Ileald  to 
evacuate  the  post.  He  advised  strongly  that  such  a  step  should 
not  be  taken,  since  the  garrison  was  well  supplied  with  ammuni- 
tion, and  with  provisions  for  a  six  months'  siege.  lie  added  that 
it  would  be  far  better  to  remain  until  a  reinforcement  could  be 
sent  to  their  assistance.  If,  however,  Capt.  Ileald  should  decide 
on  leaving  the  post,  it  should  by  all  means  be  done  immedi- 
ately. The  Pottawatomics,  through  whose  country  they  must 
pass,  being  ignorant  of  Winnemcg's  mission,  a  forced  march 
might  be  made  before  the  hostile  Indians  were  prepared  to  inter- 
rupt them. 

Capt.  Ileald  was  immediately  informed  of  this  advice.  He  said 
tliat  it  was  his  intention  to  evacuate  the  post,  but  that  inasmuch 
as  he  had  received  orders  to  distribute  the  United  States  property, 
he  would  not  leave  until  he  had  collected  tho  Indians  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  made  a  fair  division  of  the  property  among 
tliem.  AVinnemeg  then  urged  the  expediency  of  marching  out 
and  leaving  all  things  standing.  Possibly,  ho  said,  while  the 
savages  were  engaged  in  apportioning  the  -spoils,  the  troops  might 
effect  their  retreat  unmolested.  Mr.  Kinzi  strongly  supported 
this  advice,  but  it  did  not  meet  the  approbation  of  the  command- 
ing officer.  The  order  for  evacuating  the  post  was  read  on  the 
following  morning  at  parade.  For  some  reason,  Capt.  Ileald 
relied  on  his  own  judgment  in  this  matter,  and  refused  to  hold  a 
council  with  his  ofliccrs.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  finding  no 
council  was  called,  the  officers  waited  upon  Capt.  Ileald,  wishing 
to  be  informed  as  to  what  course  ho  had  determined  to  pursue. 
When  they  learned  his  intention  to  leave  the  fort,  they  remon- 
strated with  him,  setting  forth  the  dangers  that  such  a  measure 
would  incur  upon  the  garrison.  It  was  highly  improbable,  they 
said,  that  the  command  would  be  permitted  to  pass  through  the 
country  in  safety  to  Fort  Wayne.  For,  although  it  had  been 
said  that  some  of  the  chiefs  had  opposed  an  attack  upon  the  post, 
planned  the  preceding  autumn,  3-et,  it  was  well  known  that  they 
had  been  actuated  in  that  matter  by  motives  of  private  regard  to 


i 


p. 


;  i  ^ 


2i4 


Tuttlk's  Ckntkxxial  XonrinrKST. 


one  family,  and  not  to  any  general  friendly  feeling  towards  tlio 
Americans ;  and  that,  at  any  rate,  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected 
that  these  few  individuals  would  be  able  to  contol  the  whole 
tribe,  who  were  thirsty  for  blood.  In  the  next  place,  their  march 
must  necessarily  be  slow  as  their  movements  must  bo  accom- 
modated to  the  helplessness  of  the  women  and  children,  of  whom 
there  were  many  with  the  garrison ;  that,  of  their  small  force, 
some  of  the  soldiers  were  superannuated  and  others  invalid  ; 
therefore,  since  the  course  to  be  })ursucd  was  left  crctional, 
their  advice  was  to  remain  where  they  were,  and  fortify  them- 
selves as  strongly  as  possible.  Succor  from  the  other  side  by  the 
peninsula  might  arrive  before  they  could  be  attacked  by  the  British 
from  Mackinac,  and  even  should  there  not,  it  were  far  better  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  latter,  than  to  become  the  victims  of  the 
savages. 

Capt.  Ileald's  reply  was,  that  a  special  order  had  been  issued 
by  the  war  department,  that  no  post  should  be  surrendered  with- 
out battle  having  been  given ;  and  that  his  force  was  totally 
inadequate  to  an  engagement  with  the  Indians.  That  he  should, 
Tuiquestionabl}',  be  censured  for  remaining  when  there  api)eared 
a  prospect  of  a  safe  march  through,  and  that  upon  the  whole,  he 
deemed  it  expedient  to  assemble  the  Indians,  distribute  the 
property  among  them,  and  then  ask  of  them  an  escort  to  Fort 
Wayne,  with  the  promise  of  a  considerable  reward  upon  their 
safe  arrival  —  adding,  that  he  had  full  coniidence  in  the  friendly 
professions  of  the  Indians,  from  whom,  as  well  as  from  the 
soldiers,  the  capture  of  Mackinac  had  been  kept  a  profound 
secret. 

From  this  time  the  officers  held  themselves  aloof,  and  spoke 
but  little  upon  the  subject,  though  they  considered  the  project  of 
Capt.  Ileald  little  short  of  madness.  The  dissatisfaction  among 
the  soldiers  hourly  increased,  until  it  reached  a  high  degree  of 
insubordination.  Upon  one  occasion,  as  Capt.  Ileald  was  con- 
versing with  Mr.  Kinzie,  upon  parade,  he  said,  "  I  could  not 
remain,  even  if  I  thought  it  best,  for  I  have  but  a  small  store  of 
provisions."  "  Why,  Captain,''  said  a  soldier,  who  stood  near, 
forgetting  all  etiquette  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment,  "  you 
have  cattle  enough   to  last  the  troops  six  months."      "But," 


TEiiiiiToni.  I  /,  //"/s ToniKS  —  I/J.ixois. 


245 


replied  Capt.  llcald,   "  I  have  no  salt  to  pmsLi've  tlio  beef  witli." 
"  Tlien  jerk*  it,"  said  the  man,  "  as  the  Indio.ns  do  thcii-  venison." 

Tho  Indians  now  became  daily  more  unruly.  Entering  the 
fort  in  defiance  of  the  sentinels,  they  made  their  \Yay  without 
ceremony  into  the  quarters  of  the  ofhccrs.  On  one  occasion, 
an  Indian  took  up  a  rifle  and  fired  it  in  the  parlor  of  the  com- 
manding officer,  as  an  expression  of  defiance.  Some,  were  of 
opinion,  that  it  was  intended,  among  the  young  men,  as  a  signal 
for  an  attack.  The  old  chiefs  passed  backward  and  forward, 
among  the  assembled  groups,  with  the  ai)pearancc  of  the  most 
lively  agitation,  while  the  squaws  rushed  lo  and  fro  in  great  ex- 
citement, and  evidently  prepared  for  some  fearful  seene.f  Any 
further  manifestation  of  ill  feeling  was,  however,  suppressed  for 
tlie  present,  and  Capt.  Ileald,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  continued 
to  entertain  a  conviction  of  his  having  created  so  amicable  a  dis- 
position among  the  Indians,  as  would  insure  the  safety  of  tho 
command,  on  their  inarch  to  Fort  Wa3'iie. 

In  the  midst  of  this  excitement,  a  messenger  arrived  among  the 
Indians  from  Tecumsch,  with  the  news  of  the  capture  of  Afaclcinac, 
the  defeat  of  Van  Horn,  and  the  retreat  of  Gen.  Hull  from  Can- 
ada. He  desired  them  to  arm  immediately,  and  intimated  that 
Hull  would  soon  be  compelled  to  surrender. 

Matters  continued  in  this  state  until  the  twelfth  of  August, 
when  11  council  wa.s  held  with  the  Indians  who  had  collected. 
None  of  the  military  officers  attended  except  Capt.  Ueuld,  al- 
though requested  by  him  to  do  so.  Tliey  had  been  informed 
that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  3'oung  chiefs  to  massacre  them  in 
council,  and  as  soon  as  the  commander  left  the  fort,  they  took 
command  of  the  blockhouses,  opened  the  port  holes  and  pointed 
the  loaded  cannon  so  as  to  command  the  whole  council.  This, 
probablj-,  caused  a  post})onement  of  their  horrid  designs. 

At  the  council  tlie  captain  informed  the  Indians  of  his  inten- 
tions to  distribute,  the  next  day  among  them,  all  the  goods  in  the 
storehouses,  with  the  ammunition  and  provisions.  He  requested 
the  Pottawatomies  to  furnish  him  an  escort  to  Fort  Wayne,  prom- 

*  This  is  done  by  cutting  the  meat  in  tliin  slices,  phicing  it  upon  a  scaffold, 
and  making  a  slow  fire  under  it,  which  dries  and  smokes  it  at  the  same  time, 
i  Western  Annals. 


246 


Tuttlk's  Ces'tlwsi.il  XouTinvEST. 


i\ 


,  I' 


ising  tlicm  a  liberal  reward  upon  llieir  arrival  tlicrc,  in  ailditiou 
to  the  liberal  presents  they  were  now  to  receive.  Tlio  Indiiuis 
■were  profuse  in  their  professions  of  good  will  and  friendship,  as- 
sented to  all  ho  proposed,  ainl  ])rouiised  all  that  lie  desired.  The 
result  shows  the  true  character  of  the  savages.  "  Xo  act  of  kind- 
ness, nor  ofterof  reward,  could  assuage  their  thirst  for  blood."  Mr, 
Kinzie,  who  well  understood  the  Indian  character  and  their  do- 
signs,  waited  on  the  commander,  in  the  hope  of  showing  him  his 
real  situation,  lie  tohl  him  that  the  Indians  had  been  secretly 
hostile  to  the  iVmericans  for  a  long  time  ;  that  since  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe  he  had  dispatched  orders  to  all  his  traders  to  furnish  no 
anununition  to  them,  and  pointed  out  the  wretched  policy  of  Capt. 
Ileald  in  furnishing  the  enemy  with  arms  and  anununition  to  de- 
stroy the  Amei'icaus.  Tliis  argument  opened  Ileald's  eyes,  and 
he  resolved  to  destroy  the  anmiunition  and  li(iUor.  On  the  thir- 
teenth the  goods  were  distributed,  and  the  litjuor  and  aminunition 
destroyed. 

^leanwhilc,  Capt.  Wells  was  hastening  forward  fi'om  Fort 
"Wayne  to  aid  the  garrison  at  Chicago,  lie  had  heard  of  the  or- 
der of  Gen.  Hull  to  evacuate  Fort  Dearborn,  and  knowing  the 
hostile  intentions  of  the  Pottawatomies,  he  had  made  a  rapid 
rcarch  through  the  wilderness,  to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  expo- 
sure of  his  sister,  Mrs.  lleald,  the  officers  and  garrison,  to  certain 
destruction.  But  he  came  too  late  !  The  ammunition  had  been 
destroyed,  and  the  provisions  were  in  tlio  hands  of  the  enemy. 
lie,  therefore,  urged  an  immediate  departure,  and,  accordingly 
every  preparation  was  made  for  the  nuirch  of  the  troops  on  the 
following  morning.  On  the  day  of  Capt.  Wells'  arrival  another 
council  was  held  with  the  savages,  in  which  they  e.xjiressed  great 
dissatisfaction  at  the  destruction  of  the  lifjuor  and  aMmunition. 
"Murmurs  and  threats  were  heard  in  every  quarter."  Among 
the  chiefs  and  braves  were  several  who,  although  they  partook  of 
the  feelings  of  hostility  to  the  Americans,  yet  retained  a  personal 
regard  for  the  troops  and  the  white  families  in  the  place.  They 
exerted  their  utmost  influence  to  allay  the  angry  feelings  of  the 
savage  warriors,  but  to  no  purpose.  Among  these  was  BUiclc 
Partridge,  a  chief  of  some  distinction.  The  evening  after  the  sec- 
ond council,  he  entered  Ueald's  room  and  said :  "  Father,  I  come 


Ti:iti!iri)iii.\L  llisToiUKs  —  Illixois, 


-247 


to  deliver  up  to  3'()ii  tlio  medal  I  wear.  It  was  given  mo  by  tlio 
Americans,  and  I  liavo  long  worn  it  in  token  of  mutual  friend- 
ship. ]}ut  our  young  men  arc  resolved  to  ''mbrue  tlioir  hands  in 
the  blood  of  the  whites.  F  cannot  restrain  them,  and  I  will  not 
wear  a  token  of  peace  while  I  am  compelled  to  net  as  an  enemy." 
The  ammunition  that  had  been  reserved  —  twentyiivc  rounds  to  a 
man  —  was  now  distributed.  The  baggage  wagons  for  the  sick  the 
women  and  children  were  ready,  and,  "  amidst  iho  surrounding 
gloom,  and  the  expectation  of  a  fatiguing  march  through  the  wil- 
derncs.-^,  or  a  disastrous  issue  on  the  morrow,  the  wlu)le  jiarty,  ex- 
cept the  watchful  sentinels,  retired  for  a  little  rest."  At  length 
the  fatal  morning  of  the  fifteenth  of  August  arrived.  The  sun 
rose  in  splendor  above  the  jjlacid  bosom  of  Lake  Michigan,  the 
air  was  balmy,  and  excepting  the  distressing  apprehensions  of  the 
garrison  and  tlu'ir  families,  the  morning  was  delightful. 

At  an  early  hour  Mr.  Kinzic  received  a  message  from  Topc- 
ncebe,  a  friendly  chief  of  the  St.  Joseph's  band,  informing  him 
that  the  Pottawatomies,  who  had  promised  to  be  an  escort  to  the 
detachment,  designed  mischief.  !N[r.  Kinzichad  placed  his  family 
under  the  protection  of  some  friendly  Indians.  This  party  em- 
barked in  a  boat,  and  consisted  of  Mrs.  Kinzie,  four  children,  a 
clerk  of  Mr.  Kinzie's,  two  servants  and  the  boatmen,  with  two 
Indians  as  protectors.  This  boat  was  intended  to  pass  along  the 
southern  shore  of  the  lake  to  St.  Joseph,  while  M'-.  Kinzie  and 
his  eldest  son  had  agreed  to  accompany  Capt.  Ileald  and  the 
troops,  as  ho  thought  his  influence  over  the  Indians  would  enable 
l"'m  to  restrain  the  fury  of  the  savages,  as  they  were  much 
attached  to  him  and  his  family.  Topenecbe  urged  him  and  his 
son  to  accompany  his  family  in  the  boat,  assuring  him  the  hostile 
Indians  would  allow  his  boat  to  pass  in  safety  to  St.  Joseph's. 
The  boat  had  but  reached  the  lake,  when  another  messenger 
arrived  from  the  same  chief  to  detain  them  wdicre  they  A'cre. 

At  nine  o'clock  the  troop.a,  with  the  baggage  wagon;.,  left  the 
fort  "with  martial  music  and  in  military  array."  Cajt.  Wells,  at 
the  head  of  his  band  of  ^fiami.s,  led  the  advance,  with  his  face 
blackenM  after  the  manner  of  Indians  ;  the  troops  with  the  wag- 
ons, containing  the  women  and  children,  the  sick  and  lame,  fol- 
lowed, while,  at  a  little  distance  behind,  wcj  the  Pottawatomies, 


Mr 

i  -"'9 


n 


PM 


I 


)  1  ■ 


I 'I 
I '' 

w 

■  '■■■* 

I  I 


248 


Tvttlk's  Centesxial  NoUTinVEST. 


about  five  hundred  in  number,  who  had  pledged  their  honor  to 
cpeort  them  in  safety  to  Fort  Wayne.  The  party  took  the  road 
along  tlie  lake  sliore,  and  on  reaching  the  point  whert.  a  range  of 
sand  hills  commenced,  the  Pottawatomies  defdcd  on  the  right 
into  luo  prairi..',  so  as  to  bring  the  sand  hills  between  them  and 
l,he  Americ."auN  They  had  marched  about  a  mile  and  a  half  irora 
the  fort,  when  dpi.  Wells,  wlj,  witli  his  Miamis,  wa^  m  advance, 
rode  furiously  back  and  exclaimed  : 

"  They  are  about  to  attack  U3  ,  form  instantly,   and   charge 
upon  them  !" 

Uui  these  words  liad  .scarcely  been  uttered,  whon  a  volley  of 
balls  from  Indian  mu.skets,  behind  the  sand  hills,  poured  upon 
thorn.  The  troops  were  formed  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  charged 
up  the  bank.  One  man,  a  veteran  soldier  of  seventy',  fell  as  they 
mounted  the  baiik.  The  battle  became  general.  The  Miamis  fled 
at  the  ("atset,  though  f/apt.  Wells  did  his  utmost  l.;'  induce  them 
•J  stand  their  ground.  Their  chief  rode  up  to  the  Pottawatomies, 
charged  them  with  !  eacher\',  and,  brandishing  his  tomahawk, 
declared,  "  he  would  be  the  first  to  head  a  party  of  Americans 
and  ])unish  them."  lie  then  turned  his  horse  and  galloped  after 
his  companio.is  over  the  prairie.""'  The  American  troops  charged 
upon  t!io  Indiiins  in  a  gal'MU  manner,  and  "sold  their  lives  dear- 
ly." Mrs.  .Helm,  wife  oi  Lieut.  Helm,  was  in  the  thickest  of  the 
action,  and  behaved  with  singular  presence  of  mind.  Indeed 
every  woman  present  acted  with  great  composui'e.  Mrs.  Helm,  in 
giving  an  account  of  the  battle,  or  the  ma.ssaere,  said  that  the  horses 
pranced  and  bounded,  and  could  hardly  be  restrained,  as  the  balls 
whistled  around  them.  She  drew  ofT  to  one  side  and  gazed  upon 
Lieut.  Helm,  her  husband,  who  was  as  yel  unharmed.  She  says: 
"  I  felt  that  m}-  hour  wns  come  and  endeavored  to  foi-get  those  I 
loved,  and  prepare  myself  for  my  approaching  fate.  AVhile  I  was 
thus  engaged,  the  surgeon,  Dr.  Y.,  came  up  ;  he  was  badly  wounded. 
His  horse  had  been  shot  under  him,  and  he  had  received  a  ball 
in  his  leg.  J-Jvery  mu.scle  of  his  countenance  was  quivering  with 
the  agony  of  terror.  He  said  to  me,  '  Do  you  think  they  will  take 
our  lives?  I  am  badly  wounded,  but  I  tliink  not  mortally.  Per- 
haps we  might  purchase  our  lives  by  promising  them  a  largo 
reward.     Ho  you  think  thero  is  any  cluaice  ?' 

♦Wcstcru  Annals. 


Ti:nR[ToiUAL  Uistoiues  —  Illinois. 


2i9 


"  '  Dr.  Y.,'  i:aid  I,  '  do  not  let  us  waste  the  few  monients  that 
3'et  remain  to  us  in  such  vain  hopes.  Our  fate  is  inevitable.  h\ 
a  few  moments  we  must  appear  before  the  1  ■  :  of  (iod.  Let  us 
endeavor  to  make  what  jireparation  is  yet  in  oar  power.'  '  Oh! 
1  cannot  die  ! '  oxelaimed  he;  'I  am  not  fit  to  die  —  if  I  had  but 
a  short  time  to  prepare  —  death  is  awful ! '  I  pointed  tu  ensign 
lionan,  who,  though  mortally  wounded,  and  nearly  down,  was 
still  fighting  with  desperation  upon  one  knee. 

"  '  Look  at  tl.'at  man,'  said  I,  '  at  least  he  dies  like  a  soldier ! ' 

" '  Yes,'  re|)licd  the  unfortunate  man,  witli  a  convulsive 
gasp,  'but  helms  no  terrors  of  the  future  —  he  is  an  unbe- 
liever! ' 

"  At  this  moment  a  young  Indian  raised  his  tomahawk  at  me. 
B}'  springing  aside  I  avoided  the  blow  wliich  was  aimed  at  my 
skull,  but  which  alighted  on  my  shoulder.  I  seized  him  around 
the  neck,  and,  while  exerting  my  utmost  efTorts  to  get  possession 
of  his  scalping  knife,  which  hung  in  a  scabbard  over  his  breast, 
I  was  dragged  froni  his  grasp  by  another  and  older  Indian. 

"  The  latter  bore  mo,  struggling  and  resisting,  towards  the 
lake.  Notwithstanding  tlie  rapidity  with  which  I  was  hurried 
along,,!  recognized,  as  I  passed  them,  the  lifeless  remains  of  the 
unfortunate  surgeon.  Some  murderous  tomahawk  had  stretched 
him  upon  the  very  spot  wlierc  I  had  last  seen  liim. 

"  I  w^as  immediately  plunged  into  the  water,  and  he'd  there 
witli  a  forcible  hand,  notwithstandirig  my  resistance.  I  soon  per- 
ceived, however,  that  the  object  of  my  captor  was  r>  j  to  drown 
me,  as  he  held  me  firmly  in  such  a  position  as  to  place  my  head 
above  the  water.  This  reassured  mc,  and  regarding  lilm  atten- 
tively, I  soon  recognized,  in  spite  of  the  paint,  with  wliich  he  was 
disguised.  The  Black  Pariti&je. 

"When  the  firing  had  somewhat  subsided,  my  preserver  bore 
me  from  the  water  and  conducted  me  up  tlie  sand  banks.  It  was 
a  burning  August  morning,  rnd  walking  through  tlie  sand  in  my 
drenched  condition,  was  inexpressibly  painful  and  fatiguing.  I 
stopped  and  took  ofl  my  shoes  to  fiee  them  from  the  sand,  with 
whicli  they  were  nearly  filled,  when  a  squaw  seized  and  carried 
them  olT,  and  I  was  obliged  to  proceed  without  them.  Vv'hen  we 
Lad  gained  the  prairie,  I  was  met  by  my  father,  who  told  mc  that 


250 


Tuttle's  CiiyTEyyiAL  XonTinvEST. 


my  husband  was  safe,  and  but  slightly  wounded.  The}-  led  me 
gently  back  toward  the  Chicago  river,  along  the  southern  Ijank 
of  which  was  a  Pottawatomie  encampment.  At  one  time  F  was 
placed  upon  a  hor.sc  without  a  saddle,  but  soon  finding  the  motion 
insupportable,  I  sprang  off.  Supported  partly  by  my  kind  con- 
ductor, anil  partly  b}-  another  Indian,  Pce-so-Uan,  who  held  dang- 
ling in  his  hand  the  scalp  of  Cajit.  "Wells,  I  dragged  my  fainting 
steps  to  one  of  the  wigwams. 

"The  wife  of  Wau-hee-nce-jnali,  a  chief  frotn  the  Illinois  river, 
was  Standing  near,  and  seeing  my  exhusted  condition,  she  sei/'.ed 
a  kettle,  dipped  up  some  water  from  a  little  stream  that  flowed 
near,  threw  into  it  some  maple  sugar,  and  stirring  it  up  with  her 
liand,  gave  it  to  me  to  drink.  This  act  of  kindness,  in  the  midst 
of  so  many  atrocities,  touched  mc  most  sensibl  v,  but  my  attention 
was  soon  diverted  to  another  object.  The  fort  had  become  a 
scene  of  plunder  to  such  as  remained  after  the  troops  had  marched 
out.  The  cattle  had  been  shot  down  as  they  ran  at  large  and  lay 
dead  or  dving  around. 

"  As  the  noise  of  the  firing  grew  gradually  less,  and  the 
stragglers  from  the  victorious  party  dropped  in,  I  received  con- 
firmation of  what  my  father  had  hurriedly  communicated  in 
our  leuconter  on  the  lake  shore ;  namely,  that  the  whites  had 
surrendered  after  the  loss  of  about  two-thirds  their  number. 
The}'  had  stipulated  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives,  and  those 
of  the  remaining  women  and  chidrcn,  and  for  their  delivery  at 
some  of  tlie  British  posts,  unless  ransomed  by  traders  in  the 
Indian  country.  It  appears  that  the  wounded  prisoners  were  not 
considered  as  included  in  the  stipulation,  and  a  horrible  scene 
occurreil  upon  their  being  brought  into  camp. 

"An  old  squaw,  infuriated  by  the  loss  of  friends,  or  excited  by 
the  sanguinary  scenes  around  her,  seemed  po.ssessed  by  a  demo- 
niac ferocity.  She  seized  a  stable  fork  a;  d  assaulted  one  miser- 
able victim  who  lay  groaning  and  writhing  in  the  agony  of  his 
wounds,  aggravated  by  the  scorching  beams  of  the  sun.  AVith  a 
delicacy  of  feeling  scarcely  to  have  been  expected  under  such 
circumstances,  Wmi-hec-nee-^nch  stretched  a  mat  across  two  poles 
between  me  and  this  dreadful  scene.  I  was  thus  spared,  in  some 
degree,  a  view  of  its  horrors,  although  I  could  not  entirely  close 


Tj-:ni!iToj;iAL  IIi^touies  —  Iluxois. 


251 


my  cars  to  the  cries  of  the  sulTcrcr.  The  folk)wing  night  five 
more  of  the  wounded  prisoners  were  tomahawked." 

But  why  dwell  upon  this  ])ainfal  subject?  Why  describe  the 
butchery  of  the  chikh\ii,  twelve  of  whom,  i)laced  together  on  one 
baggage  wagon,  fell  beneath  the  merciless  tomahawk  of  one  young 
savage?  This  atrocious  act  was  committed  after  the  whites, 
twenty-seven  in  number,  had  surrendered.  Wh<Mi  Capt.  Wells 
beheld  it  he  exclaimed  :  "  Is  that  their  game?  Then  I  will  kill, 
too."  So  saying,  be  turned  his  horse's  head,  and  started  for  the 
T'i.''in  camp  near  the  fort,  where  had  been  left  their  squaws  and 
cl.:     -cn. 

Several  Indians  pursuei^  ^im,  firing  at  him  as  he  galloped  along. 
He  laid  himself  flat  on  the  neck  of  his  horse,  loading  and  firing  in 
that  position  ;  at  length  the  balls  of  his  pursuers  took  eHect,  kill- 
ing his  horse  and  severely  wounding  himself.  At  this  moment 
he  was  met  hy  Winnemeg  and  Wau-ban-see,  who  endeavored  to 
save  him  from  the  savages  who  had  now  overtaken  him  ;  but  as 
they  supported  liim  along,  after  having  disengaged  him  from  his 
horse,  tie  received  his  death  blow  from  one  of  the  party  (Pee-so- 
tum),  who  stabbed  him  in  the  back. 

The  heroic  resolution  of  one  of  the  soldier's  wives  deserves  to 
be  recorded.  She  had.  from  the  first,  expressed  a  duLcrmination 
never  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  savages,  believing  that  their 
prisoners  were  always  subjected  to  tortures  worse  than  death. 
When,  therefore,  a  party  came  up  to  her  to  make  her  prisoner, 
she  fought  with  desperation,  refusing  to  surrender,  although  as- 
sured of  safe  treatment,  and  literally  suffered  herself  to  be  cut  to 
pieces,  rather  than  become  their  captive.* 

The  heart  of  Capt.  Wells  was  taken  out  and  cut  into  pieces,  and 
distributed  among  the  tribes,  llis  mutilated  body  was  not  in- 
terred until  "  Billy  Caldwell,"  Tecumseh's  secretary,  arrived  and 
buried  it.  The  head  was  entirely  separated  from  the  body,  an  1 
the  latter  was  cut  into  several  pieces.  The  family  of  ^Ir.  Kinzie 
bad  been  taken  from  the  boat  to  their  home,  by  friendly  Indians, 
and  there  strictly  guarded.  Very  .soon  a  hostile  party  of  the 
Pottawatoinies  arrived  from  the  Wabash,  and  "  it  retjuired  all  tho 


-v;"i 


*  Western  Aunals. 


253 


Tcrn.KS  CEXXEyxLiL  Northwest.. 


skill  and  bravery  uf  Black  Partridge,  Waubansec,  Billy  Caldwell 
and  other  friendly  Indians  to  protect  tiicm.''  Mcssenuers  had 
been  sent  by  the  Chicago  Indians  to  notify  all  hostile  tribes  of 
the  intended  evacuation  of  the  fort,  and  of  their  plan  of  attacking 
the  troops.  Wherever  these  messages  were  delivered,  the  Indians 
Avasted  no  tinie  in  repairing  to  the  scene  of  massacre,  but  most  of 
thorn  arrived  too  late.  These  were  infuriated  at  their  disapjioint- 
rneiit,  and  sought  to  glut  their  vengeance  on  the  wounded  and 
in'isonors.  Air.  Kinzie  and  his  family  escaped  through  the  pro- 
tection of  the  .savages.  Of  th  other  prisoners,  Capt.  Ileald  and 
Mr.s.  Ifeald  were  sent  across  the  lake  to  St.  Joseph's  the  day  after 
the  battle.  Capt.  Ileald  had  received  two  wounds,  and  his  wife 
seven,  the  ball  of  one  of  which  was  cut  from  her  arm  by  Mr.  Kin- 
zie  with  a  pen  knife,  after  the  engagement.  Mrs.  Ileald  was  ran- 
somed on  the  battle  field  by  a  half-breed,  for  a  mule  and  ten 
bottles  of  whisky.  Capt.  Ileald  was  taken  prisoner  by  an  Indian 
from  the  Kankakee,  who,  seeing  the  wounded  and  suflering  con- 
dition of  Mrs.  Heald,  generously  released  his  prisoner,  that  he 
might  accompany  his  wife.  But  when  this  Indian  returned  to  his 
village  on  the  Kankakee,  he  found  that  his  generosity  had  excited 
so  much  dis.satisfaction  in  his  band,  that  he  resolved  to  vi  It  St. 
Joseph's  and  reclaim  his  prisoner.  News  of  his  intention  having 
reached  Topeneebe,  Keepotah,  Chandonnai  and  other  friendly 
braves,  they  scrit  them  in  a  bark  canoe,  under  the  ehargo  of  Ilob- 
inson,  a  half-breed,  along  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Michigan,  tlirce 
hundred  miles,  to  Mackinac,  where  they  were  delivered  over  to 
the  commanding  officer. 

Lieut.  Helm  was  wounded,  in  the  action,  and  taken  prisoner ; 
and  afterwards  taken  by  some  friendly  Indians  to  the  Au  Sable, 
and  from  thence  to  St.  Louis,  and  liberated  from  captivity  through 
the  agency  of  Thomas  Forsyth.  Mrs.  ilelm  received  a  slight 
wound  in  the  ankle,  had  1  or  horse  shot  from  under  hei  and,  after 
passing  through  the  agonizing  scenes  described,  went  with  the 
family  of  Mr.  Kinzie  to  Detroit.  The  soldiers,  with  their  wives 
and  children,  were  dispersed  auiong  the  diflercnt  villages  of  the 
Pottawatomies,  upon  the  Illinois,  Wabash,  Hock  river  and  Alil- 
waukee.  The  largest  proportion  were  taken  to  Detroit,  and  i-an- 
somed  the  following  spring.     Some,  however,  remained  in  captiv- 


ity another  y 
from  an  encil 
On  the  1!: 
Illinois  to  foi 
tional  conveii 
kia,  in  July,! 
they  had  frai 
the  first  leirisi 
day  and  the 
inhabitants  a| 
residents  of  t| 
the  right  of 
was  to  eomm 
following,  but 
camber  there; 
pic  for  adopt 
labors  of  thei 
elected,  met  a 
machinery  of 
been  duly  elec 
lieut.  governo: 
Gov.  Bond,  in 
tion  of  the  gei 
a  canal  bctwec 
session  commc 
tinued  until  t 
enacted  the  te 
such  additionf 


■.'w-'.tM 


^c# 


Teihhtorial  Histories  —  Illixois. 


253 


ity  another  year,  aiidexpcrionccd  more  kindness  than  was  expected 
from  an  enemy  so  merciless. 

On  tlic  18th  0£  April,  1818,  congress  authorized  the  people  of 
Illinois  to  form  x  state  constitution,  and  delegates  to  the  corstitu- 
tional  conventio.'i  were  chosen.  This  body  assembled  at  Kaskas- 
kia,  in  July,  and  closed  their  labors  by  signing  the  constitution 
they  had  framed,  ou  the  2Gth  day  of  August.  The  election  for 
the  first  legislature  was  appointed  to  be  held  on  the  third  Thurs- 
day and  the  two  following  days  in  September,  and  all  wliite  male 
inhabitants  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  who  were  actual 
residents  of  the  state  at  the  time  of  signing  the  constitution,  had 
the  ri':;ht  of  suiTragc.  The  first  session  of  the  general  assembly 
was  to  commence  at  Kiskaskia  ou  the  first  Monday  in  October 
following,  but  all  subsequent  sessions  on  the  first  ^Monday  in  De- 
cember thereafter.  The  constitution  was  not  referred  to  the  peo- 
ple for  adoption.  In  general,  the  latter  were  satisfied  with  the 
labors  of  their  servants.  Members  to  the  general  assembly  were 
elected,  met  at  the  time  appointed,  and  set  in  opei'ation  the  new 
machinery  of  government.  Shadrach  Bond,  of  Kaskaskia,  had 
been  duly  elected  governor,  and  Pierre  Menard,  of  the  same  place, 
lieut.  governor.  Their  terms  of  service  were  from  1818  to  1822. 
Gov.  Bond,  in  his  brief  inaugural  address,  called  the  early  atten- 
tion of  the  general  assembly  to  a  survey,  preparatory  to  opening 
a  canal  between  the  Illirois  river  and  lake  Michigan.  The  second 
session  commenced  about  the  1st  of  February,  1810,  and  con- 
tinued until  the  20th.  During  this  period  they  revised  and  re- 
enacted  tl^c  territorir.l  kiws  as  far  as  apjjlicable  to  the  state,  with 
such  additional  laws  as  the  public  exigencies  seemed  to  require. 


'!■'. 


^.m 


m 


251 


TVTTLli's  CENTEWyiAL  XoiiTIIWEST. 


CnAPTEE  XXII. 

TKRUITORIAL  IIISTOKIKS  — WISCONSIN. 

Wisconsin  umlor  French  —  Eni^lish  iiiid  Anu'iican  Itulc  —  Orgimization  of 
the  Torritoi-ial  Government  —  AclniiniHlnitioi's  of  Dodge,  Tallniiulge  siud 
Doty  —  Organization  of  the  State  Govcrnnieut. 

PuEvrors  to  1818  the  settlements  in  what  is  now  Wi.sconsin, 
were,  eitlier  under  Frencli,  English  or  Americfin  rule.  If  tlic 
latter,  it  was  government  under  the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  was, 
for  judicial  j,urposcs,  connected  with  one  of  the  older  territories. 
In  this  year  it  was  attached  to  Michigan,  and  was  divided  into 
two  counties  known  as  Brown  and  Crawford.  Brown  county  in- 
cluded all  the  territory  east  of  the  line  drawn  due  north  from  the 
northern  boundary  of  Illinois,  through  the  middle  of  the  portage 
between  the  Fox  and  WiscoiLsin  rivers.  Crawford  county  cm- 
braced  the  territory  bctWv^en  the  Mississip])i  river  and  the  western 
boundary  of  Brown  county.  And  on  the  9th  of  October,  IS'29, 
by  act  of  the  legislative  assembly  of  ^liehigan,  Iowa  was  formed 
from  that  portion  of  Crawford  couuty  lying  south  of  the  Wiscon- 
sin rive;  and  on  the  Cth  of  Se])tember,  1834,  the  western  bound, 
niy  of  Iowa  county  was  changed  to  the  line  between  the  Green 
Bay  and  Wisconsin  land  districts,  which  was  a  north  and  south 
line  from  the  northern  boundary  of  Illinois  on  the  range  line 
between  ranges  eight  and  nine. 

After  the  organi/ation  of  Iowa  county  in  1830,  the  county  of 
Crawford  WH«*  uttao;iC(l  to  Iowa  county  for  judicial  purposes,  and 
remained  so  until  Wisconsin  territory  was  organized  in  1830.  In 
the  s[)ring  ui  1835,  the  legislative  council  of  Micliigan  ))asscd  an 
act  authorizing  the  people  of  the  peninsula  to  form  a  constitution 
and  state  government  for  Michigan.  By  this  act,  all  tliat  j),nrt  of 
the  territory  of  [Michigan  lying  w'cst  of  lake  Michigan  was  left 
"without  organization,  thoudi  measures  were  being  taken  in  con- 
gress  for  the  organization  of  Wisconsin  territory.     In  the  inter- 


Teiihitoiual  Histoiues — Wiscox.'^ix. 


rcgniup,  Jolm  S.  ITornc',  secretary  of  Michigan  torritoiy,  as  act- 
ing governor,  issued  a  proclamation  on  the  !)lh  of  November, 
1835,  convening  the  legishitive  council  of  ^Michigan  Cconiprising 
the  excluded  territory  referred  to)  at  Green  IJay,  Jan.  1,  ISOii. 
The  following  were  the  members:  First  district,  John  Lowe, 
George  II.  Walker,  Gilbert  Knapp,  William  B.  Slaughter  and 
B.  n.  Edgerton ;  second  district,  AVilliam  S.  Hamilton  and  James 
K.  Vineyard;  third  district,  T,  P.  Burnett;  fourth  district,  Allen 
Ilill  and  J.  Barker;  fifth  district,  J.  B.  Teas  and  Jeremiah  Smith. 
Col.  William  S.  Hamilton  was  elected  president;  A.  G.  Ellis, 
secretary;  Levi  Sterling,  scrgeant-at-arms ;  and  W.  B.  Long,  re- 
cording secretary. 

Tlie  act  of  congress  "establishing  the  territori;.'  .'^rn'nent 
of  Wisconsin"  was  approved  April  20,  1836.  i^.  p..  :  -c-d  that 
all  the  countr}'^  included  within  certain  prescril,;d  c  iios,  in- 

cluding all  the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  states  of  vVisconsin, 
Iowa  and  Minnesota,  and  a  part  of  the  territory  of  Dakota, 
should  form,  and  after  the  third  day  of  July,  1836,  constitute  a 
separate  territor}',  for  the  purposes  of  the  temporary  government 
of  Wisconsin;  at  which  time  all  the  power  and  authority  of 
the  government  of  Michigan  in  and  over  the  said  territory  ceased. 
The  executive  power  over  the  territoroy  was  vested  in  a  governor, 
who  was  also  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  and  whose  approval 
of  all  laws  was  necessary  before  they  sliould  take  cfTcct. 

The  first  important  thing  to  be  done  to  complete  the  formation 
of  the  embryo  government  was  the  organization  of  the  lej'slativc 
assembly,  preliminary  to  which  a  census  was  to  be  taken  by  the 
sheriffs,  and  an  apportionment  of  members  of  the  two  branches 
made  by  the  governor,  among  the  several  counties. 

That  portion  of  the  territory  wliicli  comprises  the  present  state 
consisted  of  four  counties  —  Brown,  Crawford,  Iowa  and  Mil- 
waukee. 

The  time  fixed  by  the  governor  for  the  election  was  the  10th  of 
October,  1836.  The  elecL.on  excited  a  very  considerable  interest, 
growing  chiefly  out  of  local  considerations.  The  permanent 
location  of  the  "seat  of  government,"'  the  division  of  counties, 
and  the  location  of  county  seats,  were  the  questions  tliat  chiefly 
influenced  the  elections;  while  the  views  of  candidates  in  rcla- 


256 


TvtTLk'',    CfXTEXS^FAL  NoJiTUWEfiT. 


tioii  to  national  politics  Lad  little  or  no  iiiflnciicc  upon  the  re- 
sults. 

^Ir.  John  Atchinson,  an  enterprising  citi/.eii  of  Cialena  (hiring 
tlie  summer  and  autumn  of  18^0,  having  laid  out  a  town  plat  be- 
tween the  two  ]*lattc  mounds,  to  which  he  travc  the  name  of  Bel- 
mont,  erected  there  several  buildings  desi<rned  for  the  accommoda- 
tioii  of  the  lcgish\tivc  assembly  ;  and  the  governor  by  proclama- 
tion, ajipointdl  that  j)lace,  and  the  25tli  of  October  as  the  time, 
for  the  meeting  of  the  lirat  session  of  the  assembly.  vV  quorum 
of  each  liouse  was  in  attendance  at  the  time  fixed  for  the  meet- 
ing; and  the  two  hou.ses  were  speedily  organized  by  the  election 
of  lion.  Henry  S.  Baird,  of  Green  Bay,  president  of  the  council  ; 
and  Peter  Hill  l^igle,  of  Dubuque,  speaker  of  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives. Kach  of  the  tlirec  brandies  of  the  infant  government 
was  now  in  working  order,  except  that  it  remained  for  the  legis- 
lative asscnd)ly  to  divide  the  territory  into  judicial  districts,  and 
make  an  assignment  of  the  judges.  This  was  speedily  done. 
Crawford  and  Iowa  constituted  the  first  district,  to  which  the 
chief  justice  was  assigned  ;  Dubuque  and  Des  ^[oines,  the  second, 
to  which  Judge  Irvin  was  assigned  ;  and  Judge  Frazer  to  the 
third,  consisting  of  ^Milwauk^o  and  Brown  counties. 

Gov.  Dodge  in  his  first  message  directed  attention  to  dellning 
tlie  jurisdiction  and  powers  of  the  several  courts,  and  of  matters 
connected  with  their  administration;  rocommendcd  memorializ- 
ing congress  on  extending  the  right  oi  preemption  to  actual  set- 
tlers and  to  miners  on  the  mineral  lands,  the  removal  of  the  ob- 
structions in  the  rapids  of  the  upper  ^lississippi,  the  construction 
of  harbors  and  light  houses  on  Lake  ^Michigan,  the  improvement 
oi  the  navigation  of  the  Fox  river,  and  a  survey  of  the  same  frniu 
Green  Bay  to  Fort  Winnebago,  the  improvement  of  the  liock 
river,  the  increase  of  lands  to  the  territory  for  .school  pnrpo^-es, 
and  for  organizing  and  arming  the  militia  for  the  jirotection  of  the 
frontier  settlements. 

The  great  and  paramount  (|uestion  of  tiie  session  was  the  loca- 
tion of  the  .seat  of  government.  To  this,  all  others  were  subor- 
dinate and  made  subservient.  'I'lio  wild  spirit  of  speculation, — 
which,  in  the  earlier  pai't  of  the  year  1830,  had,  like  a  tornado, 
swept  over  the  wdiole  countij,  and  which,  ha\  ing  iii\  aded  and 


V^>f(Hoii»  Cyrus  0.  Carpeoterj/ 


V     -      I 


m 


HI' 


Ti:inuToni.iL  JI isroh'tns  —M'jscoysry.  'J57 

unsettled  tliG  prices  of  every  species  of  pergonal  jM-opcrty,  peizcd 
upon  the  unsold  public  domain,  which  was  transferred  by  niillinns 
of  acres  from  tlie  control  of  the  government  and  tlio  occupation 
of  the  settler,  to  the  dominion  of  the  speculator, --although  on 
the  wane  in  the  last  month  of  that  year,  was  still  omnipotent,  and 
'exerted  a  marked  inliucncc  upon  many  of  the  members  of  the 
Belmont  legislature. 

Nearly  four  weeks  were  spent  in  skirmishing  outside  the  lt>gis- 
lativc  halls,  uhen,  on  the  21st  of  November,  the  battle  was  for- 
mally oiiencd  in  the  council,  and  the  bill  considered  in  committee 
of  the  whole  until  the  23d,  when  it  was  reported  back'  in  the  form 
in  which  it  became  a  law,  fixing  on  Madison  as  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, and  providing  that  the  sessions  of  the  legislative  assembly 
should  be  held  at  Burlington,  in  Des  Moines  county,  until  ISrarch 
4,  1839,  unless  the  public  buildings  at  ^ladison  should  be  sooner 
completed. 

Gen.  Henry  Dodge  was  the  first  governor  of  the  territory  of 
"Wisconsin.  He  was  succeeded  by  -Tames  Duane  Doty,  who  was 
succeeded  by  Gov*.  N,  P.  Tallmadge.  Ileni'y  Dodge  was  reap- 
pointed governor  to  succeed  the  latter  i;i  18-15.  The  jn'ogress  of 
the  territory  under  these  several  administrations  was  rapid,  and 
in  18-lG,  Hon.  Morgan  L.  Martin,  delegate  to  congress  in  the  house 
of  representatives,  gave  notice  for  leave  to  introduce  a  bill  to 
enable  the  peo[)le  of  Wisconsin  to  form  a  constitution  and  state 
government,  and  for  the  admission  of  such  stxate  into  the  Union. 
On  the  loth,  he  introduced  such  a  bill;  which  was  read  twice,  and 
referred  to  the  committee  on  territories.  After  amendments  a  bill 
was  agreed  upon  "n  hw*ii  houses.  In  the  same  year  the  governor 
of  Wisconsin  issue  1  his  jM'oclamation  for  the  election  of  a  hundred 
and  twenty-five  mc'ibci-.=  to  a  convention  to  form  a  state  constitu- 
tion. The  estimate  ol  population  assumed  by  the  legislative  as- 
sembly for  fixing  a  basis  was  a  hundred  and  seventeen  thousand ; 
but  the  excess  exhibited  by  the  census  over  this  estimate  resulted 
in  a  more  numerous  body  than  had  been  anticipated.  The  con- 
vention met  at  ]\[adison  on  the  fifth  day  of  October,  1816.  D.  A. 
J.  Upham  was  elected  president,  and  Lafayette  Kellogg  secretary  ; 
and  after  forming  a  constitution,  and  adopting  it,  they  adjourned 
on  the  16th  of  December.  This  constitution  was  submitted  to 
17 


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Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  M580 

(716)  872-4503 


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268 


Tvttll's  Cextexxial  KoRTinVEST. 


popular  vote  on  the  first  Tuc;  dny  of  April,  1847,  and  was  rejected, 
—  ayes  14,119,  noes  20,23c).  The  second  con.stitiitipnal  conven- 
tion met  at  the  capitol  on  the  loth  of  December,  1847,  and  was 
organized  by  the  election  of  ^[organ  L.  !N[ariin  as  pr>..Mdent,  and 
Thomas  McIIugh  secretary,  and  continued  in  session  ur.til  the  first 
day  of  February.  The  result  of  its  labors  was  the  constitution 
submitted  to  the  people  on  the  second  ^Monday  of  March  ensuing 
(1848),  which,  having  been  duly  ratified,  constitutes  the  present 
fundamental  law  cf  the  state ;  the  vote  being  16.0G7  for  its  adop- 
tion, and  6,252  against  it.  With  this  constitution  "Wisconsin  was 
admitted  into  the  Fnion  on  the  29th  of  May,  1848. 

In  closing  this  account  of  the  territorial  history  of  Wiscon-sin, 
it  may  be  p''oper  to  say,  that  Wisconsin  has  successively  been  un- 
der the  government  of  Virginia,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  ^fich- 
igan.  The  territory  once  belonged  to  Virginia;  or,  at  least,  she 
has  now  the  full  credit  of  having  ceded  it,  together  with  all  the 
territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river,  to  the  United  States.  Up 
to  the  year  1800,  Wisconsin  was  under  the  authority  of  the  terri- 
torial government  established  in  Ohio.  In  that  year  she  was 
attached  to  Indiana  territory,  and  remained  so  until  1809,  when 
the  Illinois  territory  was  organized,  extending  north  to  lake  Su- 
perior, and,  of  course,  including  Wisconsin.  When  Illinois  took 
her  i)laee  in  the  Union,  in  1818,  our  territory  was  finally  attached 
to  Michitran,  and  remained  so  until  the  organization  of  the  terri- 
torial  government  of  1836. 

It  will  thus  be  seen,  that,  within  the  space  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-six  years,  Wisconsin  has  been  successively  ruled  by  two 
kings,  one  state,  and  four  territories,  and  is  now  in  a  condition  to 
govern  herself,  and  all  brought  about  without  any  great  internal 
exciting  events  to  produce  these  revolutions.  Tlic  people  have 
submitted  to  each  change  without  a  struggle  or  a  murmur.  To 
summarize:  Wisconsin  has  been  under  the  government  of  France 
from  1670  to  1759,  eighty-nine  years;  of  Great  Britain,  1759  to 
1794,  thirty-five  years;  of  Virginia  and  Ohio,  from  1794  to  1800, 
six  years;  of  Indiana,  from  1800  to  1809,  nine  years;  of  Illinois, 
1809  to  1818,  nine  years;  of  Michigan,  1818  to  1836,  eighteen 
years:  total,  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  yeans. 


The  Black  Hawk  War. 


259 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 


THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR. 

Sketch  of  Black  Hawk  and  Keokuk  —  Causes  tlial  Led  to  the  War  — History 
of  the  Contest  —  Tlie  Bravery  of  Black  Hawk  —  His  Fall,  Arrest  and  Im- 
prisonment—  Incidents  of  the  Liberation. 

Before  pa.'^sing  on  to  note  tlio  principal  events  in  the  history 
of  Iowa  territory,  let  us  pause  to  glance  at  an  account  of  the 
Black  Ha'/k  war.  This  war  is  connected  with  the  history  of 
Iowa,  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  alike,  and  may  properly  be  consid- 
ered separately  at  this  point.  Black  Hawk,  the  Sac  chieftain,  was 
born  at  the  principal  Sac  village  on  the  Rock  river,  in  the  year 
17G7.  As  with  many  other  distinguished  warriors,  he  was  not  a 
chief's  son,  but  rose  to  that  station  through  his  own  ability.  At 
the  early  age  of  I'iteen  he  distinguished  himself  by  killing  an 
enemy,  and  was  at  once  permitted  to  paint  himself  after  the  cus- 
tom ot  the  Sac  braves.  At  a  later  day  he  was  also  permitted  to 
wear  feathers  according  to  the  ancient  customs  of  his  tribe. 

As  early  as  1783,  he  united  in  an  expedition  against  the  Os- 
nge.^,  and  had  the  high  fortune  to  kill  several  of  the  enemy.  For 
this  brave  act  he  was  now  permitted,  for  the  first  time,  to  join  in 
the  scalp  dance.  Subsequently  he  became  the  leader  of  a  small 
band  of  his  own  tribe,  and  again  performed  acts  of  great  valor. 
Ilis  band  was  soon  increased,  and  jircsently  he  found  himself  at 
the  head  of  more  than  a  hundred  braves.  With  this  band  he 
marched  to  an  Osage  village  on  the  Missouri,  but  finding  it  de- 
serted, most  of  his  followers  became  discouraged  and  returned 
home.  Black  Hawk,  hoxNCver,  with  only  half  a  do;';tn  followers, 
pursued  the  enem}',  and  after  several  day's  march,  succeeded  in 
overtaking  a  small  party  and  killing  one  man  and  a  boy.  Secur- 
ing their  .scalps,  he  returned  home,  being  greeted  with  additional 
respect. 

In  1786  he  was  again  marching  at  the  head  of  two  hundred 


,/.'^^!", 


"-"'-'\j 


■km 


(i-iil 


'"':;T; 


T utile's  Cemexnial  Northwest. 


braves  into  the  country  of  the  enom}'.  On  this  occasion  he  mctti 
party  quite  equal  to  his  own  in  nuniborrf,  and  a  battle  took  place 
in  whicli  he  was  victorious,  having  killeJ  one  huiKlred  and  losing 
only  nineteen.  Nearly  a  score  of  the  enemy  fell  by  his  own  hand. 
This  successful  event  had  a  two  fold  result  —  that  of  keeping  tho 
Osagcs  in  check  and  winning  glory  for  Black  llawk.  The  Sacs, 
with  this  brave  at  theif  head,  now  turned  their  attention  to  the 
Cherokees,  who  had  committed  several  depredations  ui)on  them. 
A  battle  was  fought  between  the.se  tribes  upon  the  Merrimack 
river,  below  St.  Louis,  in  which  IJlack  Hawk's  father  was  killed, 
but  the  Cherokees  were  defeated  and  compelled  to  retreat  with  a 
loss  of  twenty-eight  men,  the  Sacs  losing  but  seven.  So  great 
was  his  success  at  this  battle  that  he  was  immediately  promoted 
to  the  high  station  of  chief. 

In  the  year  1800,  '•  he  made  another  excursion,"  says  Mr.  Con- 
clin,  "  against  the  O.sages,  at  the  head  of  about  live  hundred  Sacs 
and  Foxes,  and  a  hundred  lowas,  who  had  joined  him  as  allies. 
After  a  long  march  they  reached  and  destroyed  about  forty  lodges 
of  the  enemy,  killing  many  of  their  bravest  warriors,  five  of  whom 
were  slain  by  the  leader  of  the  invading  army."  In  1802,  he 
waged  a  successful  war  against  the  Chippewas,  Kaskaskias  and 
Osages,  killing  over  one  hundred  warriors. 

In  1803,  Black  Ilawk  made  a  visit  to  St.  Louis,  to  see  his 
"  Spanish  father."  lie  was  well  received,  but  found  many  sad 
faces  because  the  United  States  were  about  to  take  possession  of 
their  country.  Soon  after,  Lieut.  Pike  visited  the  camj)  of  Black 
Hawk,  made  several  presents,  and  delivered  a  speech  to  the  Sacs, 
telling  them  that  their  American  father  would  treat  them  well, 
lie  presented  them  with  an  American  flag,  which  was  hoisted,  and 
requested  them  to  pull  down  the  British  flag  and  give  him  their 
British  medals,  jtromising  to  give  them  others  from  their  Ameri- 
can father.  This,  however,  Black  Hawk  declined,  saying  that  his 
people  wished  to  have  two  fathers. 

Soon  after,  the  building  of  Fort  Edwards  near  the  head  of  the 
Des  Moines  rapids,  ga.'c  great  uneasiness  to  the  Sacs.  They  sent 
a  deputation  to  that  fioint,  which  returned  with  un.satisfactory  re- 
ports. Black  Ilawk  now  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  strong 
force  and  marched  to  Fort  Madison,  which  stood  ou  the  west  bank 


TiiK  Black  Hawk  Wah. 


2G1 


f 


of  the  Mi.-riis.sippi,  some  distance  down  the  Des  Mijiiics.  This 
fort  was  garrisoned  with  about  fifty  men.  Black  Hawk's  spies 
havini;  ascertained  that  the  soldiers  marched  out  of  the  fort  everv 
morning  for  exercise,  ho  determined  to  conceal  his  party  near  tlic 
place  and  shoot  tiicni  down.  On  the  morning  of  the  proposed  at- 
tack several  soldiers  defded  out  upon  the  plain,  and  three  of  their 
number  were  instantly  shot  down.  The  Indians  then  opened  fire 
upon  the  fort,  but  being  unable  to  accomplish  anything  in  this 
way  they  returned  to  their  village. 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  war  of  1812,  the  Sacs  tendered  their 
services  to  the  United  Slates,  but  their  ofi'er  was  declined.  They 
had  not  been  as  liberally  supplied  with  presents  by  the  Ameri- 
cans as  they  had  anticipated,  and  in  the  meantime  the  British 
agents  had  ''artfully  fomented  their  discontent,  and  labored  to 
win  their  confidence  by  the  most  liberal  distriUxtion  among  them 
of  goods  and  ardent  spirits."  Soon  after  the  declaration  of  war  a 
British  trader  appeared  among  them  with  two  boats  loaded  with 
goods.  The  British  flag  was  immediately  hoisted,  and  the  trader 
told  Black  Hawk  that  he  had  been  sent  by  Col.  Dixon,  who  was 
then  at  Green  Bay,  with  a  large  quantity  of  goods,  and  who  was 
desirous  that  tiie  Sac  chieftain  should  raise  a  party  of  warriors  and 
join  him.  Black  Hawk  had  but  little  difficulty  in  raising  two 
hundred  braves.  At  the  head  of  this  band  he  marched  to  Green 
Bay,  where  he  found  Col,  Dixon  encamped  with  a  large  body  of 
Indians  from  various  tribes,  who  had  already  been  furnished  with 
arms  and  ammunition. 

Dixon  received  Black  Ilawk  with  many  marks  of  respect,  told 
him  that  the  English  were  about  to  driv<3  the  Amcticans  from  their 
hunting  grounds,  and  placing  a  medal  about  his.  neck  he  said, 
"  you  are  to  command  all  the  braves  that  wdl  leave  here  the  day 
after  to-morrow  to  join  our  braves  near  Detroit."  Arms,  clothing, 
knives  and  tomahawks  were  now  distributed  among  Black  Hawk's 
band,  and  at  the  appointed  time  five  hundred  warriors  left  Green 
Bay  on  their  march  to  Detroit,  to  join  the  British  army.  This 
was  in  August,  1812,  shortly  after  the  massacre  at  Fort  Dearborn. 

Black  Hawk  was  unsuccessful  among  the  British,  and  being 
tired  with  successive  defeats,  he  returned  to  his  village  on  Rock 
river,  where,  in  all  probability,  he  would  have  remained  neutral 


•1'f 


^■^'n 


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m 


■■■i  \ 
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TUTTLES   CEyTEXyjAL  XoitTinVEST. 


had  it  not  been  for  the  murder  of  his  adopted  son.  By  this  hi\v- 
Icss  act  he  was  again  roused  to  vengeance  againt  the  Americans, 
and  after  remaining  a  few  days  at  the  village,  and  raising  a  band 
of  braves,  prepared  for  offensive  operations  upon  the  frontiers. 
The  party,  consisting  of  about  thirty,  descended  tlie  !Mississii)pi 
in  canoes  to  the  site  of  old  Fort  Madison,  which  had  been  aban- 
doned by  the  American  troops  and  burned.  Continuing  their 
course  they  landed  near  Cap  au  Gis,  where  they  killed  one  of  the 
United  States  rangers,  but  were  finally  dispersed  by  a  detach- 
ment from  Fort  Howard.  The  Indians,  however,  returned  to  the 
contest  and  a  battle  ensued  between  Black  Hawk's  party  and  the 
troops  of  Fort  Howard,  under  Lieut.  Drakeford  of  the  United 
States  rangers.  In  this  battle  the  Americans  lost  ten  killed  and 
several  wounded,  the  loss  being  about  equal  on  both  sides. 

In  1815,  when  the  Indians  along  the  Mississipj)i  valley  had 
been  notified  of  the  peace  between  the  United  States  and  England, 
they,  for  the  most  part,  ceased  hostilities;  but  Black  Ilawk  and 
his  band,  and  some  of  the  Pottawatomies,  were  not  inclined  to 
live  in  peace.  In  the  spring  of  1810  they,  in  connection  with  the 
British,  captured  the  garrison  at  Prairie  du  Cliien,  and  attacked 
some  boats  that  were  ascending  the  Mississippi  to  that  point  with 
troops  and  provisions.  One  of  the  boats  was  captured  and  several 
of  the  crew  killed.  The  boats  were  compelled  to  return.  In 
1816,  however.  Black  Ilawk  and  his  tribe  concluded  a  peace  with 
the  Americans,  by  which  the  hatchet  was  buried ;  and  now,  we 
hear  but  little  of  this  wonderful  Indian  until  the  hostilities  which 
broke  out  in  1832. 

Soon  after  this  treaty  the  United  States  government  built  Fort 
Armstrong,  upon  Rock  Island,  in  the  Mississippi  river,  and  but 
a  few  miles  from  the  Indian  village  where  Black  Hawk  resided. 
The  Sac  Indians  were  jealous  of  this  movement,  for  they  loved  to 
look  upon  Piock  Island  as  one  of  their  choisest  resorts.  They 
bad  a  traditionary  belief  that  this  island  was  the  favorite  residence 
of  a  good  spirit  which  dwelt  in  a  cave  in  the  rocks  on  which  Fort 
Armstrong  was  afterwards  built.  This  spirit  had  often  been  seen 
by  the  Indians,  but  after  the  erection  of  the  fort,  alarmed  by  the 
noise  and  intrusion  of  the  white  man,  it  spread  its  beautiful  wings 
and  departed. 


The  Black  Hawk  War. 


20)3 


■•u  y 


In  the  autumn  of  1818,  Black  Hawk  and  some  of  Lis  band 
went  on  a  visit  to  their  British  father  at  Maiden,  and  received 
many  presents  from  him.  A  medal  was  given  to  Black  Hawk 
for  his  fidelity  to  the  British,  and  lie  was  requested  to  make  an- 
nual visits  with  his  hand,  and  receive  such  presents  as  had  been 
promised  him  by  Col.  Di.xon  in  1812.  These  visits  were  regularly 
made  down  to  1830.  In  the  latter  year  Black  Hawk  and  his 
party  encamped  at  Two  llivers  for  the  purpose  of  hunting,  and 
while  there  were  so  badly  treated  by  some  white  men,  that  his 
prejudices  against  the  Americans  were  greatly  revived. 

In  the  ensuing  summer  the  Americans  urged  the  whole  of  the 
Sacs  and  Foxes  to  remove  to  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi. 
This  policy  was  urged  upon  them  by  the  agent  at  Fort  Armstrong. 
The  principal  Fox  chief,  and  several  of  the  Sac  chief.^,  among 
whom  was  Keokuk,  assented  to  the  removal.  The  latter  sent  a 
message  throuch  the  village  informing  the  Indians  that  it  was  the 
wish  of  the  great  father,  the  President,  that  they  should  all  go  to 
the  west  side  of  the  ^Ossissippi,  and  he  pointed  out  the  Iowa  river 
as  a  suitable  ])lace  for  their  new  village.  There  was  a  parry 
among  the  Sacs  called  the  "  British  Band,"  who  were  bitterly  op- 
posed to  a  removal ;  and  they  appealed  to  their  old  leader,  Black 
Ilawk,  for  his  decision  on  the  question.  lie  claimed  the  ground 
on  which  their  village  stood  had  never  been  sold,  and  that,  there- 
fore, the  Americans  had  no  right  to  insist  upon  the  measure. 

Bl:  k  Hawk  was  now  becoming  old,  and  he  felt  that  his  power 
in  the  tribe  was  waning  before  the  rising  popularity  of  Keokuk, 
his  rival.  He  now  resolved  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
band,  and,  if  possible,  recover  his  influence. 

However,  during  the  following  winter,  whih  Black  Hawk  and 
his  party  were  absent  on  a  hunting  expedition,  several  white  fam- 
ilies arrived  at  their  ^'illagc,  destroyed  some  of  their  lodges,  and 
(Kjmmenced  making  fences  over  their  cornfields.  As  soon  as  the 
old  Sac  chieftain  hoard  of  this  movement,  he  promptly  returned 
to  Rock  Island,  where  he  found  his  own  lodge  occupied  by  the 
whites.  He  next  went  to  Fort  Armstrong  and  made  complaint  to 
the  interpreter,  the  agent  being  absent.  He  next  visited  the 
prophet,  Wabokiesheik,  or  White  Cloud,  whose  opinions  were 
held  in  much  respect  by  the  Sacs.     This  distinguished  man  urged 


M 


m 
m 


S 


il 


^j|:^^ 

m 


;« 1^1 


IMM 


'V'-rj- 


■if!'' 

^1;   i 

1 

7  1     .*♦ 

i   ^ 

■ 

1''  !'« 

1 

ijHif 

rl. 

1 

lul   r. 

:3 

1 

264 


Tuttle's  Centennial  NonTHWEST, 


Black  Hawk  not  to  remove.  Lut  to  i)crsuaJc  Keokuk  aiul  liis 
party  to  return  to  Rock  river. 

Black  Hawk  now  returned  to  bis  liunting  party,  and  in  the 
spring  when  the  band  returned  to  tlicir  viHage,  tl:cy  found  the 
■white  settlers  still  there,  in  po.ssession  of  their  lodges  and  oorn- 
iields.  About  the  same  time  Keokuk  visited  Bock  river,  and  did 
all  in  his  power  to  persuade  the  remaining  Sacs  to  accom))any 
liim  to  tlic  new  village  on  the  Iowa,  but  Black  Hawk  said  it 
would  be  an  act  of  cowardice  to  yield  up  tlieir  village  and  the 
graves  of  their  fathers  to  strangers,  who  had  no  right  to  the  soil. 
Keokuk's  influence  was  exerted  in  vain,  and  he  returned  to  the 
western  village. 

Tiie  settlers  beiran  to  increase,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  Sao 
village  on  Rock  river  was  the  principal  point  of  attraction.  At 
this  place  the  Sacs  had  had  their  principal  village  for  more  than 
seventy  years.  Their  women  had  broken  the  surface  of  the  sur- 
rounding prairies  with  tlielr  hoes,  and  inclosed  with  a  kind  of  pole 
fence  many  fields  which  were  annually  cultivated  by  them  in  the 
raising  of  corn,  beans  and  squashes.  They  had  also  erected  sev- 
eral hundred  houses  of  various  dimensions,  some  probably  one 
hundred  feet  in  length  by  fort}-  or  fifty  feet  broad,  which  were 
constructed  of  poles  and  forks,  arranged  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of 
frame,  which  was  then  inclosed  with  the  bark  of  trees,  which, 
being  pealed  ofl!  and  dried  under  a  weight,  for  the  jjurpose  of 
keeping  it  expanded,  was  afterwards  confined  to  the  walls  and 
roof  by  means  of  cords  composed  of  the  bark  of  other  trees.  Tin's 
was,  indeed,  a  delightful  spot.  On  the  northwest  rolled  the 
majestic  Mississippi,  while  the  dark  forests  which  clothed  the 
island  of  Rock  river,  with  its  several  ripi^ling  streams  on  the  south 
coast,  formed  a  delightful  contrast  which  was  rendered  still  more 
pleasing  from  the  general  declivity  of  the  surrounding  country, 
as  it  sinks  gradually  away  to  the  shores  of  these  rivers.  This 
ancient  village  literally  became  the  graveyard  of  th)  Sac  nation. 
Scarcely  an  individual  could  be  found  in  the  whole  nation  who 
had  not  deposited  the  remains  of  some  relatives  in  or  near  this 
place.  Thither  the  mother,  with  mournful  and  melancholy  step, 
annually  repaired  to  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  to  her  departed  oil- 
spring,  while  the  weeping  sisters  and  loud  lamenting  v,'idov;s 


Tin:  Black  Hawk  Waii. 


20d 


jollied  tlio  procession  of  grief,  sometimes  in  accordance  witli  tlieii" 
own  feelings,  no  doubt,  but  always  in  pursuance  ol  an  establishcil 
custom  of  their  nation  from  time  immemorial.  On  these  occa- 
sions they  carefully  cleared  away  every  spear  of  grass  or  other 
vegetable  which  they  found  growing  near  the  graves,  and  made 
such  repairs  as  seemed  necessary.  They  also  carried  to  the  grave 
some  kind  of  food  which  they  left  for  the  spirit  of  the  deceased, 
and  before  they  concluded  these  ceremonies  they  often,  in  a  very 
melancholy  and  lamenting  mood,  addressed  the  dead,  inquiring 
how  they  fared,  and  who,  or  whether  any  one  jjcrformed  for  them 
the  kind  ofTiccs  of  mother,  sister  or  wife,  together  with  many  other 
iiK^uiries  which  a  frantic  imagination  happened  to  suggest.  This 
being  one  of  the  most  important  religions  duties,  was  scrupulously 
observed  by  all  the  better  class  of  this  people." 

The  settlers  who  establi-shed  themselves  at  llock  river,  in  viola- 
tion of  the  laws  of  congress,  and  the  provisions  of  all  treaties, 
committed  various  aggressions  upon  the  Indians,  sucli  as  destroy- 
ing their  corn,  killing  their  domestic  animals,  and  whipping  the 
women  and  children, f  Tiic}'  took  with  them  as  articles  of  tralfic, 
whisky  and  other  liquors,  and  by  distributing  it  among  the  sav- 
ages, produced  all  the  horrors  of  debaucher}'.  Black  Hawk 
remonstrated  against  this,  and,  upon  one  occasion,  he,  with  two 
of  his  companions,  entered  one  of  the  houses  where  the  liquor 
was  kept,  rolled  out  a  barrel  of  whisky,  broke  in  the  head  and 
emptied  the  contents  Upon  the  ground.  Thus  matters  continued 
for  several  years.  The  settlers  were  pushing  their  claims  in  de- 
fiance of  the  rights  of  the  Indians,  and  the  latter  could  obtain  no 
redress.  According  to  the  treaty  which  defined  the  rights  and 
wrongs  of  this  matter,  "  as  long  as  the  lands  which  arc  now  ceded 
to  the  United  States  remain  their  property,  the  Indians  belonging 
to  said  tribes  shall  enjoy  the  privilege  of  living  and  hunting  upon 
th'^m."  None  of  the  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  llock  river  were 
brought  into  market  by  the  United  States  until  the  year  1829. 
Previous  to  this  date,  of  course,  the  white  settlers  there  were  tres- 
passers of  law  and  justice.  In  the  latter  year,  however,  a  tract  of 
land  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rock  river,  including  the  Sac  village, 

*  Chronicle  of  North  Amcrictm  Savages. 
t  Life  of  Black  Hawk. 


I 


..:j.| 


w 


:  m 

■  'Si 


L 


it 


266 


Tcttlk's  Ckxtesxial  XoRTnWEST. 


was  soltl.  This  was  done  with  a  view  of  removing  tlie  Sac  In- 
dians to  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi.  Tiicreforc,  in  the  spring 
of  1830,  when  Blacjk  Hawk  and  liis  band  returned  from  the 
winter's  hunt  to  occupy  their  lodges,  and  prepare  for  raising  tlieir 
crop  of  vegetables,  they  found  that  their  lands  had  been  inir- 
chased  by  the  settlers.  Black  Hawk,  greatly  disturbed  by  this 
change,  apj)lied  to  the  Indian  agent  at  that  point,  wishing  redress, 
but  was  informed  that  since  the  government  had  sold  his  land,  he 
had  no  longor  any  right  to  it.  Tlie  chief  still  refused  to  cross  the 
river,  and  in  the  course  of  that  season  he  visited  Afaldeii,  to  talk 
with  his  British  father  on  the  subject.  He  also  called  upon  Gov. 
Cass,  at  Detroit,  on  the  same  subject.  Both  of  these  persons  told 
him  that  if  he  remained  quietly  upon  their  lands,  the  Ameri- 
cans would  not  interfere  with  them.  Consequently  Black  Hawk 
returned  home  determined  to  keep  possession  of  his  old  village. 
But  it  was  late  in  the  fall  when  he  arrived ;  his  people  had  gone 
to  the  hunting  grounds,  and  he  was  not  long  in  following  them. 
During  this  winter,  Keokuk  exerted  his  best  influence  to  induce 
them  to  desert  Black  Hawk  and  follow  him  to  the  new  village  on 
the  Iowa,  but  without  success.  Tlicy  were  so  firmly  attached  to 
theirold  chief  and  to  their  ancient  village  that  they  returned  with 
him  to  it  in  the  following  spring  of  1831.  The  traders  at  Kock 
river  now  attempted  to  induce  Black  Ilawk  and  his  band  to 
leave  by  making  him  presents,  and  after  a  long  persuasion  the 
old  chief  agreed  to  go,  provided  the  government  would  distribute 
six  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods  among  his  people.  This  the 
government  promptly  declined  to  do,  and  threatened  to  send  an 
armed  force  to  drive  him  from  the  village  if  he  and  his  people  did 
not  leave  at  once.  The  squaws  had  planted  their  corn,  and  it  was 
beginning  to  grow,  but  the  settlers,  claiming  that  the  Indians  had 
no  right  to  the  ground,  plowed  it  up  again.  Matters  had  at  last 
come  to  a  crisis.  The  old  chief  could  stand  it  no  longer,  and  he 
notified  every  settler  to  leave  the  village  at  once.  Meanwhile, 
not  satisfied  with  their  eijcroachmcnts  upon  the  rights  of  the  sav- 
ages, the  settlers  united  in  a  memorial  to  the  governor  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  Illinois,  in  which  they  declared  that  the  Sac  Indians 
"had  threatened  to  kill  them;  that  they  had  acted  in  a  most  out- 
rageous manner;    threw  down  their  fences;   turned  horses  into 


V'lT' 


The  Black  ILdvk  Wab. 


267 


llicir  cornfields  stole  their  potatoes,  saying  the  huul  was  tlieira, 
iind  that  they  had  not  sold  it ;  levelled  deadly  weapons  at  the  eit- 
izcns,  and,  oti  some  occasions,  liurt  the  citizens  for  attempting  to 
prevent  the  destruction  of  their  property." 

"  One  of  these  eight  alllicted  memorialists,"  says  Mr.  Conklin, 
"  swore  the  other  seven  to  the  truth  of  their  statements,  and,  with 
an  earnest  prayer  for  immediate  relief,  it  was  placed  before  hi3 
excellency  on  the  nineteenth  of  May." 

But  this  was  not  the  only  complaint.  Every  day  reports  were 
coming  in  to  the  governor's  offtce  representing  the  lawless  acts  of 
"Gen.  Black  Ilawk"  and  his  "British  band.''  These  repre- 
sentations had  the  desired  effect.  A  strong  force  was  sent  against 
the  Sac  Indians,  and  they  were  driven  in  terror  to  the  west  of  the 
Mississippi. 

Before  passing  on  to  the  consequences  of  this  measure,  let  us 
glance,  for  a  moment,  at  Keokuk,  Black  Hawk's  rival,  who 
figures  conspicuously  in  our  narrative.  He  was  a  native  Sac,  and 
was  born  near  Hock  river  village,  about  the  year  1780.  Like 
Black  Hawk,  he  was  not  a  chief's  son,  but  worked  his  way  to  the 
distinguished  position  of  chief  by  his  own  native  force  of  charac- 
ter, bravery  and  address.  He  began  to  manifest  rare  qualities 
at  a  very  early  period  of  his  life.  While  but  a  youth  he  engag- 
ed in  a  battle  against  the  Sioux.  In  the  engagement  he  encoun- 
tered and  killed  a  Sioux  warrior,  with  his  spear,  while  on  horse- 
back ;  and,  as  the  Sioax  are  distinguished  for  their  horsemanship, 
this  feat  was  looked  upon  as  marvellous.  A  public  feast  was 
made  in  commemoration  of  it  by  his  tribe,  and  the  youthful  war- 
rior was  from  that  day  ranked  among  the  greatest  Sac  braves. 

During  the  war  of  1812,  and  before  Keokuk  was  old  enough 
to  be  admitted  to  the  councils  of  his  nation,  the  American  gov- 
ernment, as  wc  have  already  seen,  sent  an  expedition  against  the 
Peoria  Indians.  During  the  advance  of  this  detachment,  a  rumor 
reached  the  Sac  village  on  Rock  river,  that  the  expedition  would 
also  attack  the  Sacs.  This  news  threw  the  whole  tribe  into  con- 
fusion. A  council  was  immediately  held,  and  all  agreed  to  aban- 
don their  village.  As  soon  as  Keokuk  heard  of  this  decision,  he 
advanced  to  the  door  of  the  council  house  and  asked  to  be  admit- 
ted.    This  being  granted,  he  next  demanded  permission  to  speak, 


m 


11  'ri^i^j.rl 
!1;  rlW^*''-'* 


!."!■[. 


41  4 1 
ill 


.■iT; 


268 


TuTTLE's   Ct:ifTENXIAL  XoliTllW'EST. 


which  was  also  freely  granted  him.  lie  said  that  he  had  heard 
their  decision  with  suritrisc  and  regret;  that  ho  was  opposed  to  a 
flight,  until  the  strength  of  tlie  ciieniy  coidd  be  ascertained.  Ilo 
said,  "  make  mo  your  leader !  Let  your  young  men  follow  me,  and 
the  pale  faces  shall  be  driven  back  to  their  towns.  Let  the  old 
men  and  tlie  women,  and  all  who  are  afraid  to  meet  the  white  man 
stay  here,  but  let  your  braves  go  to  battle."  Tiie  speech  had  a 
magic  elTect,  and  every  warrior  present  declared  that  he  was  ready 
to  follow  the  gallant  Keokuk.  lie  was  chosen  at  once  to  lead 
them  against  the  enemy.  Of  course  it  turned  out  that  the  rumor 
was  without  foundation,  and  there  was  no  enemy  to  battle  with, 
but  the  eloquence  and  bravery  of  Keokuk  placed  him  very  high 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Sac  braves. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  events  transpired  which  gave  I'im  an 
opportunity  to  display  his  warlike  s[)irit.  At  one  time  Keokuk 
was  hunting  with  a  party  in  the  country  which  lay  between  tlie 
Sac  and  Sioux  villages.  As  is  well  known,  these  tribes  had  been 
at  war  for  many  years.  Unexpectedly  a  party  of  Sioux  came 
upon  them,  mounted  and  ready  for  battle.  The  Sacs  were  also 
mounted,  but  the  situation  and  numbers  were  both  in  favor  of 
the  .Sioux.  Keokuk  instantly  formed  his  men  into  a  compact 
circle,  ordered  them  to  dismount  and  take  shelter  behind  their 
horses.  By  this  ingenius  movement  they  were  enabled  to  screen 
themselves  from  the  flying  missiles  of  the  Sioux.  It  also  placed 
them  in  a  position  by  which  they  could  avail  themselves  of  their 
superior  skill  as  marksmen.  The  battle  was  a  long  and  hard  one, 
but  Keokuk  was  triumphant,  and  routed  the  enemy  with  great 
loss.  lie  had  many  other  opportunities  of  showing  his  military 
skill,  and  was  almost  always  successful. 

Keokuk's  eloquence  and  ability  in  civil  matters  were  quite 
equal  to  his  military  talents.  Some  of  his  speeches  arc  splendid 
evidences  of  his  sagacity.  While  Black  Hawk  led  many  of  the 
Sac  braves  against  the  Americans  in  the  war  of  1812,  Keokuk 
and  a  majority  of  them  remained  neutral,  but  in  this  he  was  ex* 
posed  to  great  danger.  He  requested  the  agent  of  the  American 
government  to  send  to  his  village,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, a  white  man  who  understood  the  Sac  language,  and  who 
might  bear  witness  to  his  sincerity  and  faithfulness  to  the  whites. 


TiiK  Black  Hawk  Wau. 


209 


Such  u  person  was  sent.     The  excitement  among  the  people,  kin- 
dled by  the  power  of  Black  Hawk,  every  day  increased,  until 
Kcfiknk  stood  upon  a  mine  liable  to  be  exploded   uv  ..  single 
spark.     Jle  was  in  peril  of  being  slain  as  the  friend  of  tho  Amer- 
icans; but  lie  remained  calm  and   unawed,  ruling  his  turbulent 
little  state  with  mildness  and  iinnness,  but  at  tho  •</  stant  risk  oi" 
his  liie.     '^^'  I    day  a  new  emissary  arrived  from  Black  llawk's 
party;  whisky  was  freely  introduced  into  the  camp,  ninl  Keokuk 
saw  tliatthe  crisis  was  at  'land.     He  warncil  i,he  white  man,  who 
was  his  guest,  of  the  impending  danger,  and  advised  him  li.»  con- 
ceal himself.     A  scene  of  tumult  followed.     The  emissary  spoko 
of  the  blood  that  had  been  .shed;  of  their  relations  who  had  been 
driven  from  their  hunting  grounds  ;  of  many  insults  and  injuries 
wliicii  had  been  boldly  perpetrated  by  the  Americans;  hinted  at 
the  ready  vengeance  tliat  might  be  taken  on  an  ex{)oscd  frontier; 
of  defenseless  cabins  and  rich  booty.     The  braves  began  to  danco 
around  the  war  pole,  to  paint,  and  to  give  evidences  of  a  warlike 
character.     Keokuk  watched  the  impending  storm,  and  j)repared 
himself  to  take  an  important  part  in  it.     Lie  drank  and  listened, 
and  apparently  assented  to  all  that  was  said.     At  length  his  war- 
riors called  out  to  bo  led  to  battle,  and  he  was  asked  to  lead 
them.     He  rose  and  spoke  with  that  power  thot  had  never  failed 
him.     He  sympathized  with  their  wrongs,  their  thirst  for  ven- 
geance, and  won  their  confidence  by  giving  utterance  to  the  pas- 
sions by  which  they  were  moved,  and  echoing  back  their  own 
thoughts  with  a  master  spirit.     He  then  considered  the  proposi- 
tion to  go  to  war,  spoke  of  the  power  of  the  whites,  and  the  hope- 
lessness of  the  contest.     He  told  them  he  was  their  chief;  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  rule  them  as  a  father  at  home,  or  lO  lead  them  to 
war  if  they  determined  to  go.    But  in  the  proposed  war  there  ^vas 
no  middle  course.     The  jiowcr  of  the  United  States  was  such 
that,  unless  they  conquered  that  great  nation,  they  must  perish ; 
that  he  would  lead  them  instantly  against  the  whites  on  one  con- 
dition, and  that  was,  that  they  would  first  put  all  their  women 
and  children  to  death,  and  then  resolve  that,  having  crossed  the 
Mississippi,  they  would  never  return,  but  perish  among  the  graves 
of  their  fathers,  rather  than  yield  them  to  the  white  men. 

This  proposal,  desperate  as  it  was,  presented  the  true  issue,  and 


■i    ■.  ■  i  i 


Xi  ■■ 


■*n 


1'  ( V\ 


11 


270 


TuTTLE's   CeNTEXXUL  XORTinVEST. 


it  calmed  the  spirits  of  the  clamorous  warriors,  who  now  regarded 
Keokuk  as  their  ruler,  and  obeyed  his  counsel. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  Sacs  were  divided,  part  under  Black 
IlrAvk  and  part  under  Keokuk.  This  division  created  many  dis- 
sensions in  the  tribe,  and  at  length  led  the  overthrow  of  the  latter, 
a  young  brave  being  elected  to  take  his  place.  Keokuk  received 
the  change  with  a  good  grace,  and  took  his  place  among  the  com- 
mon warriors  without  a  word.  But  it  was  not  lone  before  the  in- 
capacity  of  his  successor  manifested  itself,  and  Keokuk  was  again 
called  upon  to  rule  the  councils  of  his  nation,  and  lead  the  war- 
riors to  battle. 

In  1832,  five  Sacs,  belonging  to  Keokuk's  party,  murdered  a 
settler  in  Illinois.  One  of  the  guiiLy  party  was  his  own  nephew, 
but  he  immediately  seized  and  delivered  up  to  the  civil  author- 
ities, the  other  four  having  escaped.  Some  time  after,  the  Amer- 
icans demanded  the  other  four  prisoners,  but  they  could  not  bo 
found.  Keokuk  called  a  council  and  stated  the  matter  at  length, 
saying  that  something  must  be  done  to  appease  the  wrath  of  the 
president.  An  expedient  was  soon  offered.  Four  young  warriors 
came  forward  and  gave  themselves  up,  manifesting  a  willingness 
to  die  for  the  crimes  of  their  brethren.  Tliese  brave  men  were 
turne"d  over  to  the  proper  officers  and  imprisoned.  Keokuk  was 
present  at  their  trial,  and  testified  that  the  prisoners  were  not 
guilty,  but  that  they  had  offered  to  die  in  order  to  satisf}'  the  law. 
He  said  that  the  real  murderers  had  escaped.  The  prisoners  were, 
of  course,  set  at  liberty. 

Some  time  after,  Keokuk,  Black  Ilawk  and  several  Sac  chief.s 
made  a  visit  to  Washington  and  the  principle  cities  of  the  eastern 
states,  in  which  they  were  well  received.  In  Boston  they  created 
great  excitement,  which  was  caused  by  the  war  dance  on  the 
common.  In  all  the  savage  virtues,  Keokuk  was  a  superior  In- 
dian, far  in  advance  of  Black  Hawk. 

"We  have  now  before  us  two  men  —  Black  Hawk  and  Keokuk. 
A  glance  at  their  different  virtues  has  enabled  the  reader  to  judge 
somewhat  of  these  Indians.  Let  us  now  notice,  briefl}--,  the  ])rin- 
eipal  acts  of  their  lives.  Black  Hawk  and  his  band  had  not  been 
long  in  their  new  village  before  difficulties  began  to  arise  which 
terminated  in  a  violation  of  the  treaty  which  he  had  made  subsc- 


^wr 


The  Black  Hawk  War. 


271 


quent  to  bis  removal.  They  had  been  sent  away  from  their 
homos  too  late  in  the  season  to  admit  of  planting  corn  and  beans, 
and  before  autumn  was  over  they  were  suffering  for  provisions. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  in  this  condition  they  should  attempt  to 
steal  the  corn  which  they  had  planted  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river  in  the  spring.  Many  events  followed,  trivial  in  their  char- 
acter, but  all  well  qualified  to  foster  the  hatred  which  already  ex- 
isted between  Black  Hawk's  band  and  the  Americans.  In  April, 
1832,  the  whole  party,  under  this  chief  crossed  over  the  river, 
and,  in  open  violation  of  their  treaty  of  the  previous  year,  as- 
scendcd  the  Rock  river  to  the  territory  of  their  friends,  the  Win- 
ncbagocs,  having  been  invited  thither  to  raise  corn.  Gen.  Atkin- 
son, with  a  body  of  troops,  was  then  at  Fort  Armstrong,  having 
been  ordered  by  the  government  to  that  point  for  the  purpose  of 
quelling  a  war  which  existed  between  the  Menominies  and  the 
Foxes.  Black  Ilawk  had  not  proceeded  far  up  the  river  when 
he  was  overtaken  bv  a  messen2;cr  from  Gen.  Atkinson  with  an 
order  for  him  and  his  party  to  return  and  recross  the  Mississippi. 
This  the  chief  refused  to  obey,  saying  that  the  general  had  no 
right  to  issue  such  an  order.  lie  declared  that  he  was  at  peace 
with  the  Americans,  and  that  he  was  peaceably  traveling  towards 
the  village  of  his  friends.  They  journeyed  on.  but  were  soon 
overtaken  by  another  messenger,  who  brought  word  that,  unless 
the  Sacs  returned  and  reerossed  the  Mississippi  at  once,  an  armed 
force  would  be  sent  to  compel  them.  Black  Hawk's  reply  was 
decisive;  he  would  not  return.  Arriving  at  the  village  to  which 
ho  was  trav.  li'ig,  the  Sac  chief  found  that  in  case  he  should  be 
pursued  by  the  troops  at  Fort  Armstrong,  he  would  be  unable  to 
obtain  any  assistance  from  these  Indians,  and  he  therefore  resolved, 
if  overtaken,  to  return  peaceably.  He  encamped  at  Kish-\\.-.-eo- 
kee  and  began  preparations  for  a  dog-feast,  with  which  to  corapli 
mo  it  the  Pottawatomies. 

Meanwhile  tlic  Illinois  militia  was  ordered  out  and  formed  a 
junction  with  the  regular  troops  under  Gen.  Atkinson,  at  Hock 
Island.  From  this  point  the  militia,  being  for  the  most  part 
mounted,  pioceeded  by  land  to  Dixon's  ferry,  on  Rock  river, 
about  half  way  between  the  fort  and  Black  Hawk's  present  en- 
campment.    Gen.  Atkinson,  with  three  hundred  militia  and  three 


'rW 


mi 


w 


272 


Tl'ttle's  Centesxul  XonTiin'EST. 


i!  m 


hundred  regulars,  iisccnded  tlio  r'vcr  in  borxts  to  the  same  point. 
"Maj.  Stilhnan,"  says  ^^r.  Coucliii,  "having  under  his  command 
a  body  of  two  hunth'cd  and  scvcnty-fivc  mounted  volunteers,  ob- 
tained leave  of  Gen.  Whitesides,  then  in  cotnniand  of  the  Illinois 
militia  at  Dixon's  feny,  to  go  out  on  a  scouting  expedition.  lie 
proceeded  up  Rock  river  about  thirty  miles,  to  Sycamore  creek, 
which  empties  into  that  river  on  the  east  side.  This  movement 
brought  him  within  a  few  miles  of  the  camp  of  Black  Hawk 
and  a  part  of  his  braves  at  the  time  when  the  old  chief  was  en- 
gaged in  getting  up  a  dog-feast  in  honor  of  his  Pottawatomie 
visitors." 

AVhile  engaged  in  this  ancient  ccreiuon}-,  on  the  14th  of  ^Fay, 
Black  Hawk  received  intelligence  of  the  advance  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  mounted  volunteers,  which  were  reported  as  being  about 
eight  miles  distant.  "  I  immediately  started,''  says  the  old  chief, 
"three  young  men  with  a  wliite  flag  to  meet  them  and  conduct 
them  to  our  camp,  that  we  might  hold  a  council  with  theni  and 
descend  Kock  river  again  ;  and  directed  them,  in  case  the  whites 
had  encamped,  to  return,  and  I  would  go  and  see  them.  After 
this  party  had  started,  I  sent  five  young  men  to  see  what  might 
take  place.  The  first  party  went  to  the  encampment  of  the  whites 
and  \Verc  taken  prisoners.  The  last  party  had  not  proceeded  far 
before  they  saw  twenty  men  coming  towards  them  in  full  gallop. 
They  stopped,  and  finding  that  the  whites  were  coming  so  fast,  in 
a  warlike  attitude,  they  turned  and  retreated,  but  were  pursued 
and  overtaken,  and  two  of  them  killed.  The  others  made  their 
escape.  AVhen  they  came  in  with  the  news,  I  was  preparing  my 
flags  to  meet  the  war  chief.  Tlic  alarm  was  given.  Nearly  all 
my  young  men  were  absent,  about  ten  miles  off.  I  started  with 
what  I  had  left,  about  forty,  and  had  i)roceeded  but  a  short  dis- 
tance before  we  saw  a  part  of  the  enemy  approaching.  I  raised  a 
yell,  and  said  to  my  braves,  'some  of  our  people  have  been  killed 
- —  wantonly  and  cruelly  murdered  !  wc  must  avenge  their  dcatli  I' 
In  a  little  while  we  discovered  the  whole  army  conung  towards  us 
in  full  gallop!  Wc  were  now  confident  that  our  first  party  ha  1 
been  killed.  I  immediately  placed  my  men  in  front  of  some 
bushes,  that  we  might  have  the  first  fire,  when  they  approached 
close  enough.     They  made  a  halt  some  distance  from  us.     I  gave 


IB 


■'■' '  hi 


lii^  ii 


I'lv 


I  I'll;) 
!    i 


I; 

■'1.1 


tr 


:U^"  ■  ^ 

N"i     : 

'  !b'- 

>■    Hi 

■    i'.^"      I 

^r^'ip 


The  Black  Hawk  Wah. 


273 


another  ycW,  and  ordered  my  brave  warriors  to  charge  upon  them, 
expecting  that  we  wouhl  all  be  killed  !  They  did  charge.  Every 
man  rushed  and  fired,  and  the  enemy  retreated  in  the  utmost  con- 
fusion and  consternation  before  my  little  but  brave  band  of  war- 
riors. After  pursuing  the  enemy  for  some  distance,  I  found  it 
useless  to  follow  them,  as  they  rode  so  fast,  and  returned  to  ni}- 
encampment  with  a  few  of  my  braves,  about  twenty-five  having 
gone  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  I  lighted  my  pipe  and  sat  down 
to  thank  the  Great  Spirit  for  what  he  had  done.  I  had  not  been 
long  meditatinu:  when  two  of  the  three  young  men  I  had  sent  out 
with  the  flag  to  meet  the  American  war  chief  entered.  Aly  aston- 
ishment was  not  greater  than  my  joy  to  see  them  living  and  well. 
I  eagerly  listened  to  their  story,  which  was  as  follows  : 

"  '  When  we  arrived  near  to  the  .encampment  of  the  whites  a 
number  of  thein  ru.shed  out  to  meet  us,  bringing  their  guns  with 
them.  They  took  us  in  the  camp,  when  an  American  who  spoke 
the  Sac  language  a  little,  told  us  that  his  chief  wanted  to  know 
how  we  were,  where  we  were  going,  where  our  camp  was,  and 
where  r>lack  ITawk  was.  We  told  him  that  we  had  come  to  see 
his  chief ;  that  our  chief  had  directed  us  to  conduct  him  to  our 
camp,  in  case  he  had  not  encamped,  and  in  that  evont  to  tell  him 
that  he  (Black  Hawk)  would  come  to  see  him  ;  he  wished  to  hold 
I  •mcil  with  him,  ashe  had  given  up  all  intention  of  going  to 
war.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  talk  a  part}'  of  white  men  came 
in  on  hor-cback.  We  saw  by  their  countenances  that  something 
had  happened.  A  general  tumult  arose.  They  looked  at  ns 
with  indignation,  talked  among  themselves  for  a  moment,  when 
several  cocked  their  guns;  in  a  second  they  fired  at  us  in  the 
crowd  ;  our  companion  fell  dead.  We  rushed  through  the  crowd 
and  made  our  escape.  ^Ye  remained  in  ambush  but  a  short  time 
before  we  heard  yelling  like  Indians  running  an  enemy.  In  a 
little  while  we  saw  some  of  the  whites  in  full  speed.  One  of  t!icn\ 
came  near  us.  I  threw  my  tomahawk  and  struck  him  on  the 
head,  which  brought  him  to  the  ground.  I  ran  to  him  and  with 
his  own  knife  took  off  his  scalp. '  I  took  his  gun,  mounted  his 
liorse,  and  took  my  friend  here  behind  me.  We  turned  to  follow 
our  braves,  who  were  running  the  enemy,  and  had  not  gone  far 
before  wc  overtook  a  white  mati  whose  horse  had  mired  iu  a 
18 


27i 


1  Pi 

.4 


"Mr 


Tuttle's  Centexxial  Xortiiw'est. 


'4 


111 " 


w 


¥: 


fivvamp.  ^[y  friend  alighted  and  lomaliawkcd  the  man,  who  was 
apparently  fa.st  under  his  horse.  lie  took  his  sealp,  horse  and 
gun.  By  this  time  our  party  was  some  distance  ahead.  We  fol- 
lowed and  saw  several  white  men  lying  dead  on  the  way.  After 
riding  about  six  miles  we  met  our  party  returning.  We  a.sked 
them  how  many  of  our  men  had  been  killed.  They  said  none, 
after  the  Americans  had  retreated.  We  inquired  then  how  many 
whites  had  been  killed.  Tiiey  replied  they  did  not  know,  but 
said  we  would  soon  ascertain,  as  we  must  scalp  them  as  we  go 
back.  On  our  return  we  found  ten  men  beside  the  two  wc  had 
killed  before  we  joined  our  friends.  Seeing  that  they  did  not  yet 
recognize  us,  it  being  dark,  wc  again  asked  how  many  of  our 
braves  had  been  killed.  They  said  five.  We  asked  who  they 
were.  Tliey  replied  that  the  first  party  of  three  who  went  out  to 
meet  the  American  war  chief  had  all  been  taken  prisoners  and 
killed  in  the  encampment,  and  that  out  of  a  party  of  five  who  fol- 
lowed to  see  the  meeting  of  the  first  party  and  the  whites,  two 
had  been  killed.  We  were  now  certain  that  they  did  not  re(Hig- 
nize  us,  nor  did  we  tell  them  wlio  wc  were  until  we  arrived  at 
our  camp.  The  news  of  our  death  had  reached  it  some  time  be- 
fore, and  all  were  surprised  to  see  us  again.'  " 

"  The  precipitate  flight  of  the  troops  under  Maj.  Stillman,"  says 
Conclin,  "  has  no  justification."  No  effort  was  made  to  rally  the 
troops,  and  all  the  baggage  of  the  arm\',  blankets,  saddle-bags, 
camp  ccjuipage  and  provisions  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians. 
Black  Hawk,  finding  that  his  peace  flag  had  been  fired  upon,  and 
being  intoxicated  with  his  success,  determined  on  war.  Indeed, 
with  the  provision  and  other  supplies  which  he  had  secured  in 
this  contest,  he  was  not  jioorly  qualified  for  the  undertaking.  IIo 
apscmbled  his  braves  and  began  active  preparations  for  a  border 
war.  He  immediately  sent  out  spies  to  watch  the  movements  of 
Gen.  Atkinson,  and  prepared  to  reuiove  his  women  and  children 
from  the  scat  of  war  further  up  the  Rock  river,  where,  as  he 
thought,  they  would  be  secure  from  the  whites.  In  passing  to 
this  point  he  was  met  b\'  a  band  of  Winncbagocs,  who,  liaving 
heard  of  his  victory,  signified  a  willingness  to  join  him. 

But  meanwhile  the  defeat  of  the  troops  spread  consternation 
throughout  the  settlements  of  Illinois.     The  Indian  forces  wera 


The  Black  Hawk  Wah. 


275 


■     '     ^  ■ 


greatly  misrepresented,  and  everywhere  Black  Hawk  and  his  band 
were  spoken  of  as  bold  and  cunning  warrior?.  Gen.  Atkinson  at 
once  fortified  his  catnp  at  Dixon's  Ferr}',  and  the  governor  of  the 
state  issued  a  call  for  more  mounted  volunteers.  The  secretary 
of  war  sent  one  thousand  troops  from  the  east  under  Gen.  Win- 
field  Scott,  who  was  to  have  the  command  of  the  campaign  against 
the  Black  Hawk  forces. 

And  now  wc  come  to  the  horrors  of  another  border  war  in 
which  many  frontier  families  wore  massacred  or  carried  away  into 
captivity,  torture  and  death.  The  catalogue  begins  with  the  In- 
dian creek  massacre.  At  this  point  a  party  of  hostile  Pottawato- 
mies,  thirty  in  number,  fell  upon  a  little  .settlement  on  Indian 
creek,  one  of  the  tributaries  of  Fox  river,  and  murdered  fifteen 
mon,  women  and  children,  taking  two  prisoners,  the  Misses  Hall, 
who  were  afterwards  returned  to  their  friends  by  the  Wiiuieba- 
goes. 

It  was,  indeed,  a  war  of  detail.  A  party  of  Indians  stole  the 
horses  belonging  to  Capt.  Stephenson,  who  resided  not  far  from 
Galena.  The  captain  pursued  them  with  twelve  men.  A  battle 
ov  skirmish  ensued,  in  which  six  Indians  and  three  soldiers  were 
killed.  Soon  after,  u  party  of  eleven  Sacs  killed  five  white  men 
at  Stafford's  farm.  Vengeance  followed ;  Gen.  Dodge  followed 
and  overtook  them  in  a  swamp,  when  they  were  all  shot  down 
and  scalped.  Three  soldiers  fell  in  the  contest.  On  the  twenty- 
fourth  of  June,  1832,  the  Indians  made  an  attack  upon  the  fort 
at  Buffalo  Grove,  not  far  from  Dixon's  Ferrj',  The  post  was 
garrisoned  b}'  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  commanded  by  Capt. 
Dem.ent.  In  this  contest  many  of  the  soldiers  and  forty  horses 
were  killed.  After  accomplishing  thi.-,  and  seeing  that  they 
could  not  take  the  fort,  they  commenced  a  retreat.  They  had 
not  gone  far  when  they  were  overtaken  by  a  detachment  under 
Col.  Posey.  This  is  Black  Hawk's  account  of  the  contest  which 
followed :  "  We  concealed  ourselves  until  they  came  near  enoi.gh, 
and  then  commenced  j-cUing  and  firing,  and  made  a  rush  upon 
thcin.  About  this  time  their  chief  (Posey),  with  a  party  of  men, 
rushed  up  to  the  rescue  of  those  wc  had  fired  upon.  In  a  little 
while  tliey  commenced  retreating,  and  left  their  chief  and  a  few 
braves,  who  seemed  willing  and  anxious  to  fight.     They  acted 


i'...i 


'1 
'I 


Mr!  i.'; 


270 


Tuttle's  Centexsial  XonTinvEST. 


!     I 

I  I   : 


!   I 


like  braves,  but  were  forced  to  give  way  when  I  ruslietl  upon 
them  with  my  braves.  In  a  sliort  time  the  chief  returned  with  a 
large  party.  lie  seemed  determined  to  fight  and  anxious  foi 
battle.  When  he  came  near  enough,  I  raised  the  yell,  and  firing 
commenced  from  both  sides.  The  chief,  who  is  a  small  man, 
addressed  his  warriors  in  a  loud  voice,  but  they  soon  retreated, 
leaving  him  and  a  few  braves  on  the  battlefield.  A  great  number 
of  my  warriors  pursued  the  retreating  party  and  killed  a  number 
of  their  braves  as  they  ran.  Tlie  chief  and  his  braves  were 
unwilling  to  leave  the  field  ;  I  ordered  my  braves  to  rush  upon 
them,  and  had  the  mortification  of  seeing  two  of  my  chiefs  killed 
before  the  enemy  retreated.  This  young  chief  deserves  great 
praise  for  his  courage,  but  fortunately  for  us,  his  army  was  not 
all  composed  of  such  brave  men."  The  numbers  on  both  sides 
were  about  equal  in  this  engagement.  On  the  fourth  of  Jul}',  the 
army  under  Gen.  Atkinson,  consisting  of  four  hundred  regulars 
and  over  one  thousand  mounted  volunteers,  arrived  at  the  foot 
of  Lake  Koshkonong.  Two  brigades  of  volunteers,  under  Gen. 
Dodge,  pursued  the  Indians  from  this  point,  and  overtook  them 
on  the  twenty-first  of  July,  about  sundown,  on  the  bank.s  of  tlie 
Wisconsin.  An  attack  was  made,  resulting  in  the  route  of  the 
Indians,  with  a  heavy  loss.  One  of  the  troops  was  killed  and 
eight  wounded.  "  The  exact  loss  of  the  Indians  in  this  engage- 
ment cannot  be  ascertained.  One  account,"  says  Mr.  Conelin, 
"places  the  number  at  sixteen."  BLack  Hawk  sa^-s  that  he  had 
but  fifty  warriors  with  hiin  in  this  engagement,  the  rest  being 
engaged  in  assisting  the  women  and  children  in  crossing  the  AVis- 
consin  to  an  island,  to  protect  them  from  the  fire  of  the  whites. 
Tliis  was  undoubtedly  a  mistake,  as  one  of  his  own  men  gives  the 
number  engaged  in  the  battle  at  sixty  or  seventy.  "  A  party  of 
Black  Hawk's  band,  including  many  women  and  child  rem,  now 
attempted  to  descend  the  Wisconsin  upon  rafts  and  in  canoes, 
that  they  might  escape  by  reerossing  the  Mississippi."  But  in 
this  attempt  they  were  overtaken  and  attacked  by  troops  which 
had  bean  stationed  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  Many  of  the 
savages  were  killed,  some  were  taken  prisoners,  others  escaped  to 
the  neighboring  woods,  where  they  soon  perislied  from  hunger, 
Another  party,  among  whom  was  Black  Hawk,  having  it  is  said, 


■T" 


^W': 


The  Black  Hawk  WAii. 


277 


abandoned  all  idea  of  continning  tlic  war,  and  being  unwilling  to 
trust  tlicmaclvca  to  a  capitulation,  started  across  the  country, 
lioping  to  escape  west  of  the  ^Mississippi.  In  this  route  they  lost 
many  of  their  people  from  starvo,tion.  Reaching  the  ^lississippi, 
a  number  of  the  women  and  children  undertook  to  descend  the 
river  in  canoes  to  Prairie  du  Chien.  ^Nfany  of  them  were  drowned 
in  this  attempt,  and  those  who  did  reach  their  destination  were 
found  to  be  in  a  starving  condition.  But  let  us  turn  to  Black 
Hawk  and  his  party.  On  the  first  of  August,  while  in  the  act  of 
crossing  the  Mississipjii,  he  was  attacked  by  the  steamboat  War- 
rior, with  an  armed  force  on  board. 

In  this  engagement  the  Indians  lost  twenty-three  killed,  and  a 
great  many  wounded,  while  on  board  the  Warrior,  not  one  of  the 
gallant  little  crew  was  killed,  only  one  being  slightly  wounded. 
On  the  following  morning,  the  whole  of  Gen.  Atkinson's  army 
was  upon  them.  The  Warrior  also  assisted,  killing  three  by  the 
first  shot.  In  Atkinson's  army  nine  were  killed  and  seventeen 
wounded.     The  Indians  were,  of  course,  cruelly  put  to  flight. 

Gen.  Atkinson  was  not  satisfied  with  his  triumph  upon  the 
AVisconsin,  but  pushed  forward  with  his  whole  army  in  pursuit  of 
the  Indians,  making  forced  marches  over  a  rough,  uneven  countiy. 
On  the  morning  of  the  second  of  August,  when  within  ten  miles 
of  the  Mississippi,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  enemy  was  then  on 
the  bank  of  the  rivCr  in  their  front,  preparing  to  embark,  at  a 
place  called  Bad  Axe.  Arrangements  were  at  once  made  for  au 
attack.  Gen.  Dodge's  squadron  was  placed  in  front,  followed  by 
the  infantry,  and  these  by  the  brigades  of  Henry,  Alexander  and 
Posey.  The^''  had  proceeded  in  this  order  for  about  five  miles, 
when  they  discovered  a  small  party  of  Indians,  and  immediately 
fired  upon  them.  This  band  retreated  to  the  main  body  on  the 
bank  of  the  river.  In  order  to  prevent  the  Indians  from  escaping, 
Gens.  Alexander  and  Posoy  w'cre  directed  to  form  the  right  wing 
of  the  army,  and  to  inarch  to  the  river  above  the  Indian  encamp- 
ment, and  then  to  move  down  along  the  bank.  Gen.  Henry 
formed  the  left  wing,  and  the  United  States  infantry  and  Gen. 
Dodge's  squadron  occupied  the  centre.  In  this  order  the  army 
descended  into  the  valley,  which  was  covered  with  weeds  and 
Lcavy  brushwood.     Gen.   Ilenry  was  the  first  to  discover  the 


i'  \.m 


i:-r-:'i 


f'  ]  '■•'. 


m 


1    ; 
I    I   ! 


Mi: 


I     :   ' 


I      ! 


278 


2'uttlk's  Cektewxial  NonrmvEST. 


enemy.  lie  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  tliein,  wliicli  was  rcturncJ. 
Gen.  Dodge's  troops  and  the  United  State.s  infantry  joined  him  in 
tlic  aetion,  and  the  wliole,  witli  (Jon.  Henry's  men,  rushed  upcMi 
tlie  savages,  killing  them  witliout  niorey.  Only  a  few  of  them 
eseaped. 

Meanwhile,  the  brigades  of  Alexander  and  Posey,  whieli  were 
approaehing  along  the  river's  bank,  fell  in  with  anotlier  party  of 
lu'-.ans,  putting  them  to  rout  with  great  .slaugliter.  The  Indiana 
were  driven  to  the  edge  of  the  river,  where  they  hoped  to  esca})C 
by  swimming  to  the  opposite  side,  but  they  were  shot  in  the  water, 
until  nearly  all  had  jterished.  Among  the  few  who  eseaped  was 
Blaek  Hawk. 

Gens.  Atkinson,  Dodge  and  Posey,  de.scended  the  Mi.s3issippi  to 
Prairie  du  Cliien  in  the  Warrior,  and  there  awaited  the  arrival  of 
the  mounted  volunteers.  The  latter  arrived  on  the  fourth.  The 
few  Indians  who  escaped  in  this  battle,  reached  the  western  side 
of  the  Mississi})pi,  only  to  fall  a  jirey  to  the  tomahawks  of  their 
enemies,  the  Sioux.  The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  killed,  thirty-nine  women  and  children  taken  prisoners. 
The  American  loss  did  not  exceed  ten  killed  and  fifteen  wounded. 
.Soon  after  this  fatal  battle,  ])lack  Hawk  and  the  pr()})hut  Wa- 
bokieshielc,  who  had  escaped  into  the  country  of  the  Sioux,  were 
captured  by  two  chiefs  belonging  to  the  Winnebagoes,  and  deliv- 
ered as  prisoners  to  the  Indian  agent  at  Prairie  du  Chien.  The 
prisoners  were  all  conducted  to  Fort  Darracks,  a  few  miles  below 
St.  Louis.  Soon  after,  Gen.  Scott  arrived  at  Kock  Island  from 
the  cast,  and  made  some  investigations  into  the  causes  which  led 
to  the  Black  Hawk  War,  from  which  it  was  made  to  appear  that 
the  wliole  contest  might  have  been  avoided. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  September,  Gen.  Scott  and  Gov.  Rey- 
nolds concluded  a  treaty  with  the  Winnebagoes  and  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes.  For  the  faithful  performance  of  the  jirovisions  of  this 
treaty  on  the  part  of  the  Indians,  it  was  stipulated  that  Black 
Hawk,  his  two  sons,  the  Prophet  and  six  other  chiefs  of  the  hostile 
band,  should  be  retained  as  hostages  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
President.  All  t!ie  other  i)ri.s()ners  were  set  at  liberty.  The 
hostages  were  confined  in  Fort  Barrack?,  and  put  in  irons. 

"We  were  now  confined,"  says  the  old  chief,  Black  Hawk,  "  to 


Thl  Black  Hawk  War. 


270 


tljc  baraacks,  and  forced  to  wear  the  ball  and  chain.  Tliis  wa:J 
extremely  mortifying  and  altogotlier  usciless.  Was  tbo  Wiiitc 
Beaver  (Gen.  Atkinson)  afraid  that  I  would  break  out  of  liis  bar- 
racks and  run  away,  or  was  he  ordered  to  iiiOict  this  i)unis]iineiit 
upon  me?  If  I  had  taken  him  prisoner,  upon  the  Held  of  battle, 
I  would  not  have  wounded  his  feelings  so  much  by  such  treat- 
ment, knowing  that  a  brave  war  chief  would  prefer  death  to  dis- 
honor. But  I  do  not  blame  the  White  Beaver  for  the  course  he 
pursued.  It  is  the  custom  among  white  soldiers,  and,  I  sujipose, 
was  a  part  of  his  duty. 

"  The  time  dragged  heavily  and  gloomily  along  throughout  the 
winter,  although  the  White  Beaver  did  everything  in  his  power 
to  render  us  comfortable.  Having  been  accustomed,  throughout 
a  long  life,  to  roam  through  the  forests,  to  come  and  go  at  liberty, 
confinement  under  any  such  circumstances  could  not  be  less  than 
torture. 

"  We  passed  away  the  time  making  pipes,  until  spring,  when 
we  were  visited  by  the  agent,  trader  and  interpreter,  from  Eock 
Island,  Keokuk  and  several  chiefs  and  braves  of  our  nation,  i...a 
my  wife  and  daughter.  I  was  rejoiced  to  see  the  two  latter,  and 
spent  my  time  very  agreeably  with  them  and  my  people,  as  long 
as  they  remained." 

Keokuk  made  exertions  to  obtain  the  release  of  Black  Ilawk, 
pledging  himself  to  be  responsible  for  his  good  conduct.  But 
while  the  rival  chief  was  endeavoring  to  effect  this,  an  order 
arrived  from  the  secretary  of  war  to  have  the  prisoners  sent  to 
Washington  city.  Accordingly  they  set  out,  and  reached  the 
national  capital  in  the  latter  part  of  April,  1833.  They  were  im- 
mediatelv  sent  to  Fortress  Monroe,  "  there  to  remain  until  the 
conduct  of  their  nation  was  such  as  to  justify  their  being  set  at 
liberty."  The  chiefs  were  much  dissatisfied  with  this  part  of  their 
reception,  and  remonstrated  bitterly.  The  Prophet  said:  "  Wc 
expected  to  return  immediately  to  our  people.  The  war  in  which 
we  have  been  involved  was  occasioned  by  our  attempting  to  raise 
provisions  on  our  own  lands,  or  where  we  thought  we  had  a 
rigiit  to  do  so.  We  have  lost  many  of  our  people,  as  well  as  the 
whites.  Our  tribes  and  families  are  now  exposed  to  the  attacks 
of  our  enemies  the  Sioux  and  Menominees.  We  hope,  therefore, 
to  be  j)crmitted  to  return  home  to  take  care  of  them." 


.     '  1. 


2S0 


TiTTLhi's  Cesi'kssia l  Xoimi ir/wr. 


I  ;  ;i 


.w    '      i. 


T  1 


Black  Hawk  concludcil  liis  coniplaiiit  byso.ying:  "Wo  ilid 
not  expect  to  contiucr  tlic  whites.  No ;  they  had  too  many  horses, 
too  many  men.  I  took  up  the  hatulict,  for  my  part,  to  roveiigo 
injuries  which  my  people  could  no  longer  endure.  Uad  I  borne 
them  longer  without  striking,  my  people  would  have  said  Black 
Hawk  is  a  woman.  lie  is  too  old  to  be  a  chief,  lie  is  uo  Sac. 
These  reflections  caused  mo  to  raise  the  war-whodp.  I  .say  no 
more  of  it ;  it  is  known  to  you.  Keoki.k  once  was  here,  and  when 
he  wi.shed  to  return  to  his  home,  you  were  willing.  Black  Hawk 
expects  that,  like  Keokuk,  we  shall  be  permitted  to  return,  too." 
The  president  assured  them  that  their  women  and  children 
should  be  protected  against  their  enemies,  and  that  us  soon  as  he 
was  satisfied  that  peace  was  restored  to  the  frontiers,  he  would 
set  them  at  liberty. 

It  was  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  Ajiril  that  the  chiefs  entered 
Fortress  Monroe,  at  Old  Point  Comfort,  where  they  remained 
until  the  fourth  of  June,  when  they  were  released.  When  about 
to  depart.  Black  Hawk  waited  ujion  the  commandant  of  the  fort, 
and  said : 

"Brother,  I  have  come  on  my  own  part  and  in  behalf  of  my 
companions  to  bid  you  farewell.  Our  great  father  has  at  length 
been  pleased  to  permit  us  to  return  to  our  hunting  ground.*.  Wc 
have  buried  the  tomahawk,  and  the  sound  of  the  rifle  will  here- 
after only  bring  death  to  the  deer  and  the  bufTalo.  Brother,  you 
have  treated  the  red  men  very  kindly-.  Your  squaws  have  made 
them  presents,  and  you  have  given  them  plenty  to  cat  and  drink. 
The  memory  of  3-our  friendship  will  remain  until  the  Great  .S])irit 
says  it  is  time  for  Black  Hawk  to  sing  his  death  song  Brother, 
your  bouses  are  as  numerous  as  the  leaves  of  the  trees,  and  your 
young  warriors  like  the  sand  upon  the  shofe  of  the  big  lake  that 
rolls  before  us.  The  red  nuin  hath  but  few  houses  and  few 
warriors,  but  the  red  man  has  a  heart  which  throbs  as  warndy  as 
the  heart  of  his  white  brother.  The  Great  Spirit  has  given  us  our 
hunting  grounds,  and  the  skin  of  the  deer  which  we  kill  there  is 
his  favorite,  for  its  color  is  white,  and  this  is  the  emblem  of  peace. 
This  hunting  dress  and  these  feathers  of  the  eagle  arc  white.  Ac- 
cept them,  my  brother.  1  have  given  one  like  this  to  the  White 
Otter.     Accept  it  as  a  memorial  of  Black  Hawk.     When  he  is  far 


m 


TiiK  Black  Hawk  War. 


281 


away  this  will  serve  to  reiuiiKl  you  of  him.     ^^!ly  tlio  Groat  Spirit 
blfss  yoii  niul  your  cliililrcu.     Farewell." 

()u  the  5th  of  June,  IJlaek  ITawlc  and  his  five  ci)iu[)anion3  left 
the  fortresd  uiuler  the  charge  of  Maj.  John  Garland,  of  the  United 
States  army.  Before  leaving  tlie  2)lace  they  vi.sited  Norfolk  and 
the  navy  yard  ;it  Gosport.  They  were  taken  on  hoard  of  .some  of 
the  war  ships,  and  Black  Hawk  expressed  a  desire  to  sec  the 
chiefs  who  commanded  them.  In  the  journey  to  the  west,  Black 
Hawk  was  conducted  through  the  principal  cities  of  the  cast,  and 
in  every  place  to  which  he  was  taken  ho  received  great  attention 
from  the  odleials  and  from  the  people  at  large. 

Fort  Armstrong  had  been  chosen  as  the  projier  place  for  the 
ceremonies  of  the  liberation  of  Black  Hawk  and  his  party.  Its 
central  position  enabled  the  commander  to  assemble  the  surround- 
ing Indians  at  short  notice,  runners  being  sent  out  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  first  to  arrive  was  the  friendly  Keokuk  and  his  band. 
He  ascended  the  Mississip[)i  by  water,  and  led  the  van  with  two 
large  canoes  lashed  side  by  side,  handsomely  decorated,  with  a 
canopy  erected  over  them,  "beneath  which  sat  the  chief  and  his 
three  wives,  with  the  American  flag  waving  over  them.  More 
than  twcnt}'  canoes  followed  the  chieftain,  each  containing  from 
four  to  eight  of  his  warriors,  whose  shouts  and  songs  swcp*-  over 
the  transparent  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  were  echoed  from 
shore  to  shore.'-'  W\Q  little  fleet  passed  slowly  up  the  river, 
opposite  the  camp  of'  the  captives,  and  landed  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river.  At  this  place  Keokuk  and  his  party  spent  several 
hours  in  arranging  their  dress,  painting  and  equipping  themselves 
for  the  occasion.  When  this  important  duty  had  been  completed 
the}'  crossed  the  river.  Peaching  the  bank  the  great  Keokuk 
turned  to  his  followers,  an^  said:  "The  Great  Spirit  has  sent  our 
brother  back;  let  us  shake  lands  with  him  in  friendship."  Ho 
then  approached  Black  Hawk,  followed  by  his  warriors.  The  old 
chief  was  seated  in  front  of  his  temporary  lodge,  surrounded  by 
his  followers,  and  api)earcd  to  be  decpl}  iiTected  b}'  the  scene. 
Now  the  rivals  met  face  to  face  —  Keokuk  in  his  glory  and  Black 
Hawk  in  disgrace,  fallen,  forsaken  !  But  the  proud  ruler  did  not 
exult  in  his  well-merited  triumph.  Approaching  the  old  chief, 
Keokuk  stretched  forth  his  hand  in  friendship,  which  Black  Ilawk 


■'!  ' 


■M'.i' 


I 


;( 


1  :i;  1 


ill 


lii 


282 


Tvttle's  Cektexxial  Northwest. 


grasped  with  a  degree  of  cordiality.  Keokuk  and  his  followers 
then  took  scats,  which  was  followed  by  a  long  silence.  The  pipe 
was  lighted  and  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  followed  by  friendly 
sentiments  expressed  by  both  ])arties.  At  length  Keokuk  arose 
and  shook  hands  with  the  fallen  chief,  saying,  "We  will  return 
to-morrow."     He  then  recrossed  the  river  to  his  own  camp. 

On  the  following  day,  the  grand  council  for  the  libei'ation  of 
the  captives  was  held.  "  It  presented,"  says  Mr.  Conclin,  "  the 
novel  spectacle  of  a  chief,  compelled  by  a  third  power,  to  acknowl- 
edge the  authority  of  a  rival,  and  formally  descend  from  the  rank 
which  he  had  long  sustained  among  his  people.  Fort  Armstrong 
presented  a  commodious  room  for  the  ceremonies  of  the  day,  and 
it  was  fitted  up  for  the  occasion.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the  fore- 
noon, Keokuk  and  one  hundred  followers  recrossed  the  river  and 
proceeded  in  martial  array  to  the  garrison.  They  were  conducted 
into  the  council  room  and  shown  the  seats  which  they  were  to 
occupy.  Keokuk  was  seated  with  Tashepahow  (ihe  Stabber)  on 
one  side,  Wapellar  (the  Little  Prince)  on  the  other  —  the  former 
a  chief  of  the  Sacs,  the  latter  of  the  l*V)xcs.  The  remainder  of 
his  band  took  their  seats  in  the  rear,  and  maintained,  throughout 
the  ceremon}^,  jtrofound  silence." 

In  a  few  minutes  Black  Ilawk  and  his  followers  came  into  the 
couneil.  As  they  entered,  Keokuk  and  the  two  chiefs  by  his 
side  rose  and  greeted  them.  The  old  chief  and  his  associates 
were  seated  directly  o])posite  Keokuk.  Black  Hawk  was  accom- 
panied by  his  son,  Nasinewiskuk,  and  both  a})i)eared  to  be  dis- 
pleased. They  had,  the  day  i)revious,  oilcred  great  objt  otions  to 
the  council,  saying  it  was  altogether  unnecessary  and  would 
be  very  painful  to  them,  and  it  was  now  with  the  greatest  reluc- 
tance that  they  came  into  it. 

For  several  minutes  a  profound  silence  reigned  over  the  assem- 
bly, at  the  end  of  which  Maj.  Garland  rose  and  addressed  the 
couneil.  lie  said  he  was  pleased  to  see  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  greet 
Black  ITawk  with  fricnd.ship,  and  he  believed  that  hereafter  they 
would  live  in  peace.  At  this  point  Maj.  Garland  caused  the 
speech  delivered  to  Black  Hawk  at  Baltimore  by  the  presidi;nt  to 
be  again  interpreted  to  him.  This  ended,  Keokuk  rose,  ana  after 
shaking  hands  with  those  around  him,  said  : 


The  Black  Uawk  War. 


283 


"I  liavc  listened  to  tlic  talk  of  our  great  father.  It  is  true  \vc 
pledged  our  honor,  with  those  of  our  young  braves,  for  the  libera- 
tion of  our  friends.  We  tliought  riiuch  of  it ;  our  eouneii:^  were 
long ;  their  wives  and  ehildren  were  in  our  thoughts ;  wlieu  wc 
talked  of  them  our  hearts  were  full.  Their  wives  and  ehildren 
came  to  see  us,  whieh  made  us  feel  like  women ;  but  we  were 
men.  The  words  whieh  we  sent  to  our  great  father  were  good; 
he  s])oke  like  the  father  of  ehildren.  Tlie  Great  Spirit  made  his 
heart  big  in  council.  We  received  our  brothers  in  friendship ; 
our  hearts  were  good  towards  them.  They  once  listened  to  bad 
counsel ;  now  their  ears  are  closed.  I  give  my  hand  to  them ; 
when  they  .shake  it  they  shake  the  hands  of  all !  I  will  shako 
hands  with  them,,  and  then  I  am  done." 

Maj.  Garland  again  rose  and  said  that  th..'  president,  their  great 
father,  would  hereafter  recognize  Keokuk  as  the  principal  chief 
of  the  Sac  and  l^'ox  nations,  and  that  he  wished  and  expected 
that  Block  IJawk  would  conform  to  his  (rival's)  councils.  All 
unfriendly  feelings  between  them  must  be  buried,  and  the  band 
of  Bhx'jk  Hawk  must  be  hereafter  merged  in  that  of  Keokuk. 
And  just  hern  \  cannot  resist  from  making  a  single  comment: 
Was  it  not  enough  that  Black  Hawk,  whose  once  powerful  band 
of  warriors  had  beim  shot  down  by  American  soldiers,  had  been 
left  without  any  followers,  that  he  had  suffered  the  shame  of  a 
long,  and,  in  some  respects,  merciless  confinement?  Why  crush 
out  the  List  spark  of  ])ride  within  him? 

On  hearing  the  words  of  Maj.  Garland,  the  old  chief,  who  had 
suffered  his  captivity  and  imprisonment  with  fortitude,  lost  all 
control  of  himself  and  became  deeply  excited.  The  great  spirit 
whieh  had  borne  him  through  the  daring  struggles  of  his  great 
war,  and  made  his  name  terrible  wherever  it  was  spoken,  sud- 
denly returned  and  burst  forth  with  great  violence.  He  leaped 
to  his  feet,  M'cmbling  with  anger,  his  eyes  sparkling  with  rage, 
and  exclaimed : 

"  I  am  a  man !  an  old  man !  I  will  not  conform  to  the  councils 
of  any  one !  1  will  act  for  myself!  None  shall  govern  me  !  I  am 
old;  my  hair  is  gray.  I  o;ice  gave  councils  to  my  young  men. 
Am  L  to  confcrm  to  others?  T  shall  soon  go  to  the  Great  Spirit, 
wliere  I  shall  bo  at  rest.  What  I  said  to  our  great  father,  I  say 
again.     I  will  alwa.ys  listen  to  Lim.     I  am  done." 


Mea 


Ill) 


2S4 


Tcttle's  Centennial  Nohtiiwest. 


|iii 


It 

'ii 


I   ni! 


i'»  I 


■M' 


This  speech  created  great  excitement  in  the  council,  and  the 
interpreter  was  directed  to  explain  to  Black  Hawk  that  the  presi- 
dent had  only  requested  him  to  listen  to  the  counsel  of  Keokuk. 
But  the  old  man  was  displeased  and  would  make  no  reply. 
Keokuk  approached  him  and  whispercu,  "why  do  you  speak  so 
before  the  white  men  •  I  will  speak  for  you  ;  you  trembled.  You 
did  not  mean  what  you  said."  Keokuk  then  took  his  place,  and 
remarked  to  the  council :  "Our  brother  has  again  come  to  us,  has 
spoken,  but  he  .spoke  in  wrath.  His  tongue  was  forked.  lie 
spoke  not  like  a  man  —  a  Sr.c.  He  knew  his  words  were  bad  ;  he 
trembled  like  the  oak  whose  roots  have  been  wasted  away  by 
many  rains.  He  is  old  — what  he  said,  let  us  forget.  He  says 
be  did  not  mean  it ;  ho  wishes  it  forgotten.  I  have  spoken  for 
him.  ^yh"lt  I  have  said  are  his  own  words,  not  mi  3.  Let  us 
say  he  spoke  in  council  *^o-day  —  that  his  words  were  good.  I 
have  spoken."  Several  other  speeches  were  made,  after  which 
Maj.  Garland  rose  and  told  Black  Hawk  that  he  was  at  liberty  to 
go  where  he  pleased ;  that  the  people  of  the  United  Stated,  as 
well  as  himself,  were  pleased  with  the  uniform  good  conduct  of 
all  the  captives  while  among  them;  that  they  were  convinced 
their  hearts  were  good,  but  they  had  listened  to  bad  councils. 
Tlxe  majoi-,  in  conclusion,  e aid  he  hoped  that  peace  and  harmony 
would  long  exist  between  them.  Black  Hawk  rose  in  reply,  and 
made  a  short  and  appropriate  speech,  asking  the  reporters  to  draw 
a  line  over  the  speech  he  had  made.  He  said  he  did  not  mean  it. 
The  council  was  then  broken  up. 

In  the  cvcnii;g  of  the  .same  day.  ^[nj.  Grarland  invited  the  prin- 
cipnl  chiefs  t>  his  own  quarters,  and,  after  treating  them  to  cham- 
pagne, all  indulged  in  speeches.  Black  Hawk,  who  was  the  last 
one  who  spoke,  said  : 

"I  feel  that  I  am  an  old  man;  once  I  could  speak,  but  now  I 
have  but  little  to  say;  to-day  we  met  many  of  our  brothers  ;  we 
were  glad  to  see  them.  I  have  listened  to  what  my  brothers  have 
said ;  their  hearts  are  good ;  they  have  been  like  Sacs  since  I  left 
them;  they  have  taken  care  of  my  wife  and  children,  who  had 
no  wigwam  ;  T  thank  them  for  it;  the  Great  Spirit  knows  that  I 
thank  them.  Before  the  sun  gets  behind  the  hills  to-morrow,  I 
shall  see  them :  I  want  to  sec  them.     When  I  left  them  I  ex- 


The  Black  Hawk  War. 


285 


pected  soon  to  return  ;  I  told  our  great  father  when  in  Washing- 
ton, that  I  would  listen  to  the  counsels  of  Keokuk.  I  shall  soon 
he  far  away.  I  shall  have  no  village,  no  band.  I  shall  live 
alone.  What  I  said  in  council  to-day,  I  wish  forgotten.  If  it 
has  been  put  on  paper,  I  wish  a  ma'-k  drawn  over  it ;  I  did  not 
mean  it.  Now  we  ar-i  alone,  let  us  say  we  will  forget  it.  Say 
to  our  great  father  and  Gov.  Cass,  that  I  will  listen  to  them. 
Many  years  ago  I  met  Gov.  Cass  in  councils,  far  across  the  prai- 
ries, to  the  rising  sun.  His  counsels  were  good;  my  ears  were 
closed ;  I  listened  to  the  great  father  across  the  waters.  My 
father  listened  to  him  whose  band  was  large.  My  band  was  once 
large ;  now  I  have  no  band.  I  and  my  son,  and  all  the  party, 
thank  our  great  father  for  what  he  has  done.  He  is  old;  lam 
old ;  we  shall  soon  go  to  the  Great  Spirit,  where  wc  shall  rest. 
He  sent  us  through  his  great  villages.  We  saw  many  of  the 
white  people,  who  treated  us  with  kindness.  We  thank  them; 
we  thank  you  and  Mr.  Sprague  for  coming  with  us.  Your  road 
was  long  and  crooked.  We  never  saw  so  many  white  men  be- 
fore. When  you  were  with  us,  wc  felt  as  though  we  had  some 
friends  among  them.  We  felt  safe ;  you  knew  them  all.  When 
you  come  upon  the  Mississippi  again,  you  shall  come  to  my  wig- 
wam; I  have  now  none.  On  your  road  home,  3''ou  will  pass 
where  my  village  was  once ;  no  one  lives  there  now;  all  are  gone. 
I  give  you  my  hand;  we  may  never  meet  again.  I  shall  long 
remember  you.  The'  Great  Spirit  will  be  with  you  and  your 
wives  and  children.  Before  the  sun  rises  I  shall  go  to  my  family; 
my  son  will  be  here  to  see  you  before  we  go.  I  will  shake  hands 
with  my  brothers  here,  and  then  I  am  done."  On  the  following 
morning  Black  Hawk  crossed  the  river  and  wasted  no  tunc  in 
reaching  his  wife.  The  other  Indians  also  repaired  to  their  vil- 
lages. 

In  addition  to  this,  it  will  be  proper  to  add  that  in  September, 
1838,  while  on  his  way  to  Rock  Island  to  receive  his  portion  of 
the  annual  payment,  lie  took  a  heavy  cold,  which  resulted  in  a 
fatal  attack  of  bilious  fever,  which  terminated  his  life  on  the  third 
of  Oct'iber,  after  an  illness  of  only  a  few  days.  His  wife,  who 
wa?  devotedly  attached  to  him,  mourned  deeply  during  his  sick- 
ness.    She  said  on  the  day  before  he  died,  "  he  is  getting  old,  he 


m 


\m 


'>.» 


i    H 


:'ti 


11 
i 


!    '1 
i    I'll 
I'li 


Ml; 


1^  • 


286 


TuTTLE's   CEyTEXXIAL  XoRTinVEST. 


must  (lie.  ^Nfonotali  calls  him  home."  After  liis  death,  he  was 
dressed  in  the  uniform  presented  to  him  by  the  president  while 
in  Washington,  and  buried.  "  The  grave  was  six  feet  deep,  and 
of  the  usual  length,  situated  upon  a  little  eminence  about  fifty 
yards  from  his  wigwam.  The  body  was  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  grave,  in  a  sitting  posture,  upon  a  scat  constructed  for  the 
purpose.  On  his  left  side,  the  cane  given  him  b}'  Henry  Clay, 
■was  placed  upright,  with  his  right  hand  resting  upon  it.  Many 
of  the  old  warrior's  trophies  were  placed  in  the  grave,  and  some 
Indian  garments,  together  with  his  favorite  weapons." 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 
TERRITORIAL  HISTORIES  —  IOWA  AXD  MINNESOTA. 

Iowa,  in  1838,  was  read}'  to  form  a  territorial  government  and 
thus  to  take  the  first  step  toward  a  place  in  the  union.  In  1838, 
-the  legislature  of  Wisconsin  convened  at  Burlington,  on  the  fir.-t 
of  June,  and  continued  in  session  till  that  portion  of  the  territory 
west  of  the  Mississippi  was  cut  off  from  Wisconsin,  and  formed 
a  separate  government.  There  was  an  act  passed  by  congress  on 
the  12th  of  June,  1838,  by  which  it  was  provided,  "that  from 
and  after  the  third  of  Juh'  next,  all  that  part  of  the  territory  of 
Wisconsin  that  lies  west  of  the  ^Mississippi  river,  and  west  of  a 
line  drawn  due  north  from  the  head  waters  or  sources  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  the  territorial  line,  was,  for  temporary  parposes,  consti- 
tuted a  separate  territorial  government,  and  called  Iowa." 

This  law  made  provisions,  that  there  .should  be  "  nominated 
and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  appointed 
by  the  president  of  the  United  States,  a  governor,  secretary,  chief 
justice  and  two  associate  judges,  a  United  States  attorney  and 
marshal.  The  governor  was  appointed  for  three  years,  and  tho 
other  ofiiccrs  for  a  term  of  four  years.  The  governor  was  re- 
quired to  reside  in  the  territory,  was  the  commander-in-chief  of 
the  militia,  was  rquired  to  perform  the  duties  of  superintendent 


Territoihal  Histories  —  Iowa. 


287 


of  Iruliaii  afTair?!,  and  all  laws  passed  by  the  legie^lature  were  to 
be  approved  by  him,  before  tlicy  should  take  effect,  and  he  was 
invested  with  the  power  to  grant  pardons;  and  he  was  "  to  nomi- 
nate, and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  legislative  council, 
appoint  all  judicial  officers,  justices  of  the  peace,  sheriffs  and  all 
militia  officers,  except  those  of  the  staff,  and  all  civil  officers  not 
provided  for  by  the  organic  act.  It  was  further  provided,  that 
the  territory  should  be  divided  into  throe  judicial  districts,  and 
the  governor  had  the  right  to  define  the  judicial  districts  of  the 
territory,  and  assign  the  judges  appointed  to  the  several  districts, 
and  appoint  the  time  for  holding  courts  in  the  several  counties, 
till  otherwise  provided  by  the  legislature  ;  each  of  the  judges  was 
required  to  live  in  and  hold  the  courts  in  his  own  district,  and  the 
three  judges  were  required  to  meet  at  the  seat  of  government 
once  a  year,  and  together  hold  a  supreme  court.  It  was  also 
made  the  duty  of  the  governor  to  "  declare  the  number  of  mem- 
bers of  the  council,  and  house  of  representatives  to  which  each 
of  the  counties  was  entitled,"  and  the  first  election  was  to  be 
held  at  such  time  and  places,  and  be  conducted  in  such  manner 
as  he  might  direct. 

Robert  Lucas,  who  had  been  governor  of  Ohio,  was  appomtcd 
governor;  William  B.  Conway,  secretary ;  Francis  Gehon  (the old 
marshal  of  Wisconsin),  marshal ;  Cyrus  S.  Jacobs,*  Charles  Ma- 
son, Joseph  Williams  and  Thomas  S.  Wilson,  judges. 

Gov.  Lucas  ccused  the  census  to  be  taken,  and  apportioned  the 
members  of  the  legislature,  and  issued  his  proclamation  for  an 
election  of  delegates  to  congress,  and  members  of  the  legislature. 
The  governor  made  Burlington  the  temporary  seat  of  govern- 
ment, and  convened  the  first  legislature  of  Iowa  territory  on  the 
12th  of  November,  1838,  consisting  of  thirteen  tnembers  of  the 
council,  and  twenty-six  members  of  the  house  of  representatives. 

During  Gov.  Lucas'  administration  the  southern  boundary 
question  created  much  difficulty  between  Iowa  and  Missouri,  but 
the  contest  was  finally  settled,  to  the  credit  of  Gov  Lucas,  who, 
although  he  stood  boldlj'-  to  his  own  convictions,  proved  to  be  in 
the  right. 

♦Jacobs,  soon  after  lie  wiis  uppointed,  in  a  political  difficulty,  was  killed, 
and  Isaac  Van  zVllen  appointed  in  his  place. 


I  it  f 


ll'i 


■-:  m 


r 


Ji'     ,1 

4  \i 


?»•'■  '1 


\-}r' 


Hi 


111:  r  ! 


V'--'-  f      '• 


288 


Tuttle's  Cextexxial  XoiiTinrEsr. 


The  democratic  administration  of  Van  Burcn  having  given  place 
to  the  whig  government  of  Harrison,  on  the  25th  of  ^[arch,  1841, 
John  Chambers  was  appointed  territorial  governor  of  Iowa  to  suc- 
ceed Gov.  Lucas.  Tlic  latter,  after  retiring  fi-om  office,  removed 
to  tlie  land  adjoining  Iowa  City,  which  he  had  purchased  from 
the  government  when  it  was  first  brought  into  market,  where  he 
spent  the  most  of  his  remaining  days  in  the  management  of  his 
farm,  the  care  of  his  family  and  the  education  of  his  children. 

Under  Gov.  Chambers'  administration  the  capital  was  moved 
from  Burlington  to  Iowa  City.  The  propriety  of  assuming  the 
responsibility  of  a  slate  government  was  discussed  at  an  early 
day  ;  and  this  question  was  brought  before  the  legislature,  and  on 
the  sixteenth  of  February,  18-12,  a  law  was  passed  providing  for 
a  convention,  and  the  taking  of  the  necessary  steps  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  state  government.  The  convention  was  to  consist 
of  eighty-two  members,  and  to  meet  on  the  first  ^Monday  of  the 
next  Xovembcr  ;  but  before  the  law  was  to  be  in  force  it  was  to 
be  submitted  to  the  vote  of  the  people. 

But  it  seems  that  the  people  did  not  at  that  time  feel  disposed 
to  assume  the  responsibility  of  a  state  government,  for  at  the  next 
election,  the  proposition  was  voted  down.  In  the  fall  of  this  year 
there  was  another  treaty  held  with  the  Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  at 
their  agency,  and  on  the  eleventh  of  October,  1842,  an  agree- 
ment was  signed  for  the  purchase  of  all  their  lands  in  Iowa.  By 
the  provisions  of  this  treat}',  the  Indians  retained  the  right  to  oc- 
cupy all  that  part  of  their  lands  ceded,  "  which  lies  west  of  a  line 
running  due  nonh  and  south  from  the  Painted,  or  Bed  Hocks,  on 
the  White  Breast  fork  of  the  Bcs  Moines  I'iver,  for  the  term  of 
three  years."  In  consideration  of  the  grant  of  lands,  the  United 
States  agreed  to  pay  these  nations,  yearly,  an  interest  of  five  per 
cent,  on  the  sum  of  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  pay  all 
their  debts  which  at  that  time  amounted  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  thousand,  five  hunarcd  and  .sixty-six  dollars  and  thirty- 
four  cents.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  tliat  this  treaty  had  been 
made,  there  was  a  great  rush  of  immigration  to  Iowa,  and  large 
numbers  marked  out  and  made  temporary  settlements  near  the 
boundary  line  of  the  Indian  country,  so  as  to  be  ready  on  the 
first  day  of  the  next  May  to  move  into  the  new  purchase,  and  se- 


Territouial  Histories  —  Iowa. 


'289 


lect  choice  locations  for  their  claims.  The  winter  of  1842-3  was 
noted  as  the  cold  winter.  Snow  about  a  foot  deep  fell  on  the 
night  of  the  ninth  of  November,  most  of  which  lay  on  the 
ground  till  the  next  Ajiril.  During  most  of  the  winter  the  snow 
was  from  two  to  four  feet  deep,  and  a  great  portion  of  the  time, 
the  thermometer  was  about  twenty  degrees  below  zero. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  j'car  1842,  there  was  a  great  crisis 
in  money  matters.  !Most  of  the  banks  through  the  country  had 
suspended  si^ccic  payments  in  the  fall  of  1840,  and  many  of  them 
at  this  time  were  afraid  to  make  their  accustomed  loans;  money 
everywhere  became  scarce  and  property  went  down  in  value  faster 
than  it  had  gone  up,  and  it  was  almost  impossible  to  sell  at  any 
{)ricc.  In  addition  to  the  general  crisis  all  over  the  country,  early 
in  the  year  1842,  all  the  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  a  great  portion 
of  the  ^Michigan  and  other  western  baidcs  failed.  The  loss  sus- 
tained by  the  failure  of  banks,  and  the  hard  times  occasioned  by 
the  general  panic  in  the  monc}''  market,  created  a  great  prejudice 
against  all  banks,  and  the  sentiment  prevailed  to  a  great  extent, 
in  favor  of  a  strictly  hard  currency  ;  and  this  was  made,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  in  man}'  parts  of  the  country,  and  particularly  in  the 
west,  a  political  issue. 

Provisions  were  made  for  a  convention  to  form  a  constitution 
in  1844,  and  the  convention  met  in  October,  in  Iowa  City,  and 
formed  a  constitution.  About  the  same  time  that  Iowa  sought  to 
become  a  state,  Florida  formed  a  constituiii-n,  and  made  applica- 
tion for  admission  to  the  union,  and  on  the  third  of  March,  1845, 
congress  passed  an  act  admitting  Florida  and  Iowa  into  the  union 
as  sovereign  states ;  but  the  act  curtailed  the  boundaries  of  Iowa, 
and  instead  of  adopting  the  boundaries  as  defined  in  her  constitu- 
tion, enacted  that  they  should  "  begin  at  the  mouth  of  '-^t.  Peters 
river,  thence  up  that  river  to  the  parallel  of  latitude,  passing  through 
the  mouth  of  the  Wakaton  or  Blue  Earth  river,  thence  west,  along 
said  parallel  to  a  point  where  it  is  intersected  by  a  meridian  line 
seventeen  and  a  half  degrees  west  of  Washington,  thence  due  south 
to  the  state  of  Missouri,  thence  to  the  north  line  of  that  state  till 
it  strikes  the  Dc^s  Moines  river,  thence  down  that  stream  to  the 
Mississippi,  thence  up  the  Mississippi  to  the  place  of  beginning  — 
making  the  western  boundary  of  Iowa  on  a  line  with  the  western 
19 , 


I 


mm\  i 


m^ 


r 


ii.;>; 


i 


vfi'^^ 


,    i'! 


.:^i  i' 


'»     I 


L 


200 


TirTLE's  Centesxial  XojiTinrEST. 


boundary  of  Missouri,  and  cutting  oil  nearly  all  the  western  slope 
of  the  state,  as  the  boundaries  were  subsequently  established. 
The  opponents  of  the  constitution  oilered  this  curtailing  of  the 
state  as  a  reason  why  the  )"ieoj)le  should  not  adopt  the  conslitu- 
tution.  '^riiis  argument  seemed  to  luivc  much  force,  especially 
with  the  whig  party;  and  to  counteract  this  opposition,  brought 
to  bear  against  adojjting  the  constitution,  lion.  Aug.  C.  Dodge, 
who  was  then  the  delegate  of  the  territory  in  congress,  prcparcjd  a 
circular  and  had  it  sent  all  over  the  territory,  in  which  he  gave  it 
as  his  opinion,  that  Iowa  could  never  get  a  better  boundary  than 
the  one  which  had  been  given  her  by  congress  ;  but  the  constitu- 
tion, contrary  to  the  expectation  of  all  leading  democrats,  was  voted 
down.  However,  in  1845,  provisions  were  made  for  another  con- 
stitutional convention,  whi'jh  convened,  in  Iowa  City  in  May,  18-16. 
Having  framed  a  constitution,  it  was  taken  before  the  people,  and 
adopted.  Clark,  who  was  the  last  territorial  governor,  upon  re- 
ceiving the  olTicial  vote,  adopting  the  constitution,  i.ssued  his  pro- 
clamation lor  an  election  of  state  oflicers  and  members  of  the  legis- 
lature. 

This  election  was  carried  on  with  a  great  deal  of  spirit  on  both 
sides,  but  the  democrats  succeeded  in  electing  all  the  state  ofTicers 
and  a  majority  of  the  representatives  in  the  senate,  but  were  not 
so  fortunate  in  electing  members  to  the  house.  For  ijovernor, 
Ansel  Briggs  received  7,026  votes,  and  Tho.s.  McKnight,  7,379 
votes. 

TERRITORY  OF  MINNESOTA. 

OuK  SKETCHES  of  the  territorial  history  of  Wisconsin,  Iowa, 
Minnesota  and  Nebraska,  are  necessarily  very  brief  in  onler  to  give 
place  toother  matters  of  greater  interest.  The  state  of  Minnesota 
derives  its  name  from  an  Indian  word,  signifying  "sky-tinted- 
water."  The  territory  was  first  entered  by  a  Frenchman  named 
Daniel  Gregsolon  du  Luth,  in  1078.  In  1071),  Father  Hennepin, 
and  two  others,  who  had  formed  a  part  of  La  Salle's  expedition, 
spoken  of  in  previous  chapter.?,  accompanied  the  Indians  to  their 
village,  180  miles  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  Ten  years 
later  the  territory  v.'as  taken  po.ssession  of  in  the  name  of  the 
French  king,  by  Perrot  and  his  companions.     They  built  a  fort 


TF.niiiToin.  1  /.  UiH ToiiiEs  —  Misxesota. 


291 


on  the  shore  of  lake  Pepin,  jii.st  above  its  entrance.  "In  1G95,  a 
second  fort  was  built  by  Le  Sueur,  on  an  island  in  the  Mississippi, 
just  below  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix.  In  1700,  he  built  a  fort 
on  the  Minnesota.  The  fur  traders  now  came  into  the  territory  in 
great  number?,  but  no  permanent  settlement  was  made  for  pur- 
poses of  colonization.  In  1763,  Capt.  Jonathan  Carver,  of  Con- 
necticut, visited  Minnesota,  and  publi.shed  a  description  of  the 
country.  In  1800,  that  part  of  the  present  state  of  Afinnesota 
lying  east  of  the  Mississijipi  river  was  included  in  the  territory  of 
Indiana.  In  1S03,  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  placed  the  United 
States  in  pos.session  of  the  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Fort 
Snclling  was  erected  in  1819,  and  garrisoned  by  the  United  States. 
The  territory  was  alrcadj'  tlie  scat  of  an  active  trade  with  the  In- 
dians, and  the  government  had  some  trouble  in  enforcing  its  regu- 
lutions  among  the  traders,  ifinuesota  was  explored  in  1820  by 
Gen.  Lewis  Cass,  and  in  1823  by  Maj.  Long.  A  third  exploring 
party  was  sent  out  in  1832,  under  Ilsnry  R.  Schoolcraft,  who  dis- 
covered the  source  of  the  Mississippi  river.  Frequent  surveys 
and  explorations  were  made  after  this,  until  the  region  became 
very  well  known.  In  18-12,  the  town  of  St.  Paul  was  founded, 
and  emigrants  commenced  to  settle  in  the  territory.  In  1840,  the 
territory  of  Minnesota  was  organized  by  congress.  The  popula- 
tion was  estimated  at  4,857  .souls,  and  one  half  of  the  lands  in- 
cluded in  the  new  territory  were  still  the  property  of  the  Indians. 
Emigrants  eanfc  in  fast,  however,  and  in  1857,  the  population  was 
ascertained  by  a  census  to  be  150,037.  In  1856,  congress  author- 
ized the  people  of  the  territory  to  form  a  state  constitution,  wliich 
was  done,  and  on  the  11th  day  of  May,  1858,  Minnesota  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  Union  as  a  sovereign  state."* 

*  Great  Republic. 


I  ■  .  i  i| 


!>" 


I    I 


292 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

TEUllITORIAL   HISTORIES  —  KANSAS. 

Enrly  Kansas  —  Gov.  Ri^edor  —  The  Kansas-Nebraska  Act  — Territorial  Con- 
llicls  of  Kansas  —  Slavery  Agitation  —  Kansas  made  a  State. 

By  the  pas.sage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  tlie  territorial 
government  of  Kansas  was  establi.slicd.  This  was  in  1S54. 
When  the  territory  was  organizcil,  the  only  inhabitants  witliin 
its  boundaries,  except  Indians,  were  a  few  trader.s,  missionaries 
and  Indian  agents.  Up  to  this  time  the  western  border  of  Mis- 
souri was  considered  the  outline  of  civilization.  In  the  early  part 
of  May,  185-i,  before  tbe  territory  was  thrown  open  to  settlement, 
the  people  from  tlie  western  border  of  ^lissouri  hastened  over  the 
line  to  occupy  the  best  portions  of  the  country.  In  this  way  set- 
tlers soon  became  numerous,  itnd  in  the  spring  of  185i,  meetings 
^ere  held  among  the  squatters  at  which  resolutions  similar  to  the 
following  were  passed  ; 

WiiEKEAS,  Wo  the  citizens  of  Kansas  territory  and  many  otlier 
citizens  of  the  adjoining  state  of  Mis.souri,  contemplating  a  squat- 
ter's home  on  the  plains  of  said  territory,  are  assei  bled  at  Salt 
Creek  Valley  for  the  purpose  of  taking  such  steps  as  will  secure 
safety  and  fairness  in  the  location  and  preservation  of  claims. 
Therefore, 

Beit  resolved:  "1st.  That  we  arc  in  favor  of  a  bona  Jh.le 
squatter  sovereignty,  and  acknowledge  the  right  of  any  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  to  make  a  claim  in  Kansas  territorv, 
ultimately  with  the  view  of  occupying  it. 

"  2d.  That  such  claim,  when  made,  shall  be  held  inviolate  so 
long  as  a  ho7ia  fide  intention  of  occupying  it  is  apparent,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  protecting  and  defending  such  claim,  we  agree  to 
act  in  concert,  if  necessary  to  expel  intruders. 

"  3d.  That  every  person  of  lawful  age  wdio  may  be  at  the  head 
of  a  family,  who  shall  mark  out  his  claim  of  160  acres,  so  that  it 


n  ; 


i 


TERiiiTORiAL  Histories— ■  Kansas. 


293 


may  bo  apparent  how  the  same  lies,  and  proceed  with  rcasonahlo 
diligence  to  erect  tlicreon  a  cabin  or  tent,  shall  be  deemed  to  have 
made  a  proper  claim, 

"  4th.  That  an}--  person  marking  out  his  claim  shall  be  deemed 
10  have  forfeited  it  unless  he  commences  his  cabin,  or  pitches  his 
tent  within  two  weeks  thereafter,  unless  tlic  same  bo  on  lands 
which  prohibit  it  by  military  or  Indian  reservations. 

"oth.  That  all  persons  now  holding  claims  shall  have  two 
weeks  from  this  daj',  in  which  to  make  the  improvements  con- 
templated by  the  foregoing  resolutions. 

"  6th.  No  person  shall  be  protected  by  the  squatter  association 
who  shall  hold  in  his  own  right  more  than  one  claim. 

"  7th.  That  a  citizen  of  the  territory  bo  appointed  as  register  of 
claims,  who  shall  keep  a  book  in  which  he  shall  register  the  name 
and  description  of  all  squatters,  and  their  claims,  and  the  dates  of 
making  the  'same,  for  which  registration  he  shall  be  allowed  the 
sum  of  fifty  cents  for  each  claim,  to  be  paid  by  the  claimant. 

"  Sth.  That  we  recognize  the  institution  of  slavery  as  always 
existing  in  this  territory,  and  recommend  to  slaveholders  to  intro- 
duce tlicir  property  as  early  as  possible. 

"  Oth.  That  we  will  afford  protection  to  no  abolitionists  as  set- 
tlers of  Kansas  territory." 

These  were  the  first  resolutions  passed  in  the  territory,  and  as 
they  were  in  reality  passed  by  Missourians,  they  appeared  jioor 
inducements  to  free'state  settlers.  The  first  attempt  at  founding 
a  city  in  the  territory  of  Kansas  was  that  of  Leavenworth.  On 
the  13th  of  June,  1854,  an  organization  of  thirty-two  persons  was 
effected,  consisting  of  pro.slavery  and  free  state  men.  They  pro- 
cured two  quarter  sections  of  land  where  the  city  now  stands. 
This  was  divided  into  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  shares,  that 
at  first  sold  for  $250  a  piece.  Over  $4,000  were  immediately  ex- 
pended in  clearing  off  the  land  ready  for  settlement.  It  was  not 
until  three  years  after,  however,  that  the  title  was  secured,  but  af- 
ter the  settlement  of  Leavenworth  commenced,  it  grew  rapidly  and 
.soon  became  a  place  of  importance. 

Atchison  was  laid  out  in  the  same  year  by  a  similar  association. 

While  the  advocates  of  slavery  were  thus  busily  engaged  in 
Kansas,  the  friends  of  free  labor  were  not  idle.  The  fierce  debates 


if   \ 


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Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


in  congress  had  nircady  directed  tlic  attention  of  the  people  in  the 
nortliern  states  to  this  territory.  The  pre.«s  of  the  country  pro- 
cLiinicd  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  tlie  country,  and  emigrant  aid 
societies  were  formed  in  New  England  and  elsewhere  to  promote 
the  settlement  of  Kansas  by  free  state  men.  By  the  middle  of 
the  year  1854.  emigration  began  to  arrive  from  the  northwestern 
free  states,  and,  through  these  means  a  settlement  was  formed  in 
the  neighborhood  of  tlie  pre.senl  citA'  of  Lawrence.  Topcka  was 
also  settled  this  3'ear,  as  also  Manluittan  and  Gras.shopper  Kails. 
The  settlement  of  Kansas  progressed  rapidly  in  1854,  and  in 
that  year  it  was  evident  the  conllict  between  slavery  and  free 
state  interests  would  culminate  in  open  hostilities.  For  the  first 
four  montlis  after  Kan.sas  was  opened  to  settlement,  there  was  no 
general  government  over  the  territory;  but  sijuatters  in  various 
localities  would  get  together  and  adopt  rules  and  regulations  to 
which  all  would  sub.scribe.  By  these  rules  all  questions  pertain- 
ing to  claims  were  settled,  and  a  record  of  them  kept.  Peace 
and  harmony  prevailed  among  the  settlers,  and  there  was  no  dif- 
ficulty, only  when  some  wandering  Missourians  would  seek  to 
disturb  free  state  men  in  the  possession  yi  their  claims.  People 
were  intent  in  the  construction  of  their  new  homes,  and  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery  attracted  little  attention  Presses  began  to  bo  in- 
troduced of  a  stamp  that  would  have  done  honor  to  an  older 
country.  Prosperity  and  good  will  existed  among  all  classes. 
But  the  mischief  makers  in  Mis.souri  were  busy  at  their  work, 
soon,  indeed,  to  disturb  the  growth  and  harmony  of  the  rising 
state.  In  1854,  the  following  ofliccrs  were  appointed  by  the  pres- 
ident to  oi'ganizie  and  administer  government  in  Kansas:  Andrew 
IT.  Reeder,  of  Pennsylvania,  governor ;  Daniel  Woodson,  of  Vir- 
ginia, secretary;  Samuel  D.  Lccompte.  of  Mar^dand,  chief  jus- 
tice; Sanders  W.  Johnson,  of  Ohio,  and  Rush  Elmore,  of  Ala- 
bama, associate  justices;  J.  B.  Donaldson,  of  Illinois,  marshal; 
Andrew  J.  Isaacs,  of  Louisiana,  district  attorney  ;  John  Calhoun, 
of  Illinois,  surveyor  general  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska;  S.  Cun- 
ningham, of 'Missouri,  superintendent  of  Indian  afTairs.  Gov. 
Reeder  was  born  in  Easton,  iNurthampton  county,  Pennsylvania, 
on  the  r2th  day  of  July,  1807.  He  received  a  thoroughly  classi- 
cal and  legal  education,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1828 


Teiihitouial  Uistouiks  —  Kawsas. 


295 


The  appointment  of  ls\\\  Rocilor  met  with  tlic  hearty  ajiprnval  of 
the  democ.-ritic  ])rep3  throughout  the  hind.  The  south  h;ul  con- 
fidence in  ^fr.  Pierce,  and  felt  sure  that  he  understood  the  man 
of  his  selection  ;  tbo  north  lioped  from  Mr.  I^ceder's  character 
that  justice  would  be  administered  in  the  territory.  All  felt  safe 
that  the  governor  would  have  much  influence  in  determining  the 
institutions  of  the  fi'Miro  state,  and  the  eyes  of  the  nation  were 
upon  him.  On  arriving  at  Leavenworth,  he  met  with  a  warm  re- 
ception from  the  towns  people.  Stepping  from  the  Polar  iStar 
upon  the  levee,  he  was  greeted  by  a  vast  concourse  of  citizens,  a 
speech  of  welcome  and  a  navional  salute  from  the  fort. 

Gov.  l^eedcr  at  once  made  an  extensive  tour  through  the  terri- 
tory', to  ascertain  the  character  and  needs  of  the  people.  Every- 
wliere  he  met  a  most  cordial  welcome.  However,  he  soon  became 
very  unpopular  with  proslavery  men,  and  in  1855,  he  was  re- 
moved, and  Hon.  Wil-on  Shannon,  of  Ohio,  was  appointed  in  his 
place.  But  we  may  notice  some  of  the  events  under  Gov.  lleed- 
cr.*  "  An  election  for  a  territori;d  delegate  to  congress  was  held 
November  29tli.  The  jiolls  were  taken  possession  of  by  armed 
bands  from  !Missouri,  and  out  of  2,871  votes  cast,  it  was  subse- 
quently estimated  by  a  congressional  investigating  committee  that 
1,729  were  illegal.  On  Mach  30,  1855,  another  election  for  mem- 
bers of  the  territorial  legislature  was  held,  and  the  polls  were 
again  taken  possession  of  hj  large  bodies  of  armed  men  from  Mis- 
souri who,  after  electing  proslavery  delegates  from  every  district, 
returned  to  their  own  homes  in  the  adjacent  state.  From  the  in- 
vestigation by  the  congressional  committee,  it  appeared  that  out 
6,218  votes  cast  at  this  election,  only  1,310  were  legal,  of  which 
791  were  given  for  the  free  state  or  antislavcry  candidates.  From 
six  of  the  districts,  evidence  of  the  illegal  nature  of  the  proceed- 
ings having  been  laid  before  Gov.  Reeder,  lie  set  aside  the  returns 
and  ordered  new  elections  in  tho.se  districts,  which  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  free  state  delegates,  except  at  Leavenworth,  where  the 
polls  were  again  seized  by  ^Mis.sourians.  Gov.  Reeder  soonaftpr 
visited  "Washington,  to  confer  with  the  federal  authorities,  and 
after  his  return,  his  removal  from  the  office  of  governor  was  an- 
nounced, July  26,  for  the  alleged  reason  of  irregular  proceed- 
*  American  Cj-clopedia,  vol.  X,  p.  104. 


I .  <■■ 


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296 


TuTTLE'S  CeXTENXIAL  XoiiTHWEST. 


iiigs  ui  the  purchase  of  Indian  lands.  The  territorial  legislature 
assembled  at  Pawnee,  Jaly  3,  and  remained  in  session  till  Aug. 
30.  One  of  tlieir  first  acts  vas  to  expel  tlie  free  state  men 
chosen  at  the  second  elections  ordered  by  Gov.  llceder,  and  to 
give  their  seats  to  the  proslaverj  men  or' 'finally  returned.  They 
also  passed  an  act  making  it  a  capital  offense  to  assist  slaves  in 
escaping  either  into  the  territory  or  out  of  it ;  and  felony,  pun- 
ishable with  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  ^rom  two  to  five  years, 
to  conceal  or  aid  escaping  slaves,  to  circulate  antislavery  publica- 
tions, or  to  deny  tho  right  to  hold  slaves  in  the  territory ;  also  an 
act  requiring  all  voters  to  swear  to  sustain  the  fugitive  slave  law ; 
and  they  also  adopted  in  a  body  the  laws  of  Missouri.  AVilson 
Shannou,  of  Ohio,  was  appointed  governor  in  place  of  Mr.  liced- 
c)-,  and  assumed  office,  Sept.  1.  A  few  days  later  a  convention  of 
the  free  state  party  was  held  at  Big  Springs,  and,  after  protesting 
against  the  acts  of  the  legislature,  nominated  ex-Gov.  Keeder  as 
delegate  to  congress,  and  appointed  Oct.  1/  as  the  time  for  hold- 
ing the  election,  when  Gov.  Reeder  received  about  2,-iOO  votes. 
At  the  same  time,  delegates  were  chosen  to  a  constitutional  conven- 
tion, which  assembled  at  Topeka,  Oct.  28,  and  sat  till  iS'ov.  11, 
when  they  promulgated  a  constitution  for  the  state  of  Kansas,  in 
which  slavery  was  prohibited.  The  contest  between  the  free 
state  and  ])ro3lavery  parties  now  grew  to  such  a  pitch  of  violence 
that  several  men  were  killed  on  each  side,  and  the  people  of  Law- 
rence began  to  arm  for  self  defense.  The  governor  called  out 
the  militia.  A  large  number  of  Missourians  enrolled  themselves 
as  Kan.sas  militia,  and  Lawrence  for  ."ome  days  was  in  a  state  of 
siege  ;  but  the  difficulty  was  tf^mporarily  adjusted  by  negotiation, 
and  the  !Missourians  retired  to  their  own  state.  On  Dec.  lii,  the 
people  voted  upon  the  question  of  accepting  tiie  To})eka  constitu- 
tion, and  it  was  accepted  with  only  forty-five  votes  against  it, 
exclusive  of  Leavenworth,  where  the  polling  was  prevented  by 
an  inroad  from  Mis.souri.  On  Jan.  15,  1856,  an  election  was 
held  for  .«tatc  odicers  and  a  legislature,  under  the  Topeka  consti- 
tution, and  Chas.  Robinson  was  chosen  governor. 

The  legislature  met  at  Topeka,,  ^[arch  4,  and  after  organi>:ing 
and  inaugurating  the  governor  and  other  officers,  adjourned  to 
July  4,.    Early  in  April  a  considerable  body  of  armed  men,  from 


— v!' 


Tehritohial  Histories  —  Kaks  is. 


237 


Georgia,  Alabama  and  other  southern  states,  led  by  Maj.  Buford, 
arrived  in  Kansas.  On  the  17th  of  the  same  month,  a  special 
committee  of  the  United  States  house  of  representatives,  appoint- 
ed about  a  month  before,  and  charged  to  investigate  the  troubles 
in  the  territory  of  Kansas,  arrived  at  Lawicnce.  The  result  of 
their  investigations  was  a  rcpori  by  a  majority  of  the  committee, 
Messrs.  Howard  of  Michigan,  and  Sherman  of  Ohio,  in  which 
they  said:  "Every  election  has  been  controlled,  not  by  the 
actual  settlers,  but  by  citizens  of  ^Missouri;  and  as  a  consequence, 
every  oflicer  in  the  territoiy  from  coiistible  to  legislator,  except 
those  appointed  by  t''c  president,  owe  their  positions  to  nonresi- 
dent voters.  None  have  been  elected  by  the  settlers,  and  your 
committee  have  been  unable  to  find  that  any  political  power 
whatever,  however  unimportant,  has  been  cxerci.sed  by  the  people 
of  the  territory."  Mr.  Oliver  of  ^Nfis.souri,  the  third  member  of  the 
committee,  made  a  minority  report,  in  which  he  said  :  "  It  must 
have  been  apparent  to  all,  that  the  report  of  the  majority  was  not 
only  ex  parte  and  onesided,  but  highly  partisan  in  its  charactei''from 
beginning  to  end.  This  appears  all  through  the  paper,  in  the  man- 
ner of  their  statement  of  all  things  referred  to  by  them  as  facts, 
many  of  which  statements  of  facts  thus  m.ade  rest  upon  no  evi- 
dence whatever  collected  by  the  committee.  There  is  no  cvidenco 
that  any  violence  was  resorted  to,  of  force  employed,  by  which 
men  were  prevented  from  voting,  at  a  single  election  precinct  in 
the  territory,  or  that  there  was  any  greater  disturbance  at  any 
election  precinct  than  frequently  occurs  in  all  our  state  elections 
in  exciting  times."  On  ^lay  5.  the  grand  jury  of  Douglass  coun- 
ty found  indictments  against  Reedcr,  Robinson,  L,  ne  and  other 
free  state  leaders,  for  high  treason,  on  the  ground  of  their  pai'tici- 
pation  in  the  organization  of  a  state  government  under  the 
Topeka  constitution.  Reeder  and  Lane  escaped  from  the  terri- 
tory, but  Robinson  was  arrested  and  kept  in  prison  for  four 
months.  The  United  States  marshal  took  Bedford's  men  into 
pay,  and  armed  them  with  government  muskets.  Lawrence  w.^.s 
again  besieged  by  a  large  force,  and  in  May  21,  under  a  promise 
of  safety  to  penson  and  protection  to  property,  the  inhabitants 
gave  up  their  arms  to  the  sheriff.  The  invaders  immediately  cn- 
terrcd  the  town,  blew  up  and  burned  the  hotel,  burned  Mr.  Rob- 


ii 

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Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


inson's  house,  destroyed  two  printing  presses  antl  plundered  sev- 
eral stores  and  houses.  A  state  of  civil  war  now  spread  through 
the  territory,  the  free  state  party  being  furnishec  with  contributions 
of  arms  and  money  from  nonslaveholding  states.  On  May  26,  a 
light  occurred  at  Pottawatomie  in  which  eight  men  were  killed, 
and  on  June  2,  another  at  Palmyra  or  B'ack  Jack,  which  resulted 
in  the  capture  of  Capt.  Pate  of  South  Carolina,  and  thirty  of  his 
men.  Similar  aflair.-!,  attended  with  more  or  less  lo.ss  of  life,  c'^'"'- 
tinued  to  occur  for  three  or  four  months.  Parties  of  emigrants 
from  the  free  states  on  their  way  tlirough  Missouri  were  in  many 
cases  stopped  and  turned  back.  The  free  state  legislature  met  at 
the  appointed  time  (July  4),  at  Topeka,  and  \\as  forcibly  dispers- 
ed by  United  States  troops  under  Col.  Sumner.  On  August  1-4, 
the  free  state  men  assailed  and  took  a  fortified  post  near  Lecomp- 
ton,  occupied  by  Col.  Titus  with  a  party  of  proslavery  men,  and 
captured  Titus  and  twenty  other  prisoners.  On  August  17,  a 
treaty  was  agreed  to  between  Gov.  Shannon  and  the  free  state 
men,  by  which  Shannon  restored  the  cannon  taken  at  Lawrence, 
and  received  in  exchange  Titus  and  the  other  prisoners.  A  few 
days  later  Shannon  received  notice  of  his  removal  from  office, 
.  JohnW.  Geary  of  Pennsylvania,  being  appointed  in  his  stead. 
Mr.  Woodson,  the  secretary  of  the  territory,  and  acting  governor 
before  Geary's  arrival,  on  Acgust  25,  issued  a  ])roclar;iation  de- 
claring the  territory  to  be  in  a  state  of  rebellion.  He  collected  a 
considerable  armed  force  at  Leeompton,  while  anotlier  bod}', 
amounting  to  1,150  men,  assembled  under  the  lion.  David  At- 
chi.son,  late  United  States  suuator  from  Missouri,  at  a  point  call- 
ed Santa  Fe.  On  August  20,  a  detachment  frum  Atchison's 
army  attacked  Osawatamie,  which  was  defended  by  about  fifty 
men,'  who  made  a  vigorous  resistance,  but  were  defeated  with  the 
loss  of  two  killed,  live  wounded  and  seven  prisoners.  Five  of 
the  assailants  werj  killed  and  thirty  buildings  were  burned.  Thr 
next  day  a  body  of  free  state  men  inai'dicd  from  L  wre've  ^)  at- 
tack Atchison's  army.  On  their  approach  the  latter  retired  or.a 
withdrew  Ihs  forces  into  Missouri.  On  September  1,  the  annual 
muii.jipal  election  took  place  at  Leavenworth.  A  party  chielly 
from  Alissouri,  killed  and  wounded  several  of  the  free  state  men, 
burned  their  houses,  and  forced  about  150  to  embark  for  St. 


SH.t    ' 


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TEnniTOiiiAL  IIisToiiiEs  —  Kansas. 


299 


Louis.  On  Sept.  8,  Gov.  Geary  arrived  at  Lecompton,  and  Rob- 
inson and  the  other  prisoners  held  on  a  charge  of  treason  were 
released  on  bail.  The  governor  on  assuming  office  issued  a  proc- 
lamation calling  upon  all  boaic==  of  men  to  disband.  lie  also 
promised  protection  to  the  free  state  men  who  accordingly  laid 
down  their  arms.  The  Missourians,  liowever,  immediately  assem- 
bled to  the  number  of  upward  of  2,000,  forming  three  regiments 
with  pieces  of  artillery,  and  marched  to  attack  Lawrence,  under 
command  ot  a  member  of  the  ]\[issouri  legislature.  Gov.  Geary 
with  his  force  of  United  States  soldiers  interposed  between  them 
and  Lawrence,  and  finally  prevailed  upon  them  to  retire.  During 
the  retreat,  a  free  state  man  named  BafTum,  was  shot  down  by  a 
man  named  Ilaynes,  almost  in  the  presence  of  the  govern'^/,  who 
subsequently  caused  tlie  arrest  of  Haynes  on  a  charge  of  murder. 
The  United  States  district  judge  Lecompte,  who  was  noted  as  an 
active  partisan,  liberated  Ilaynes  on  bail,  and  afterwards  on  habeas 
corpus.  Thereupon,  Gov.  Geary  forwarded  a  representation  to 
V',\v?hington  demanding  tho  judge's  removal,  and  about  the  ,mid- 
c.e  o'  December,  James  C.  Harrison  of  Kentuck}^,  was  appointed 
.■•  )i-.  place.  Gov.  Geary  now  reported  to  the  president  that 
yc  ■'.<.••  c.,  id  order  were  completely  reestablished  in  Kansas. 

L-  t  .'  -.1.  6,  1857,  the  legislature  elected  under  the  Topeka  con- 
stitution met  at  Topeka,  and  organized  next  da; .  The  United 
States  marshal  inimediately  arrested  the  ]n'eside'it  of  the  senate, 
the  speaker  of  the  house,  and  about  a  dozen  of  the  leading  mem- 
bers, whom  he  carried  prisoners  to  Tecumseh,  on  the  charge  of 
"  having  taken  upon  themselves  the  office  and  public  trust  of 
legislators  for  the  state  of  Kansas,  without  lawful  deputation  or 
appointment."  The  houses  being  left  without  a  quorum,  met 
■I.  i:ext  day  and  adjoiur.od  till  June.  Shortly  afterward  the 
territorial  legislature,  composed  entirely  of  proshivery  men,  chosen 
at  an  election  in  which  the  free  state  men  had  declined  to  partici- 
pate on  the  ground  of  its  illegality,  met  at  Lecompton,  and  among 
other  acts,  passed  one  providing  for  the  election  of  a  convention 
to  frame  a  state  constitutfon  for  Kansas.  Meanwhile  the  house 
of  representatives  at  Wasliington  had  passed  a  bill  declaring  void 
all  the  enactments  of  the  territorial  legislature,  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  "cruel  arV.  oppi'essive,"  and  that  ''the  said  legislature 


300 


TuTTLe's   CeXTENXIAL  NoitTIIWKST. 


m  I 


\  )l 


was  not  elected   by  the  legal  voters  of  Kansas,  but  was  forced 
upon  them  by  nonresidents."     This  bill,  however,  did  not  pass 
the  senate,  and  thn*^,  body  refused  to  confirm  the  appointment  of 
Harrison  in  the  pla        "  ^   compte,  who  thus  remained  chief  jus 
tice  of  Kansas,  never  .  s,  been  actually  dismissed.     Upon  this 

Gov.  Geo.ry  resigned  his  v/iiice  and  quitted  the  territory.  Rober'. 
J.  AValker,  of  ^lississippi,  was  a])pointcd  liis  successor,  with 
Frederick  P.  Stanton,  of  Tennessee,  for  secretary.  The  election 
for  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention  was  held  on  June 
15.  The  free  state  men  generally  took  no  part  m  it,  on  the 
ground  that  the  legislature  whicli  ordered  it  had  no  legal  author- 
ity, and  that  if  they  attempted  to  vote  th.ey  would  be  defrauded 
and  overborne  by  intruders  from  Mis.souri.  About  2,000  votes 
were  cast,  while  the  legal  voters  in  the  territor}',  by  a  recent  cen- 
sus, numbered  about  10,000.  At  the  territorial  election  held  a 
few  months  later,  the  free  state  men,  being  assured  by  Gov.  Wal- 
ker of  protection  from  intruders,  went  to  the  polls  and  cast  about 
7,600  votes  to  3,700  votes  thrown  by  the  opposite  party,  electing 
Marcus  J.  Parrott  delegate  to  congress,  together  with  nine  of  the 
seventeen  eouncilmen,  and  twenty-seven  of  the  thirty  representa- 
.tives.  An  attempt  was  made  to  change  this  result  by  means  of  a 
false  return  from  Oxford,  Johnson  county,  a  place  containing 
eleven  houses.  It  was  alleged  that  at  this  place,  1,62-i  persons 
had  voted,  and  a  corresponding  roll  of  names  was  sent  in,  which, 
on  examination,  proved  to  have  been  copied  in  alphabetical  order 
from  a  Cincinnati  directory.  This  return,  wliich,  if  accepted, 
would  have  changed  the  party  character  of  the  legislature  by 
transferring  fiom  the  free  state  to  the  proslavcry  side  eight  repre- 
sentatives and  three  eouncilmen,  was  rejected  by  Gov.  Walker  as 
a  manifest  falsification.  Soon  after  the  territorial  election,  the 
constitutional  convention  met  at  Lecompton,  and  adopted  a  con- 
stitution, four  sections  of  which  related  to  slavery,  declaring  the 
right  of  owners  to  their  slaves  to  be  inviolable,  and  prohibitin<' 
the  legislature  from  passing  acts  of  emancipation.  This  provisiim 
alone  was  to  be  submitted  to  the  electors  at  an  election  to  be  held 
on  December  21.  Tlie  ballots  cast  were  to  be  indorsed,  "Consti- 
tution with  slavery,"  or  "  Constitution  with  no  slavery  ;  "  thus 
securing,  in  any  event,  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  several 


iMSSF'l 


Tebritorial  Histories  —  Kansas. 


801 


clauses  of  which,  beside  those  thus  submittctl,  were  highly  object- 
ionable to  a  majority  of  tlie  people.  A  provision  was  inserted  in 
the  schedule  annexed  to  the  constitution,  preventing  any  amend- 
ment of  that  instrument  previous  to  186i.  The  promulgation  of 
this  constitution  caused  great  excitement  in  Kansas.  Gov. 
Walker  condemned  it  in  the  strongest  manner,  and  proceeded  at 
once  to  Washington  to  remonstrate  against  its  adoption  by  con- 
gress ;  but  before  his  arrival  there  the  act  had  received  the  ap- 
proval of  the  ^Dresident.  Gov.  Walker,  soon  after  his  arrival  in 
Washington,  resigned,  and  J.  W.  Denver,  of  California,  became 
governor.  At  the  election  of  December  21,  for  the  adoption  or 
rejection  of  the  slavery  clause,  the  vote  returned  was  6,143,  more 
than  half  of  which  were  from  countiefi  along  the  Missouri  border, 
whose  total  number  of  voters  by  the  census  did  not  exceed  1,000. 
Against  the  slavery  clause  there  were  509  votes,  the  free  state 
men  generally  abstaining  from  voting.  The  constitution  being 
thus  nominally  adopted,  an  election  for  officers  under  it  was  to  be 
held  on  January  4.  The  territorial  legislature,  at  a  special  session, 
passed  an  act  submitting  the  Lecomplon  constitution  to  the  direct 
vote  of  the  people  on  the  same  day  with  the  Lecompton  state 
election,  and  the  result  was  a  majority  of  10,226  votes  against  it. 
Congress,  after  long  discussion,  referred  the  matter  to  the  people 
of  Kansas  at  an  election  on  August  3,  1858,  when  tlie  Lecompton 
constitution  was  again  rejected  by  10,000  majority.  Meantime 
the  territorial  legislature  had  called  another  convention  to  meet  in 
April,  to  frame  a  new  constitution,  which  was  submitted  to  the 
people  and  ratified  by  a  large  majority,  though  by  a  small  total 
vote.  Shortly  after  the  rejection  of  the  Lecompton  constitution 
by  the  people,  Gov.  Denver  resigned,  and  Samuel  Medary,  of 
Ohio,  was  appointed  in  his  place.  The  territorial  legislature  met 
in  January,  1850,  and  passed  an  act  submitting  to  the  people  the 
question  of  calling  still  another  constitutional  convention.  The 
election  was  held  March  21,  aad  tl  e  result  was  a  majority  of  3,881 
in  favor  of  holding  a  convemon.  An  election  was  accordingly 
held  for  delegates,  and  the  invention  thus  chosen  met  at  Wyan- 
dotte, July  5,  and  adjourned  July  27,  after  adoj^ting  a  constitution 
prohibiting  slavery.  This  constitution  was  submitted  to  the  pop- 
ular vote,  October  4,  and  was  ratified  by  about  4,000  majority. 


'"!U  q 


'1,1 


111' 


i'l"  ' 


'Itl 
1! 


hi 


'i 


!;i 


i;i 


1  iiii 


302 


Tuttle's  Clwtkxnial  Northwest. 


Tlie  first  state  election  was  IkHJ  under  it,  December  6,  and  resulted 
in  the  choice  of  Charles  liobinson  for  governor.  Thus  Kansas 
outlived  her  territorial  conflicts,  and  at  last  arrived  safely,  though 
considerably  scarred,  upon  a  finn  state  constitution,  and  was  num- 
bered among  the- sovereign  states  of  the  Union.  A  sketch  of  the 
state  history  will  be  found  further  on. 

NEBRASKA. 

But  little  can  be  said  concerning  the  territorial  history  of  Ne- 
braska. The  territory  was  organized  in  1851,  by  the  celebrated 
Kansas-Nebraska  act,  but  Nebraska  did  not  share  the  territorial 
conflicts  with  Kansas.  The  early  settlers  flocked  in  from  the 
various  states  with  a  mixture  of  foreign  element.  The  Germans 
and  Irish  collected  in  towns  and  farming  settlements.  Slavery 
never  gained  a  foothold  ir  the  territory.  There  were  from  10  to 
20  household  servants  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state  at  an  early 
day,  but  the  legislature  in  18(31  passed  a  bill  prohibiting  slavery, 
over  the  governor's  veto.  "When  the  territory  was  first  organized, 
the  only  inhabitants  were  Indians.  The  Omahas,  about  900  in 
number,  had  until  a  late  day,  a  reserve  on  the  Missouri ;  the  Paw- 
nees, numbering  about  4,000  had  a  reserve  on  the  Loupe  ;  the 
Otoes  had  a  reserve  on  the  Big  Blue;  they  numbered  about  800. 
The  Ilalf-brceds  of  the  Sioux,  Omahas,  lowas  and  Otoes,  by 
treaty  of  July  15,  1830,  obtained  a  reserve  which  they  occupied 
until  a  late  day.  Above  the  Niobrarah  the  Poiicas  in  Yankton, 
Sioux  still  held  several  reserves  in  1860,  and  in  the  north  and 
northwest  portions  of  the  territory,  many  tribes  ran  wild  during 
most  of  the  territorial  existence.  While  Nebraska  was  a  territory, 
military  posts  were  maintained  among  the  Indians,  such  as  Forts 
Kearney  and  Laramie  on  the  Platte,  and  Forts  Union,  Pandall 
and  Benton  on  the  Missouri.  In  1860,  the  population  of  Nebras- 
ka had  reached  28,842,  and  four  years  later  congress  pa.ssed  an 
act  enabling  the  people  to  form  a  state  government,  a  constitu- 
tion was  ratified  by  the  people  in  1866,  and  on  the  Otli  of  Febru- 
ary, 1867,  Nebraska  was  admitted  into  the  L'nion  as  a  state. 
We  have  omitted,  at  this  point,  much  concerning  the  historical 
records  of  Nebraska,  but  these  deficiencies  are  supplied  in  the 
state  record  further  on. 


Sta te  Histories  —  Indiana. 


303 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


STATE  HISTORIES— INDIANA.* 


Administrations  of  the  GoTcrnors  of  Indiana  from  Jonatlian  Jennings  to 
Tliomas  A.  Hendricks  — Internal  Improvement  Troubles  —  Public 
AlTairs  —  Progress  of  the  State,  Historical  and  Statistical. 

The  first  election  under  the  state  constitution  of  Indiana, 
occuned  on  the  first  ]\ronday  of  August,  ISIG,  and  Jonathan  Jen- 
nings was  elected  governor;  Christopher  Harrison,  licutenrnt 
governor,  and  William  Hendricks  was  elected  to  represent  the 
new  state  in  tlic  house  of  representatives  of  the  United  State.=!. 
The  first  general  assembly,  elected  under  the  authority  of  the  state 
constitution,  commenced  its  session  at  Corydon  on  the  4th  of  Nov- 
ember, 1816.  John  Paul  was  called  to  the  chair  of  the  senate,  pro 
tern.,  and  Isaac  Blackford  was  elected  speaker  of  the  house  of 
representatives.  On  the  7th  of  November  the  oath  of  office  was 
administered  to  governor  Jennings  and  lieutenant  governor  Har- 
rison, in  the  presence  of'  both  houses. 

Thus  was  the  territorial  govcrmcnt  of  Indiana  exchanged  for  a 
state  government  on  the  7th  of  November,  181G.  During  the  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature,  James  Noble  and  Walter  Taylor  were 
elected  to  represent  the  state  of  Indiana  in  the  senate  of  the 
United  States.  Robert  A.  New  was  elected  secretary  of  state ; 
W.  XL  Lilley,  auditor  of  state,  and  Daniel  C.  Lane,  treasurer  of 
state.  The  session  was  adjourned  sine  die  on  the  third  of  Janu- 
ary, 1817.  The  inhabitants  of  the  new  state  first  turned  their  at- 
tention to  farming,  to  agriculture,  which  remains  the  principal  in- 
dustry of  the  state.  New  farms  were  opened,  new  settlements 
were  founded ;  orchards  were  })lanted ;  log  and  frame  school 
houses  were  erected,  churches  were  built,  and  very  soon  towns 
and  cities  be2;an  to  flourish.  "  Thus  was  inatiaurated  that  a;reat 
era  of  prosperity  which  can  only   terminate   in  future  greatness. 

*  Oliio,  which  should  have  been  taken  up  first  in  regular  order,  will  be  found 
further  on. 


mi 


;ll 


'     '     ' 


i*l<- 


30-t 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Xobtiiwest. 


"Withal,  a  sense  of  security  prcvadcd  the  minds  of  tho  people, 
TIio  hostile  Indians,  as  we  have  seen,  had  been  humbled.  Their 
power  and  pride  had  been  broken,  and  the  tomahawk  no  longer 
exeited  the  fears  of  the  pioneer  settler  of  Indiana.  The  settlers 
dwelt  in  safety  in  their  little,  plain,  log  cabins,  and  actuated  by  a 
faith  in  that  future  prosperity  which  they  have  lived  to  enjoy, 
they  cultivated  their  small  fields  without  the  aid  of  armed  sen- 
tinels. Tlic  numerous  forts  and  block  liouses,  which  had  once 
been  made  desolate  by  merciless  slaughters,  were  now  converted  in- 
to storehouses,  dwellings,  or  in  some  way  made  to  serve  the  purpose 
of  trade.  But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  great  prosperity 
has  been  attained  without  difficulty.  Indiana  has  had  her  inter- 
nal improvement  troubles  ;  her  financial  embarrassment;  a  cur- 
rency panic  ;  a  commercial  depression  ;  her  dark  days  ;  but  these 
have  all  pa.ssed.  They  were  unequal  to  the  per-sistent  energies  of 
a  free  people.  In  1316-17,  whan  the  state  was  in  itsinfanc}',  and 
the  citizens  were  not  wealthy,  and  when  the  number  and  value  of 
the  objects  of  taxation  were  miserably  smxll,  and  the  inexhaust- 
able  resources  undeveloped,  it  was  difficult  to  raise  the  revenue 
necessary  for  the  su})port  of  the  government.  The  burden  upon 
landholders  was  indeed  heavy  ;  the  funds  for  county  purposes 
•were  derived  mostlj'  from  a  poll  tax,  taxes  on  lands,  town  lots, 
horses,  carriages,  clocks,  watches,  and  to  license  venders  of  merch- 
andise." * 

The  .■  venue  troubles  of  the  state  seemed,  for  a  time  at  least,  to 
check  the  progress  of  the  state.  In  November,  1821,  Gov.  Jen- 
nings convened  the  legislature  in  extra  session,  to  provide  for  the 
payment  of  the  interest  on  the  state  debt,  and  a  part  of  the  princi- 
pal, amounting  to  twenty  thousand  dollars ;  but  the  meaiis  for 
payment  were  scarce  and  uncertain,  and  in  this  year  the  industries 
of  the  state  suflcred  great  embarrassment  from  dishonest  specula- 
tion in  high  places. 

Gov.  William  Ilen'^ricks  succeeded  Gov.  Jennings  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  affairs  of  the  state  in  1822.  Ilis  term  extended 
to  1825,  during  which  time  the  state  enjo3'ed  considerable  pros- 
perity, lie  was  succeeded  by  James  B.  Ray,  who  also  had  a  very 
successful  administration.  In  1830,  the  current  of  emigration  wa^ 
*  Ilistorj'  of  Indiana,  p.  180. 


State  Histories — Ixdiana. 


305 


still  flowing  into  the  state  and  spreading  itself  tliroughout  the 
limits  of  the  territory,  affording  the  surest  indications  of  a  contin- 
ued growth  and  prosperity.  These  assurances  were  considerably 
supported  by  the  great  increase  of  agricultural  productions,  facili- 
ties for  transportation,  and  increasing  wealth,  enterprise,  intelli- 
gence, tetnpertMicc  and  morality  ;  anc''  A  the  general  and  rapidly 
accumulating  n^asses  of  the  people.  During  these  months,  the 
people  were  daily  cheered  by  witnessing  from  twenty  to  fifty 
wagons,  containing  families,  moving  through  Indianapolis  and 
other  large  towns,  on  their  way  to  the  valleys  of  the  White  and 
Wabash  rivers.  Ii  was  estimated  that  every  da}',  daring  the  year 
1826,  over  thirty  families  settled  in  the  state  of  Indiana.  It  is 
only  from  a  contemplation  of  these  facts  that  the  reader  can  form 
any  correct  idea  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  siate.  At  no  former 
period  within  the  history  of  the  state  had  the  people  enjoyed  a 
more  ample  reward  for  the  various  agricultural  products  than  in 
1830.  This  market  was  created  from  various  causes,  but  mainly 
from  the  existing  wars.  Mr.  Eay  was  succeeded  by  Noah  Noble, 
in  December,  1831.  The  latter  held  the  office  of  governor  until 
1837.  It  was  during  the  first  year  of  Gov.  Noble's  administration 
that  tlic  work  of  internal  improvement  was  begun,  a  work  over 
whicli  the  state  became  bankrupted  in  treasur}-,  but  from  which 
it  finally  emerged  in  triumph.  The  principal  feature  of  the  inter- 
nal improvement  system  was  tiie  Wabash  and  Erie  canal.  Work 
on  this  and  other  projects  was  commenced  under  Gov.  Noble,  but 
in  1838,  when  David  Wallace  succeeded  him,  funds  were  found 
to  be  exhausted,  and  the  prospect  of  public  affairs  full  of  forebod- 
ing. At  the  close  of  this  year,  Go/.  Wallace,  in  addres.sing  the 
legislature,  used  these  words  :  "Never  before  —  I  speak  it  advis- 
edly —  never  before  have  you  witnessed  a  period  in  our  local  his- 
tory that  more  urgently  called  for  the  exercise  of  all  the  soundest 
and  best  attributes  of  grave  and  patriotic  legislators  than  the 
present.  *  *  The  truth  is  —  and  it  would  be  folly  tc  conceal 
it  —  we  have  our  hands  full  —  full  to  overflowing  !  and  tlierefore, 
to  sustain  ourselves,  to  preserve  the  credit  and  character  of  the 
state  unimpaired,  and  to  continue  her  hitherto  unexampled  mn'-ch 
to  wealth  and  distinction,  we  have  not  an  hour  of  time,  nor  a  dol- 
lar of  money,  nor  a  hand  employed  in  labor,  to  squander  and  dissi- 
20 


i  ■-,  ■  ':' 


!!»  i 


:    ii    I 


Ml? 


■,-■  :i 


300 


TvTTLIc'ii  CeXTEXXIAL  XoiiTtlWEST.' 


putG  upon  mere  objects  of  iilleiicss,  or  taste,  or  amusement."  The 
condition  of  the  state  at  tliis  time  was  truly  eritical.  There  hail 
been  borrowed  by  the  state,  for  internal  improvement  purposes, 
three  millions,  eight  hundred  and  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars 
—  one  millii.Hi,  three  hundred  and  twcnty-sevm  thousand  for  the 
Wabash  and  Eric  canal,  and  the  remaining  two  and  a  half  mil- 
lions for  the  benefit  of  other  works.  Upon  the  whole  of  this  sum, 
with  a  very  inconsiderable  exception,  the  state  paid  an  annual 
interest  of  five  per  cent.,  which  of  itself  was  an  unbearable  burden. 
To  meet  this  demand,  the  state  had  but  two  small  sources,  inde- 
pendent of  taxation.  These  were,  first,  the  interest  arising  from 
the  balances  due  upon  the  sales  of  canal  lands,  and  secondly,  the 
proceeds  of  the  third  installment  of  the  surplus  revenue,  both 
amounting,  in  1838,  to  '.ibout  forty-five  thousand  dollars.  This 
was  all  the  visible  means  with  which  the  state  had  to  pay  the 
enormous  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  without  resorting 
to  direct  taxation.  At  the  close  of  1839,  labor  wa?  suspended  on 
all  the  works,  and  the  contracts  were  surrendered  to  the  state. 

In  ISIO,  Gov.  Wallace  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  Bigger.  This 
and  the  year  following  were  dark  years  for  the  state  of  Indiana. 
"With  the  assembling  of  the  legislature  in  18-41,  the  state  had 
reached  a  crisis  in  its  affairs  which  had  been  ex})ected  by  many, 
but  which  many  had  expected  to  avoid.  Indiana,  until  that  year, 
had  succeeded  in  paying  the  interest  on  her  public  di  bt,  and  at 
the  previous  session  of  the  legislature,  ample  provision  was  sup- 
posed to  have  been  made  for  its  payment,  but  circumstances  be- 
yond the  control  of  the  agents  of  the  state  rendered  it  impossible 
lo  obtain  the  necessary  funds,  and  at  this  period  the  people  were 
compelled  to  acknowledge  the  unwelcome  truth  that  the  credit  of 
the  state  had  not  been  sustained.  In  this  connccticjn  we  shall 
briefly  glance  over  those  measures,  the  unfortunate  issue  of  which 
involved  the  state  in  the  difficulties  to  which  we  now  rofei-.  * 

In  the  year  1827,  the  state  of  Indiana  obtained  from  tlie  general 
government  a  grant  of  land  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  the  Wa- 
bash and  Erie  canal,  with  a  view  to  connect  the  Wabash  river 
with  lake  Eric.  A  portion  of  this  grant  was  surrendered  to  the 
state  of  Ohio,  on  the  condition  that  she  would  construct  the  canal 
♦From  Tattle's  History  of  Indiana. 


State  JIistoiuks  —  Indiasa. 


307 


from  tlic  bouiulary  of  Indiana  to  the  lake.  This  canal  had  been 
cc)m[)lctod  read}"-  for  navigation  from  Lafayette,  on  the  Wabash, 
to  the  eastern  line  of  the  state,  Tliis  work  was  not  generally  re- 
garded as  a  part  of  the  system  of  internal  improvements  adopted 
in  1836. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1836,  the  legislature  of  Indiana 
passed  an  act  to  provide  for  a  general  system  of  internal  improve- 
ments, embracing  a  number  of  expensive  works.  Tlic  extent  and 
condition  of  these  works,  including  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal, 
at  the  clo.se  of  the  year  18-tl,  with  the  total  disbursements  thereon, 
may  be  summed  up  as  follows : 

1.  The  Waba.sh  and  Erie  canal,  from  the  state  line  to  Tippecanoe, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  miles  in  length,  completed  and 
navigable  for  the  whole  length,  at  a  total  expenditure  of  $'2,0-11,- 
012.  This  sum  includes  the  cost  of  the  steamboat  lock  afterwards 
completed  at  Delphi. 

2.  The  extension  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Tippecanoe  to  Torre  Haute,  over  one  hundred  a:id  four 
miles.  The  estimated  cost  of  this  work  was  $1,500,000,  and  the 
amount  expended  for  the  same,  up  to  1841,  was  $108,855.  The 
navigation  was  at  this  period  opened  as  far  down  as  Lafayette, 
and  a  portion  of  the  work  performed  in  the  vicinity  of  Covington. 

3.  The  Crosscut  canal  from  Terre  Haute  to  Central  canal,  forty- 
nine  miles  in  length,  estimated  cost  $718,672  —  amount  expends 
to  1811,  $120,070,  aiid  at  this  period  no  part  of  the  work  was 
iiavigable. 

•1.  The  White  Water  canal,  from  Lawrenceburgh  to  the  mouth 
of  Nettle  creek,  seventy-six  and  a  half  miles  —  estimated  cost 
$1,675,738  ;  amount  expended  to  that  date,  $1,099,867,  and  thirty- 
one  miles  of  the  work  was  navigable,  extending  from  the  Ohio 
river  to  Brookville. 

5.  The  Central  canal,  from  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal,  to  In- 
dianapolis, including  the  feeder  dam  at  Muneietown,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-four  miles  in  length  —  total  estimated  cost  $2,299,853  ; 
amount  expended,  $568,016;  eight  miles  completed  at  that  date, 
and  other  portions  nearly  done. 

6.  Central  canal,  from  Indianapolis  to  Evansville,  on  the  Ohio 
river,  one  hundred  and  niuety-four  miles  in  length;  total  esti- 


. 


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308 


TuTTLE's   CjiNTHyNJAL  XOUTIIWEST. 


m.'itotl  cost,  $3,532,394;  nmount  expended  $831,302;  nineteen 
inile.s  of  wliieli  was  completed  fit  that  date,  at  the  southern  end, 
and  sixteen  miles  extending  south  from  Indianapolis  were  nearly 
com})lcted. 

7.  Erie  and  ^fiehigan  eanal,  one  hundred  and  eiglitytwo  miles 
in  length  ;  estimated  cost,  $2,024,823:  amount  expended,  $156,- 
324.     Xo  part  of  this  work  was  finished  in  1841. 

8.  The  Madison  and  Indianapolis  railroad,  over  eiglity-fivc 
miles  in  length,  total  estimated  cost,  $2,046,000,  amount  ex- 
pended $1,493,013.  lload  finished  and  '.n  o[ieration  for  about 
twenty-eight  miles;  grading  nearly  fiwished,  and  twenty -seven 
miles  in  addition,  extending  to  Edenburg. 

9.  Indianapolis  and  Lafayette  turnpike  road,  soventj-'-tlireo 
miles  in  length,  total  estimated  cost,  $593,737,  amount  expended, 
$72,182.  The  bridging  and  most  of  the  grading  was  done  on 
twenty-seven  miles  from  Crawfordsville  to  Lafayette. 

10.  New  Albany  and  Vincennes  turnpike  road,  one  hundred 
and  five  miles  in  length,  estimated  eost,  $1,127,295,  amount  ex- 
pended, $054,411.  In  1S41,  forty-one  miles  were  graded  and 
macadamized,  extending  from  Xcw  Albany  to  Paoli,  and  twenty- 
SQven  miles  in  addition,  partly  graded. 

11.  Jell'ersonville  and  Crawfordsville  road,  over  one  hundred 
and  sixty-four  miles  long,  total  estimated  cost,  $1,051,800,  amount 
expended,  $372,737.  Forty-five  miles  were  i)artly  graded  and 
bridged,  extending  from  JeH'ersonville  to  Salem,  and  from  Green- 
castle  north. 

12.  Improvement  of  the  Wabash  rapids,  undertaken  jointly 
by  Indiana  and  Illinois;  estimated  cost  to  Indiana,  $102,500, 
amount  expended  by  Indiana,  $9,539.  There  had  also  been 
paid  to  the  board  of  Internal  Improvements,  for  instruments,  etc., 
to  date,  $36,504.  By  summing  up  the  foregoing,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  whole  length  of  these  roads  and  canals  was  one  thousand 
two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  miles,  only  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
one  of  which  had  been  finished  in  1841.  The  estimated  aggre- 
gate cost  of  all  the  works  was  $19,914,424.  The  amount  ex- 
pended for  all  purposes,  to  that  date,  was  $8,104,528.  The  state 
debt,  at  this  time,  amounted  to  $18,469,140.  In  reference  to  this 
condition  of  the  public  debt,  as  well  as  the  means  to  be  employed 


1 


St. I TK  IfisroniEs  —  Indiana. 


309 


for  ^o^llcin,^^  it,  Gov.  Bigg(>r,  in  18-il,  remarked:  "Tt  is  duo  to 
(iiirsc'lvcs,  ill  tills  state  of  our  afTairs,  t(i  examine  into  some  oC  tlio 
l)roininent  causes  wliicli  liavc  [irodueed   tlio  present  embarrass- 
ments.   The  first  of  these  is  duiibtless  to  be  found  in  tlio  number 
of  largo  and  expensive  works  embraced  in  the  system  of  internal 
iiii[»r()vements  and  their  simultaneous  prosecution.     Also  the  un- 
expected increase  in  the  prices  of  provisions,  labor,  and  materials, 
was  such  that  a  sum  much  greater  than  the  original  estimate  was 
refpiired  for  the  construction  of  the  public  woi'us.     Two  great 
errors  were  committed  in  the  progress  of  the  .system.     The  first 
was,  paying  the  most  of  the  interest  out  of  the  money  borrowed. 
This  subjected  the  state  to  the  payment  of  compound  interest,  and 
the  people,   not  feeling  the  pressure  of  taxes  to  discharge  tho 
interest,  naturally  became  inattentive  to  the  policy  which  was 
pursued.     Had  the  legislature  commenced  by  levying  taxes  to 
defray  the  interest  as  it  accrued,  its  amount  would  have  been  a 
certain  index  to  the  sums  expended  on  the  works.     This  of  itself 
would  have  done  much  to  check  extravagant  expenditures.    Tho 
second  error  was  selling  bonds   on   credit."     This  led  to   very 
disastrous  results.      The   administration   of   Gov.  IJigger  closed 
iu   a  very  dissatisfactory  manner,  though  from  no   fault  of  the 
governor.     lie  was  succeeded  by  James  "Whitcomb  in  December, 
1843. 

During  tho  administration  of  Gov.  Whitcomb,  tho  war  with 
Mexico  was  thrust  upon  the  United  States  and  prosecuted  to  a 
glorious  triumph  in  the  acquisition  of  immense  tracts  of  lands  in 
tho  south  and  west.  Indiana  contributed  her  full  ratio  to  the 
troops  that  were  sent  into  the  Held,  and  in  a  spirit  of  singular 
promptness  and  patriotism,  adopted  all  necessary  measures  to 
sustain  the  general  government.  These  new  acquisitions  of  ter- 
ritory opened  for  discussion  the  question  of  slavery,  in  which 
Gov.  Whitcomb  expressed  himself  opposed  to  any  further  exten- 
sion of  the  "  National  sin."  It  is  due  to  the  memory  of  Gov. 
Whitcomb  to  state  that  through  the  judicious  operations  of  his 
government,  the  public  credit  of  the  state  was  redeemed.  Meas- 
ures of  compromise  between  the  state  and  its  creditors  were 
adopted  by  which,  ultimately,  the  public  works,  although  incom- 
plete, were  given  in  payment  for  the  claims  against  the  govern- 


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310 


Tvttle's  Centexxial  Northwest. 


incnt.     la  tins  and  other  ways,  the  state  was  again  phiced  upon 
respectable  footing  in  the  nation. 

Gov.   Whitcomb  was  succeeded    as   gov'crnor  by   Joseph    A. 
Wright,  in  December,  1849,  havi'g  faithfully  discharged  the  im- 
portant duties  devolving  upon  the  ofhce,  until  called,  in  Decem- 
ber, 18-48,  to  represent  the  state  of  Indiana  in  the  senate  of  the 
United  States.     Lieut.  Gov.    Paris  C.  Dunning  was   acting  gov- 
ernor from  December,   1848,  to   tlie  same   month  in  1840.     Th-^ 
administration  of  Gov.  "Wright,  was  a  successful  one.     He  en- 
dorsed  the   oorn])vo'"aise   measures  enacted    by  congress  on   the 
slavery  question  in  1850  ;  an.l  in  closing  his  mossago  of  this  year 
he   remarked :    "  Indiana  takes  her   stand   in  the  ranks  not   of 
southern  destiny,  nor  yei.  of  northern  destin}-.     She  plants  hcr- 
.self  on  the  basis  of  the  constitution,  and   takes  her  stand  in   the 
ranks  of  American  destiny."     It  was  also  during  Gov.  Wright's 
1     itful  administration  that  the  state  of  Indiana  started  oi     fully 
upon  the  great  mission  of  education.     It  was  in  1852  that  the 
township  system  was  adopted,  wliich  has  become  a  truly  wonder- 
ful success—  th  3  boast  of  thv^  state.     The  reader  is  referred  to 
another  part  of  this  volume  for  a  complete  history  of  the  superior 
educational  advantage,}  of  Indiana.     It   was   also    during   Gov. 
"Wright's  administration  that  the  second  constitutional  convention 
was  held,  and  a  new  constitution  adopted.     A  general  banking 
law  v/as  adopted  in  1851.     This  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  state,  and  opened  the  way  for  a  broader  volume  of 
general  trade.     This   banking  law,  however,  gave  '-ise  to  many 
abuses.     The  currency  was  expanded,  a  delusive  idea  of  wealth 
prevailed,  and,  as  a  consequence,  much  injurious  speculation  was 
indulged.     In  1857,  the  charter  of  the  state  bank  expired,  and  the 
large  gai^  _,  of  the  state  in  that  institution  were  directed  to  the 
promotio.i  of  jommon  school  education.     Gov.  Joseph  A.  >Yright 
was  succeeded  by  Ashbel  P.  "Willard,  in  Janv.ary,  1857,  as  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  of  Indiana. 

Gov.  Willard,  in  one  of  his  messages,  thus  3ums  up  the  history 
of  the  state  bank  of  Indiana:  "On  the  28tli  January,  1834,  an 
act  was  approved  establishing  a  state  bank.  Said  act,  by  its 
terms,  ceased  to  be  a  law  on  the  first  of  January  1S57.  Under 
this  law  the  bank  commenced  and  continued  its  operations  as  a 


Sta  te  Histories  —  Indiana. 


311 


,,(:.        ■< 


corporation  authorized  to  issue  and  circulate  notes,  discount 
paper,  and  transact  all  other  ordinary  banking  business  until  the 
first  of  January,  1857.  At  that  time  its  outstanding  circulation 
was  $-1,208,725,  with  a  debt  due  to  the  institution  principally 
from  citizens  of  the  state  of  $6,005, 3G8.  Between  the  first  of 
January,  1857.  -uid  1859,  the  bank  redeemed  nearly  its  entire  cir- 
culation, and  provided  amply  for  the  redemption  of  that  which 
has  not  been  returned.  She  has  collected  from  most  of  her  debt- 
ors the  money  which  they  owed.  *  *  *  The  state  was  inter- 
ested in  the  bank.  She  invested  in  its  stock  $1,390,000.  The 
money  to  make  the  investment  was  procured  by  the  issuing  of 
five  jicr  cent,  bonds,  the  last  of  which  will  be  payable  July  1, 
1860.  *  *  The  report  of  the  commissioners  shows  that  its 
nominal  profits  arc  $2,780,60-1.36.  By  the  law  creating  the  sink- 
ing fund,  that  fund  was  appropriated,  first,  to  pay  the  principal 
and  interest  nj)on  the  bonds;  second,  the  expenvses  of  the  com-' 
missioners;  and  lastly,  the  cause  of  common  school  education." 
On  the  3d  of  October,  1860,  before  his  term  of  office  expired. 
Gov.  AVillard  died  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  after  which,  for  the  remain- 
ing po/tion  of  the  term  the  duties  of  governor  devolved  the 
Lieut.  Crov.  A.  A.  Hammond.  lie  was  succeeded  by  Uenry 
S.  Lane,  who  resign  h1  to  accept  the  United  States  scnatc^rship, 
leaving  the  duties  of  governor  to  be  discharged  by  Lieut.  Gov. 
0.  P.  Morton.  The  administration  of  the  latte.  ."as  full  of  im- 
portaot  events.  With  the  beginning  of  the  y.  ir  1861,  the  war 
for  the  union  commenced.  In  this  war  Inc.iana  acted  a  noble 
part,  contributing  very  promptly  her  quota  of  men  and  means. 
O.  P.  Morton  was  succeeded  by  Conrad  Baker,  as  governor  in 
1868.  The  latter  wrs  succeeded  by  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  in 
1873.  The  governt^rs  of  the  territory  and  state  of  Indiana  from 
its  organization  to  tlic  present  are; 

Territorial  Governors.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  governor  northwest 
territory;  William  11.  Harrison,  from  1800  to  1812;  Thomas 
Posey,  from  1812  to  1816. 

Gt.vcrriors  of  the  State.  Jonathan  Jennings,  from  1816  to  1819  ; 
Jcr.at!:;in  Jennings,  (secon<l  term),  from  1810  to  1822;  William 
Hendricks,  from  1822  to  1825  ;  James  B.  Kay,  (acting),  February, 
1825  ;  ,lamcs  B.  ?..iy,  from  1825  to  1828 ;  Jumcs  B.  Bay,  (second 


i  i  ■  lii'l!  ':} 


h  I' 


312 


Tuttle's  Cextfxxial  Northwest. 


t 


term),  from  1828  to  1831;  Noah  Noble,  from  1831  to  1837; 
Noah  Noble,  (second  term),  from  183-1  to  1837  ;  David  Wallace, 
from  183/'  to  1840;  Samuel  Bigger,  from  1840  to  1843;  James 
Whitcomb,  from  1843  to  184G;  James  Whitcomb,  from  184G 
to  1848  ;  Parris  C.  Daiming,  (acting),  from  1848  to  1849  ;  Joseph 
A.  Wright,  from  1849  to  1852;  Joseph  A.  Wright,  from  1853  to 
1857;  Ashbel  P.  Willard,  from  1857  to  1800;  Abram  A.  Ham- 
mond, (acting),  from  ISOO  to  ISGl ;  Henry  S.  Lane,  (a  few  days), 
1S60;  Oliver  P.  Morton,  (acting),  from  1860  to  1865;  Oliver  P. 
Morton,  from  1865  to  1867  ;  Conrad  Baker,  (acting),  from  1867  to 
1869  ;  Conrad  Bake.t,  from  1869  to  1873  ;  Thomas  A.  Hendricks, 

from  1873  to 

Concerning  laws  and  courts,  state  institutions,  educational  in- 
stitutions, etc.,  of  Indiana,  the  reader  is  referred  to  one  of  the  sev- 
eral classes  of  subjects  treated  in  this  volume. 


CHAPTER    XXYII. 


STATE  IIliSTORIES  — MICHIGAN. 


Michigan  forms  a  Constitulion  —  Skctcli  of  the  " Toledo  War  " — Michigan 

iu  tlie  "War  for  the  Union. 


.''.  ,  ii: 


As  WE  have  seen,  ^Michigan  became  a.  state  with  Stevens  T. 
Mason  as  governor,  and  no  socer  was  the  whole  machinery  of 
the  state  government  in  motion,  than  the  question  of  the  boundary 
between  that  state  and  Ohio  began  to  attract  serious  attention. 
The  contest  was  rapidly  approaching  a  cri.«i.s.  *  "  ^lichigan 
claimed  for  her  southern  boundary  a  line  running  east  across  the 
peninsula  from  the  extremo  southern  point  of  Lake  Michigan,  ex- 
tending through  Lake  Erie,  to  the  Penn.'^ylvania  line.  This  she 
claimed  as  a  vested  right — a  right  accruing  to  her  by  compact. 
This  compact  was  the  ordinance  of  1787,  the  parties  to  which 
were  the  original  thirteen  states,  and  the  territory  northwest  of 

*  Tult'c's  Hi.«tory  of  Michigan. 


Sta  te  His  tobies  —  Michigan. 


313 


m- 


the  Ohio  ;  and,  by  the  sr.ccessiou  of  parties  under  statutory  amend- 
ments to  the  ordinance  and  laws  of  congress — the  United  Statcrf 
on  the  one  part,  and  each  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  as  far 
as  affected  by  their  provisions,  on  the  other.  i\Icihigan,  therefore, 
claimed  under  the^:))'^/-  g/ant,  or  assignation  of  boundary.  Ohio, 
on  tlie  other  hand,  claimed  that  the  ordinance  had  been  super- 
seded by  the  constituticn  of  the  United  States,  and  that  congress 
had  the  right  to  reguloce  the  boundary.  It  was  also  claimed  that 
the  constitution  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  having  described  a  different 
line,  and  congress  having  admitted  the  state  under  that  constitu- 
tion, without  mentioning  the  subject  of  the  line  in  dispute,  con- 
gress had  thereby  given  its  consent  to  the  line  as  laid  down  by 
the  constitution  of  Ohio.  This  claim  was  urged  by  O'lio  at  some 
periods  of  the  controversy,  but  at  others  she  appeared  to  regard 
the  question  as  unsettled,  by  the  fact  that  she  insisted  upon  con- 
gress taking  action  in  regard  to  the  boundar}'.  Vccordingly,  we 
find  that,  in  1812,  conoricss  authorized  the  surv  vui-  'general  to 
survey  a  line,  agreeably  to  the  act,  to  enable  the  peopl<'  ■  '  Ohio 
to  form  a  constitution  and  state  government.  Owing  to  Indian 
hostilities,  however,  the  line  was  not  run  till  1818.  In  1320,  the 
question  in  dispute  underwent  a  rigid  examination  by  the  com- 
mittee on  public  lands.  The  claim  of  Ohio  was  strenuously  urged 
by  her  delegation,  and  as  ably  opposed  by  Mr.  Woodbridge,  the 
then  delegate  from  Michigan.  The  result  was  that  the  co;.imittec 
decided  unanimously  in  favor  of  the  claim  of  Michigan  ;  but,  in 
the  hurry  of  business,  no  action  was  then  taken  by  congress,  and 
the  question  remained  open  till  Michigr.n  organized  her  state  gov- 
ernment. In  order  to  show  more  clearl}  the  grounds  upon  which 
Michigan  based  her  claims,  the  following  recited  acts  will  be  of  inter- 
est :  The  ordinance  of  1787  '  for  the  government  of  tlie  territory  of 
the  United  States  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio,'  declares  the  acts 
therein  contained  'articles  of  compact  between  the  orig.nal  states 
and  the  people  and  states  in  said  territory,  and  forever  to  remain 
unalterable,  unless  by  common  consent.'  This  ordinance  defines 
tlic  territory  to  include  all  that  r6gion  lying  north  and  nor  tliwest 
of  the  Ohio  and  cast  of  the  Mississippi  rivers.  In  the  fifth  article, 
it  is  provided  that  there  shall  be  formed  not  less  than  three  nor 
more  than  live  states  within  its  confines.     Tlie  bounaaries  of  the 


1.1 


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314 


Tuttle's  Centexnial  XoiiTIIWESr. 


three  states  are  dcfiiicd  so  as  to  include  the  whole  territory;  con- 
ditioned, however,  that  if  it  should  be  found  expedient  by  con- 
gress to  form  the  one  or  two  more  states  mentioned,  congress  is 
authorized  to  alter  the  boundaries  of  the  three  states  '  so  as  to 
form  one  or  two  states  in  that  part  of  the  said  territory  which  lies 
north  of  an  cast  and  west  line  drawn  through  the  southerly  bend, 
or  extreme  of  Lake  Michigan.'  The  first  act  touching  this  point, 
is  an  act  of  congress  passed  in  1802,  enabling  the  people  of  Ohio 
to  form  a  constitution.  The  boundary  of  that  state  is  declared  to 
be,  '  on  the  north  by  an  east  and  west  line  drawn  through  the 
southerly  extreme  of  Lake  Michigan,  running  east,  after  intersect- 
ing the  due  north  line  aforesaid  from  tlie  mouth  of  the  Great 
Miami,  until  it  shall  intersect  Lake  Erie,  or  the  territorial  line,  and 
thence,  with  the  same,  through  Lake  Erie,  to  the  Penn.sylvania 
line.'  Tlie  constitution  of  Ohio  adopted  the  same  line,  with  this 
condition  :  "Provided,  always,  and  it  is  hereby  fully  understood 
and  dec'-.ired  by  this  convention,  that  if  the  southerly  bend  or 
extreme  of  Lake  Michicau  should  extend  so  far  south,  that  a  line 
drawn  due  east  from  it  should  not  intersect  Lake  Erie,  or,  if  it 
should  intersect  Lake  Erie  east  of  the  mouth  of  the  Miami  river, 
then,  in  that  case,  with  the  assent  of  the  congress  of  the  United 
States,  the  northern  boundary  of  tliis  state  -liah  be  established  hy, 
and  extend  to,  a  direct  line,  running  from  the  i^outliern  extremity 
of  Lake  ^Michigan  to  the  most  northerly  cape  of  the  Miami  bay, 
after  intersecting  the  due  north  line  from  the  mou'h  of  the  Great 
Miama,  as  o  foresaid,  thence  northeast  to  the  territorial  line,  and 
by  said  territorial  line  to  the  Pennsylvania  line.'  " 

"  At  tlie  next  session  of  congress  the  constitution  of  Ohio  was 
submitted  to  that  body,  and  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  house, 
which  reported  that,  '  as  the  suggested  alteration  was  not  submit- 
ted in  the  shape  of  a  distinct  proposition,  by  any  competent  au- 
thority, for  approval  or  disajiproval,  it  was  not  necessary  or  ex- 
pedient for  congress  to  act  on  it  all.'  And  it  was  not  acted  up- 
on until  another  disposition  was  made  of  it,  as  we  shall  see,  in 
1805.  The  })roposition  was  considered  by  all  parties  concerned, 
to  be  of  a  distinct  character,  requiring  the  special  consent  of  con- 
gress to  make  it  a  valid  j  art  of  the  constitution  of  Ohio  ;  and  that 
it  had  ever  been  so  regarded  by  Ohio,  her  repeated  application  to 


1' 


State  Histouies  —  Michigan. 


315 


congress  for  the  right  of  extending  her  boundary  to  the  proposed 
line  would  seem  to  demonstrate.  Again,  the  third  section  of  the 
act  of  1802  provides  that  all  that  part  of  the  territory  lying  north, 
of  this  east  and  west  line,  shall  be  "  attached  to,  and  make  part  of 
the  Indiana  territory."  Again,  the  act  of  1805,  entitled  "  an  act 
to  divide  the  Indiana  territory  into  separate  governments,"  erects 
Michigan  into  a  separate  territory,  and  defines  her  southern 
boundary  to  be  "  a  line  drawn  east  from  the  southerly  bend  or  ex- 
treme of  lake  Michigan,  until  it  intersects  lake  Erie." 

"  In  a  legal  point  of  view,  this  would  seem  to  have  settled  the 
question,  even  if,  as  Ohio  claimed,  the  ordinance  had  no  binding 
effect,  having  been  superseded  by  the  constitution.  The  "  con- 
sent of  congress  "  had  not  been  given  to  the  line  conditionally 
proposed  by  the  constitution  of  Ohio.  On  the  contrary,  the  dis- 
sent of  congress  would  seem  to  have  been  clearly  expressed  by 
this  act.  The  territory  in  dispute  is  about  five  miles  in  width  at 
the  west  end,  and  about  eight  miles  in  width  at  the  east  end,  and 
extends  along  the  whole  northern  line  of  Ohio,  west  of  Lake 
Erie.  Tlie  line  claimed  by  Michigan  was  known  as  the  "Fulton 
line,"  and  that  claimed  by  Ohio  was  known  as  the  "  Harris  line," 
from  the  names  of  the  surveyors.  The  territory  was  valuable  for 
its  rir;h  agricultural  lands;  but  its  chief  value  consisted  in  the 
fact  that  the  harbor  on  the  Maumee  river,  where  now  stands  the 
flourishing  city  of  Toledo,  was  included  within  its  limits.  Tho 
town  originally  bore  the  name  of  Swan  creek,  afterwards  Port 
Lawrence,  then  Vistula,  and  then  Toledo.  What  gave  the  pos- 
session of  this  harbor  more  importance  at  this  .time  was  the  fact 
that  it  was  the  proposed  terminus  of  the  Wabash  and  Eric  can- 
al. The  early  settlers  acknowledged  their  allegiance  to  Michigan  ; 
but,  when  tiie  canal  became  a  possibility,  and  its  termination  at 
Toledo  being  dci)cndcnL  upon  tho  question  wiiethcr  or  not  it  was 
within  the  state  of  Ohio,  many  of  the  inhabitants  became  sudden- 
ly convinced  that  they  had  all  along  been  residing  in  the  wrong 
state.  Othens,  it  is  said,  became  convinced  that  Ohio  was  a  much 
more  healthy  state  than  Michigan,  and,  consequently,  they  coveted 
the  change  which  would  remove  them  from  the  former  state  to 
the  more  salubrious  regions  of  tho  latter.  The  feeling  among  the 
inhabitants,  however,  was  far  from  unanimous,  and,  during  the 


I 


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318 


TUTTLK's   CeXTEXNIAL  XciiTHWEST. 


m 


struggle,  partif^ans  of  each  state  were  found  in  Toledo  who  would 
communicate  tlie  })lans  and  movements  of  the  other.  * 

"  As  we  have  before  remarked,  the  approaching  organization  of 
the  state  government  invested  the  disputed  question  with  pressing 
importance  ;  and  hostilities  on  the  disputed  territory  soon  became 
active.  In  February,  1835,  the  legislature  of  Ohio  passed  an  act 
extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  state  over  the  territory  in  rpics- 
tion ;  erected  townships,  and  directed  th.ose  townships  to  hold 
elections  and  elect  officers  in  April  following.  It  also  directed 
governor  Lueas  to  appoint  three  commissioners  to  survey  and  re- 
mark the  Harris  line;  and  named  the  first  of  April  as  the  day  to 
commence  the  survey.  Acting  governor  !N[ason,  however,  antici- 
pated this  action  on  the  part  of  the  Ohio  legislature,  sent  a  special 
message  to  the  legislative  council,  appri.sing  it  of  the  contents  of 
governor  Lucas'  message,  and  advised  immediate  action  by  that 
body  to  anticipate  and  counteract  the  proceedings  of  Ohio.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  the  12th  of  February,  the  council  passed  an  act  mak- 
ing it  a  criminal  offense,  punishable  by  a  heavy  fine,  or  imprison- 
ment, for  any  one  to  attempt  to  exercise  any  official  functions,  or 
accept  any  office  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Michigan,  under  or  by 
virtue  of  any  authority  not  derived  ivom  the  territory,  or  the 
United  States.  On  the  ninth  of  March  governor  Mason  wrote  to 
general  Brown,  then  in  command  of  the  Michigan  militia,  direct- 
ing him  to  hold  liimself  in  readiness  to  meet  the  enemy  in  the 
field  in  case  an  attempt  was  made  on  the  part  of  Ohio  to  carry  out 
the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  legislature.  On  the  thirty-first  of 
March,  governor  Lueas,  with  his  commissioners,  arrived  at  Perrys- 
burgh,  on  their  way  to  commence  resurveying  the  Harris  lino. 
lie  was  accompanied  by  general  Bell  and  staff,  of  the  Ohio  mi- 
litia, who  proceeded  to  muster  a  volunteer  force  of  about  six  hun- 
dred men.  This  was  soon  accomplished,  and  the  force  fully 
armed  and  equipped.  The  force  then  went  into  camp  at  Fort 
Miami,  to  await  the  governor's  orders.  In  the  meantime,  gover- 
nor Mason,  with  general  Brown  and  staff,  had  raised  a  force  eight 
hundred  to  twelve  hundred  strong,  and  were  in  possession  of  To- 
ledo. General  Brown's  staff  consisted  of  captain  Henry  Smith,  of 
Monroe,  inspector ;  major  J.  J.  Ullman,  of  Constantino,  quarter- 
*TuUle's  History  of  Micbigiin. 


ii-i 


State  Histories  —  Miciiigax. 


317 


master;  William  E.  Broadman,  of  Detroit,  and  Alpheus  Felcb,  of 
Monroe,  aids-de-camp.  When  governor  Lucas  observed  the  de- 
termined bearing  of  the  ^Michigan  braves,  and  took  not  of  their 
numbers,  he  found  it  convenient  to  content  himself  for  a  time 
with  "watching  over  the  border."  Several  days  were  passed  in 
this  exhilarating  employment,  and  just  as  governor  Lucas  had 
made  uj)  bis  mind  to  do  something  rash,  two  commissioners  ar- 
rived from  Washington  on  a  mission  of  peace.  They  remonstrat- 
ed with  governor  Lucas,  and  reminded  him  of  the  con.sequences  to 
liimsell:  and  his  state  if  he  persisted  in  his  attempt  to  gain  posses- 
sion of  the  disputed  territory  by  force." 

After  several  conferences  with  both  governors,  the  commis- 
sioners submitted  the  following  propositions  for  their  considera- 
tion : 

"  1st.  That  the  Harris  line  should  be  run  and  remarked,  pursu- 
ant to  t'lie  act  of  the  last  sessio  Jie  legislature  of  Ohio,  without 
interruption. 

"2d.  The  civil  elections  under  the  laws  of  Ohio  having  taken 
place  throughout  the  disputed  territory,  that  the  people  residing 
on  it  .should  be  left  to  their  own  government,  obeying  the  one 
jurisdiction  or  the  other,  as  they  may  prefer,  without  -uolestation 
from  the  authorities  of  Ohio  or  Michigan,  until  the  close  of  the 
next  session  of  congres.s."  Gov.  Lucas  at  once  accepted  the  pro- 
positions, and  disbanded  his  forces,  affecting  to  regard  the  arrange- 
ment as  having  been  made  with  the  president,  and  regarding  Gov. 
Mason  as  a  subaltern,  subject  to  the  control  of  the  president, 
through  the  commissioners.  Gov.  Mason,  on  the  other  hand,  re- 
fused to  accede  to  the  arrangement,  and  declined  to  compromise 
the  rights  of  his  people  by  a  surrender  of  possession  and  jurisdic- 
tion. Wlien  Gov.  Lucas  disbanded  his  forces,  however,  Gov. 
Mason  partially  followed  suit,  but  still  held  himself  in  readiness 
to  meet  any  emergency  that  might  arise.  Gov.  Lucas  now  sup- 
posed that  his  way  was  clear,  and  that  he  '^ould  remark  the  Harris 
line  without  being  molested,  and  ordered  the  commissioners  to 
proceed  with  their  work.  President  Jackson,  says  Tuitle's  LL'story 
of  Michigan,  had,  meantime,  applied  to  attorney  general  Butler 
for  his  opinion  concerning  the  power  of  the  president  over  the 
contending  parties.     In  reply,  Mi-.  Butler  gave  it  as  his  unquali-| 


'|iii 


tS 


I    iM 


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I    f 


318 


TvTTLE's   CEXTEyXIAL  NoRTIIWLST. 


ft: 


I    t 


i.-i' 


I    li^    .     liii 


fied  opinion  that  the  act  of  the  legislature  of  Ohio,  extending  the 
jurisdiction  over  a  part  of  the  territory  of  Michigan,  was  "repug- 
nant to  the  act  of  congress  of  the  lltli  of  January,  1805,  creating 
that  territory,  and  to  the  acts  subsequently  passed  for  its  govern- 
ment, and  its  actual  and  complete  enforcement  would,  therefore, 
involve  a  most  serious  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  tlnited  States." 
He  also  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  act  of  the  ^Michigan  legis- 
lative council  was  a  valid  law,  and  could  properly  bo  enforced. 
Notwithstanding  this,  Gov.  Lucas  ordered  bis  men  to  proceed  to 
run  the  line,  commencing  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  disputed 
tract.  In  the  meantime,  Gov.  Mason  kept  a  watchful  eye  upon 
the  proceedings.  Gen.  Brown  sent  scouts  through  the  woods  to 
watch  their  movements,  and  report  when  ojicrations  were  com- 
menced. "When  the  surveying  party  got  within  the  county  of 
Lenawee,  the  under  sheriflf  of  that  county,  armed  with  a  warrant, 
and  accompanied  by  a  i^osse,  suddenly  made  his  appearance,  and 
succeeded  in  arresting  a  portion  of  the  party.  The  rest,  includ- 
ing the  commissioners,  took  to  their  heels,  and  were  soon  beyond 
the  disputed  territory.  They  reac;hed  Perrysburgh  the  following 
day  in  a  demoralized  condition,  and  reported  that  they  had  been 
attacked  by  an  overwhelming  force  of  Michigan  militia,  under 
command  of  Gen.  Brown.  '^L'hey  also  reported  that  they  had  been 
fired  upon,  and  after  performing  wonderful  deeds  of  valor,  had 
been  borne  down  by  overwhelming  numbers  and  forced  to  retreat, 
whilst  their  less  fortunate  comrades  were  all  either  killed  or  taken 
prisoners.  They  formally  reported  tliese  assertions  to  the  gov- 
ernor, who,  in  turn,  reported  them  to  the  president.  The  jjrcsi- 
dent  thereu])on  sent  a  copy  of  the  report  to  Gov.  Mason,  and  asked 
for  a  statement  of  the  facts  "by  the  officers  engaged  in  the  trans- 
actions complained  of."  Accordingly  the  under  sherill"  was  ap- 
pealed to  who  made  a  very  amusing  report,  setting  forth  the  real 
facts,  which  showed  that  it  was  a  civil  force  that  made  the  arrests  ; 
that  there  was  no  bloodshed  connected  with  the  aflair  ;  that  nine 
persons  in  all  were  arrested  on  a  civil  warrant,  issued  by  a  justice 
of  the  peace  ;  and  closing  with  the  information  that  "  the  commis- 
sioners made  very  good  time  on  foot  through  the  eottonwood 
swamp,  and  arri\-ed  safe  at  Perrj'sburgh  the  next  morning,  with 
nothing  more  serious  than  the  loss  of  hats. 


St.  I TI-:  His  to  urns  —  Miciiiga  n. 


319 


This  sudden  breaking  up  of  the  surveying  party  produced  tho 
greatest  cxcitcnient  in  Ohio,  and  Gov.  Lucas  called  an  extra  ses- 
sion of  the  ic'gishxturo.  The  legislature  met  and  proceeded  to  de- 
nounce the  acts  of  ^[ichigan.  Among  other  laws  on  the  subject, 
a  law  was  passed  to  create  the  new  county  of  Lucas,  nnaking  Toledo 
the  seat  of  justice,  and  directing  the  court  to  be  held  immediately, 
at  any  convenient  house  in  Toledo.  Another  act  was  passed  ap- 
piopriating  $000,000,  to  carry  the  laws  concerning  the  boundary 
into  cflect  over  the  disputed  territory'.     This  meant  war  ! 

*'  It  was  evident  that  Ohio  was  aroused.  Her  state  pride  had 
been  wounded.  The  idea  that  the  young  territory  of  ^fichigan, 
with  her  stripling  governor,  should  successfully  defy  the  great 
stale  of  Ohio,  with  a  million  of  inhabitants,  and.  her  aged  governor, 
was  one  that  the  authorities  could  not  endure  with  anv  dcfjrrce  of 
patience  or  equanimity.  A  call  was  then  made  to  ascertain  the 
number  of  men  who  were  willing  to  go  forth  to  battle  for  the 
liumiliation  of  Gov.  Mason  and  the  protection  of  the  commission- 
ers. Ten  thousand  men  were  reported  as  ready  'to  do  or  die.'* 
These  proceedings,  however,  did  not  have  the  desired  effect  on 
the  authorities  or  people  of  ^lichigan.  On  the  contrary,  it  only 
served  to  i-ouse  them  to  renewed  zeal  in  the  cause,  and  they  hurled 
defiance  in  the  teeth  of  Gov.  Lucas,  and  dared  him  to  enter  the 
disputed  territory.  In  the  meantime,  the  authorities  of  Michigan 
were  active  in  sustaining  their  supremacy  on  the  disputed  ground. 
Prosecutions  for  holding  oillce  under  Ohio  were  conducted  v'ith 
the  greatest  vigor.  For  a  long  time  the  people  of  Monroe  county 
were  kept  busy  assisting  the  sheriil  in  executing  his  processes, 
and  making  arrests  in  Toledo.  The  partizans  of  Ohio  were  con- 
tinually harrassed.  Suit  after  suit  was  commenced  against  them, 
and  each  suit  was  the  breeder  of  a  score  of  others.  The  officers 
of  Ohio  made  a  feeble  attempt  to  retaliate,  but  were  generally 
unsuccessful.  Every  inhabitant  of  the  disputed  ground  was  kept 
busy  in  watching  and  reporting  the  movements  of  either  the  bailiffs 
of  Wood  or  of  ^Nfonroe  counties.  Many  of  the  Ohio  partisans 
were  arrested  and  conveyed  to  the  jail  of  ^Monroe  county.  Some- 
times these  arrests  were  attended  with  some  danger  —  always  with 
great  difficulty.     An  instance  is  related  of  Maj.  Stickney's  arrest; 

♦History  of  Mieliigtiu. 


l;;  \ 


]'<\\\ 


f  i!  1* 


l!i  f 


320 


TrTT/J.-'s   CESTEXyLlL  XoiiTinVEST. 


"I  ''' 


which  civated  some  amiiscmeut  at  tlie  time.  He  and  Iii.s  whole 
family  fought  valiantly,  but  were  at  length  overeome  by  numbers. 
After  the  rniijor  was  secured,  he  was  requested  to  mount  a  horse, 
but  flatly  refused.  He  was  then  put  on  by  foree,  but  he  would 
not  sit  on  the  horse,  Finally,  two  men  were  detailed  to  walk 
beside  him  and  hold  his  legs,  while  a  third  led  the  hor.se.  In  this 
way  they  succeeded  in  getting  him  about  half  way  to  ^[onroe, 
when  the  men  became  tired  of  that  means  of  securing  him,  and 
then  iM'oceeded  to  tic  his  legs  under  the  horse.  In  that  manner 
he  was  at  last  got  to  jail.  An  attempt  was  made  to  arrest  a  son 
of  the  major,  called  Two  Siiclcney.  A  severe  sculllc  ensued,  in 
which  the  olliccr  was  stabbed  with  a  knife.  The  blood  flowed 
pretty  freely,  but  the  wound  did  not  prove  dangcrou.s.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  this  was  the  only  blood  shed  during  the  war.  The 
officer  let  go  his  hold  and  Stickncy  fled  to  Ohio.  He  was  indicted 
by  the  grand  jury  of  ^[onroe  county,  and  a  requisition  was  made 
on  the  governor  of  Ohio  for  his  rendition,  but  the  governor  re- 
fused to  give  him  up.  On  one  occasion  an  officer  attempted  to 
arrest  a  man  at  ninht.  The  man  had  but  a  moment's  warniui;. 
and  sought  safety  by  flight.  He  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Maumee 
river,  and,  throwing  himself  across  a  saw  log,  paddled  him.self. 
with  his  hands  and  feet,  safely  to  a  '  foreign  shore.'  A  very  pious 
man  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  and  fled  to  tho  woods,  wlierc 
he  lived  many  days  in  an  old  sugar  shanty.  It  was  currently  re- 
ported, and  generally  believed  among  the  Ohio  'partisans,  that  a 
miracle  had  been  wrought  in  his  behalf  —  that '  robin  redbreasts' 
brought  him  his  daily  food  and  drink.  The  belief  In  this  'mira- 
cle' strengthened  the  cause  of  Ohio  in  many  quarters  very  ma- 
terially." 

A  report  of  the  stabbing  of  the  Monroe  county  ofliccr  by  Two 
Stickncy  was  forwarded  to  the  president,  together  with  the  state- 
ment that  Gov.  Lucas  was  protecting  him;  and  an  urgent  appeal 
was  made  for  assistance.  This  made  a  great  impression  on  the 
mind  of  the  president,  and  convinced  him  that  something  should 
be  done  to  prevent  serious  trouble  from  ensuing. 

Gov.  Lucas  soon  after  sent  commissioners  to  Washington  to 
confer  with  the  president,  and  a  correspondence  was  entered  into 
between  these  commissioners  and  the  secretary  of  state.     The 


I 


1'  I 


I' 


i   ■ 


h 


Statp:  IIisToiiiKS  —  Michigan. 


321 


m 


^' 


secretary,  in  reply  to  an  earnest  appeal  for  intorferenco  on  tlio 
part  of  the  general  government,  said  that  tlio  president  would 
inunediatoly  cause  an  earnest  reeoininendation  to  be  made  to 
Gov.  ilason,  that  no  obstruetion  shall  be  interj)oscd  to  the  re- 
marking of  the  Harris  line;  that  all  proscentions  under  the  terri- 
torial act  of  February  be  discontinued ;  and  no  further  i)rosceu- 
tions  shall  bo  eornmenced  until  the  next  session  of  congress. 

This  rcGoimnendation,  however,  had  no  effect  on  the  action  of 
Gov.  ^lason.  lie  was  delerinined  to  protect  his  territory  and  her 
jurisdiction  at  all  hazards.  The  "recommendation"  of  the  presi- 
dent was  made  on  the  third  day  of  July,  and  the  deputy  sherifl 
*"'  Monroe  was  wounded  by  Two  Stickney  on  the  fifteenth  of 
that  month.  Prosecutions  went  on  the  same  as  before.  "When 
the  president  became  aware  of  this,  he  su[)erseded  aeting-Gov. 
^fason  as  .secretary  of  Michigan,  and  ajipointcd  Charles  Shaler, 
of  Pennsylvania,  as  his  succe.s.sor.  He  also  advised  Gov.  Lucas 
to  refrain  from  any  act  of  jurisdiction  over  the  disputed  territory 
pending  the  action  of  congre.s.s.  It  now  became  apparent  to  Gov. 
Lucas  that  any  attempt  to  take  forcible  possession  of  the  terri- 
tory Would  be  stopped  by  the  military  forces  of  the  United  States. 
This  was  a  matter  of  great  humiliation  to  the  governor.  But 
Boon  after  a  force  was  raised  by  the  adjutant  general  of  Ohio, 
who  marched  at  the  head  of  a  small  force  as  an  escort  to  the 
judges,  who  held  their  court  in  Toledo.  After  considerable  blood- 
less conllict,  in  which  both  Michigan  and  Ohio  manifested  an 
enthusiasm  for  war  iu-jonsistcnt  with  good  generalship,  the  mat- 
ter was  settled.  The  election,  to  ratify  the  constitution  of  the 
state  of  Michigan,  and  to  elect  state  ofTicer.s,  was  conducted  with- 
out any  unusual  excitement.  Tiie  constitution  was  ratified  by  a 
large  majority,  and  Stevens  T.  Mason,  as  already  mentioned,  was 
elected  governor.  Tlie  fir.st  session  of  the  legislature  under  the 
constitution  was  commenced  at  the  capitol,  in  the  city  of  Detroit, 
on  the  first  Monday  of  November,  and  John  Norvell  and  Lucius 
Lyon  were  elected  United  States  senators.  A  regular  election 
was  also  held  under  the  territorial  laws  for  delegate  to  congress, 
and  George  W.  Jones,  of  Wisconsin,  received  the  necesary  certi- 
ficate of  election,  although  it  is  said  that  William  AVoodbridge 
received  the  highest  number  of  votes.     The  machinery  of  the 


'Nlj 


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II 


322 


TuTTLE's  CeSTES'XIAL  XoRTnWEST. 


state  govcrnmont  was  now  in  full  operation,  witli  tlic  excojititin  of 
tlic  judiuiury,  which  \'-  s  not  organized  until  the  fourth  o[  July, 
1836.  The  people  submitted  to  and  wore  governed  by  the  state 
autln)riLies  from  this  time  forward,  although  a  territorial  governor 
was  also  there  in  the  jicrson  of  John  S.  Horner.  This  anomalous 
state  of  things  continued  till  the  orgf.nization  of  Wisconsin  as  a 
separate  territory,  and  tlie  appointment  o'  "Sir.  liorner  as  its  see- 
rotary.  It  docs  not  appear,  however,  that  any  seri  <us  difficulty 
arose  between  the  two  governors.  Meantime,  application  had 
been  made  for  admission  into  the  union  under  the  constitutid. 
But  it  was  not  until  the  fifteenth  of  June,  1836,  that  congre.S3 
took  action  on  the  question.  It  tlien  passed  an  act  accepting  the 
constitution  and  state  governr;.ent  of  Michigan,  and  providing  for 
her  admission  into  the  union  as  a  state,  on  condition  that  she,  by 
a  convention  of  delegates  elected  for  Ihat  purpo.se,  should  con- 
sent to  accept  1  boundary  as  claimed  by  Ohio,  and  receive  as 
compensation  for  the  loss  of  the  territory  in  dispute,  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Upper  ^'''oniiisula.  This  act  could  be  viewed  Ijy 
the  people  of  ]\(ichigan  in  nt>  other  thau  an  odious  light.  The 
value  o"  the  Upp'.*r  Peninsula  w.iS  then  unajiiireciated.  Copper 
was  known  to  exist  there,  it  is  true;  but  in  what  quantities  no 
one  could  tell.  It  was  looked  upon  as  a  barren  waste,  too  moun- 
tainous lor  cu'tivation,  and  of  })roblematical  value  1  >r  any  pur- 
])Ose.  Beside.,,  the  work  of  excisio  t  by  congress,  it  ivas  thought, 
hat!  proceeded  far  enough.  By  the  act  ot  lb02,  congress  had 
given  tiic  eastern  tract,  belonging  origin;.,  y  to  ^Michigan,  of  more 
than  a  thousand  squc..e  miles,  to  Oiiio.  By  the  act  of  1816,  it 
had  given  to  Indiana  a  tract  of  between  eleven  ar.d  twelve  hun- 
dred square  niiles,  originally  belonging  to  Michigan.  And  now 
f*ongress  required  her  to  purchase  ner  admission  into  the  union 
by  agreeing  to  a  still  further  excision  of  most  valuable  territorv. 
This  was  the  view  talcen  by  the  people  at  the  time.  Gov.  ^fason, 
nvverihele.«s,  ib.:ued  a  call  for  a  special  session  of  the  legislature, 
to  meot  in  Detroit,  on  the  eleventh  of  July,  1836.  On  the  twen- 
tieth, ;mi  act  was  approved  providing  for  the  election  nf  delegates 
to  a  convention,  to  accept  or  reject  the  i)ropositiou  of  congress. 
It  provided  that  fifty  delegates  should  b'>  elected,  ainl  that  the 
convention  should  be  held  at  Ann  Arbor,  on  the  twenty -sixth  of 


mm 


Sta  te  Ills  TOBIES  —  Michigan. 


323 


on  of 

J"iy, 

state 
or  nor 
along 

as  a 

sec- 
;iilty 

had 


SeptcinLer.  This  convention  was  composed  of  a  full  representa- 
tion of  both  political  parties.  It  met  on  the  day  appointed,  and, 
after  being  in  session  four  days,  it  decided  to  reject  the  proposi- 
tion of  congress,  so  far  as  it  related  to  the  boundary  question 
The  vote  stood  twenty-one  for  acceptance,  and  twenty-eight  for 
rejection.  It  then  appointed  three  delegates,  to  repair  to  Wash- 
ington at  the  next  session  of  congress,  to  cooperate  with  the  rep- 
rentatives  in  securing  measures  for  the  promotion  of  the  general 
interests  of  the  state.  The  dissent  of  the  convention  was  very 
unsatisfactory  to  a  large  portion  of  thv'^  people  of  the  state.  Two 
formidable  parties  had  grown  out  of  the  discussion  of  the  ques- 
tion. Although  a  decided  unanimity  prevailed  with  regard  to 
the  justness  of  the  cluini  of  Michigan  to  the  territory  in  dispute; 
yet,  under  the  circumstances,  the  expediency  of  retaining  or  re- 
linquishing her  right  had  become  a  matter  of  serious  contention. 
A  year  had  already  elapsed  since  the  formation  of  a  state  consti- 
tution, and  half  that  period  had  been  spent  by  her  delegation  to 
congress  in  fruitless  solicitation  for  admission.  Many  began  to 
despond.  One  party  seemed  to  consider  the  participation  in  the 
benefits  of  the  union  paramount  to  all  other  considerations. 
This  idea  bad  greater  weight  at  the  time  from  the  fact  that  a  large 
amount  of  surplus  revenue  was  about  to  be  distributed  among  the 
several  states.  This,  it  was  supposed  would  be  lost  tu  the  state 
by  a  too  iong  delay  in  scouring  admission.  Therefore  there  was 
much  to  lose  by  dela}-,  and  nothing  to  gain.  "With  the  other 
par*v  these  reasons  had  little  or  no  weight.  Rather  than  submit 
to  the  injustice  of  having  so  important  a  portion  of  her  domain 
wrested  from  the  state,  they  were  inclined  to  submit  to  the  incon- 
i-enienccs  which  might  result  from  delay,  till  a  more  favorable 
action  of  congress.  They  placed  full  reliance  in  the  ultimate 
action  of  congress,  and  hoped  that  a  sense  of  justice  would  event- 
ually compel  that  body  to  admit  the  state  unconditionally.  They 
also  argued  that  the  state,  having  a  present  right  to  admission, 
would  have  an  equitable  right  to  her  proportion  of  the  surplus 
revenue,  which  congress  could  not  refuse  to  grant  whenever  she 
was  admitted. 

"  Thus  stood  parties  when  the  convention  decided  to  reject  the 
proposition  of  congress.    The  dissatisficHj  party  thereupon  resolved 


324 


TuTTLES  Centexxial  Nokthwest. 


'11  i  il 


that  anotlier  convention  should  bo  lield,  without  v/aiting  iov  an- 
other call  by  the  legislature.  During  the  autumn,  two  respect- 
able pi'imarj'  assemblies  of  that  portion  of  the  people  assenting  to 
the  conditions  were  held,  one  in  Wayne  county,  and  the  other  iu 
the  county  of  Washtenaw,  two  of  the  most  populous  counties  in 
the  state.  A  second  convention  of  the  people  was  proposed  for 
the  trial  of  the  question,  and  the  governor  was  requested  to  call 
the  same  by  proclamation.  Although  the  convention  was  ap- 
proved  of;  yet,  as  it  was  wholly  unauthorized  by  law,  the  gov- 
ernor declined  to  take  such  a  step.  A  convention,  however,  had 
been  decided  upon ;  and,  on  the  fourteenth  of  November,  a  circu- 
lar from  the  proper  oflicers  of  the  assenting  party  was  issued, 
which  recommended  the  qualified  voters  in  the  several  counties 
to  meet  on  the  fifth  and  sixth  of  December,  and  elect  delegates  to 
attend  a  cc  'vention  ;  that  the  number  of  delegates  be  twice  the 
number  elected  tr  the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature  ;  and  that 
the  election  be  «jondueted  at  the  proper  places  by  the  same  offi- 
cers, and  according  to  the  legal  formalities  governing  other  elec- 
tions. The  election  was  held,  and  a  convention  had,  and  after 
considerable  discussion  as  to  the  legality  of  the  proceedings,  con- 
gress, on  the  2Gth  of  January,  1837,  declared  Michigan  ''  one  of 
the  United  State.*;,  and  admitted  into  the  union  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing with  the  original  states,  in  all  respects  whatever." 

From  this  point  the  history  of  the  state  of  Michigan  i-,  of 
necessity,  a  mere  compilation  of  information  from  official  docu- 
ments. There  is  nothing  to  render  the  naraiive  attractive.  Since 
1837,  Michigan  has  grown  in  wealth  and  population  in  a  remark- 
able manner.  Her  institutions  have  risen  to  a  high  d'^grec  of 
perfection.  Michig.in  performed  a  noble  part  in  the  war  for  the 
union.  The  number  of  men  furnished  by  the  state  during  the 
war  was  ninety  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-seven.  Of 
these,  07.468  were  natives  of  the  United  States;  of  British  Amer- 
ica, inclusive  of  Canada,  8,8SG;  of  Europe,  14;393.  In  regard  to 
color  they  were  divided  as  follows  :  white,  88,941 ;  colored,  1,661  ; 
Indians,  145.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the  total  population 
in  the  state,  in  1854,  was  but  805,379,  Michigan  may  well  bo 
proud  of  her  war  record.  The  number  of  enlisted  men  who  died  in 
action  or  of  wounds  was  3,920.     Tlie  number  who  died  of  disease 


Sta te  Histories  —  Michigan. 


825 


an- 
pect- 
gto 
r  iu 
s  in 

for 

call 

ap. 

?ov- 

lad 


was  9,133.  The  number  of  commissioned  officers  who  died  of 
wounds  or  in  action  was  2-19.  The  number  who  died  of  disease 
was  97.  Tlie  total  of  all  classes  was  13,405.  The  state  legisla- 
ture, from  time  to  time  during  the  war,  passed  laws  for  the  pay- 
ment of  bounties  to  soldiers  enlisting.  These  bounties  ranged 
from  $50  to  $150.  The  quartermaster-general  paid  out  in  all 
nearly  $2,000,000  for  this  purpose  alone.  He  also  paid  $60,000 
as  premiums  for  procuring  recruits.  Aside  from  these  amounts, 
he  paid  out  $815,000  for  other  purposes  connected  with  the  ''var. 

Concerning  the  war  record  of  ^lichigan,  I  condense  from  my 
History  of  Michigan,  published  in  1872,  as  follows :  Besides 
these  expenditures  by  the  state,  the  aggregate  amount  expeiuled 
by  the  several  counties  of  the  state  for  war  purposes  is  something 
enormous.  The  amount  paid  for  bounties  by  the  counties  prior 
to  December  19,  1863,  and  liabilities  ;  also  liabilities  under  the 
act  of  1865,  amounted  in  the  aggregate  to  $2,015,588.  The  ag- 
gregate expenditures  and  liabilities  of  the  various  townships, 
cities  and  wards  of  the  counties  of  the  state  for  war  purposes  was 
$8,157,7-18.70.  The  amount  expended  hy  the  counties  of  the 
state  from  1861  to  1867,  for  the  relief  of  soldiers'  families,  was 
$3,591,248.12.  Aside  from  the  expenditures  of  the  state  govern- 
ment and  of  the  municipalities,  large  sums  were  contributed  by 
various  benevolent  societies,  organized  for  the  j^'irpose  of  afford- 
ing relief  to  sick  and  wounded  soldiers.  The  Micliigan  Soldiers' 
llelief  Association'  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  of  the  kind  put 
into  the  field,  and  the  last  to  leave  it.  It  was  organized  in  1861; 
and  continued  in  operation  till  186G.  It  was  a  source  of  great 
benefit  to  the. soldiers  of  Michigan,  giving  them  many  comforts 
and  necessaries  of  which  they  would  otherwise  have  been  de- 
prived. Its  field  of  operations  was  in  and  around  Washington, 
and  was  composed  of  citizens  of  Michigan  who  resided  there,  in- 
cluding the  congressional  delegation.  It  funds  were  at  first 
raided  by  assessments  on  its  individual  members,  but  were  after- 
wards largely  augmented  by  contributions  from  all  parts  of  the 
state.  The  cash  contribued  amounted  to  nearly  twenty  five  thou- 
sand dollar.?.  This  was  exclusive  of  specific  contributions  of 
clothing  and  hospital  stores,  which  were  always  furnished,  with 
great  liberality,  by  the  various  aid  societies  in  the  state.     The 


»  ■.  ■ill 


iiu'li 


*:f1 

•■,11  '■  ■  i. 


liiii 


M' 


^ 


!.!    U 


!} 


Ilh: 


!  I 


I    .; 


ili» 


ill 


J  ;' 


2«: 


326 


Tuttle's  Centennial  North  west. 


services  of  tlie  members  of  the  association  were  in  all  cases  ren- 
dered gratuitously. 

In  addition  to  the  Washington  association,  the  people  of  the 
state  organized,  in  1802,  the  ^lichigan  Soldiers'  Relief  Associa- 
tion. It  continued  in  successful  operation  during  tlic  war,  col- 
lecting and  sending  to  the  front  such  articles  as  were  most  needed 
by  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers.  It  also  received  §3,000  in 
cash,  which  was  expended  in  furnishing  relief  to  sick  and  desti- 
tute soldiers;  in  paying  rent  for  the  Soldiers'  Home,  in  Detroit, 
and  in  providing  refreshments  for  returned  veterans. 

The  Michigan  Soldiei./  Aid  Society  was  another  most  useful 
association.  This  was  a  branch  of  the  United  States  Sanitary 
Commission.  It  was  organized  in  November,  1801,  and  kept  its 
office  open  till  1800,  and  after  that  continued  to  supply  destitute 
soldiers  and  soldiers'  families.  It  forwarded  to  the  front  and  dis- 
tributed at  home  6,317  packages  of  articles  which  had  been  con- 
tributed in  kind.  From  the  date  of  its  organization  to  1868,  it 
had  expended  in  cash  the  sum  of  $28,129.  These  societies  were 
largely  aided,  in  180J:,  by  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  of  Kalamazoo, 
under  whose  auspices  a  "sanitary  fair "  was  held,  wdiicli  netted 
the  handsome  sum  of  $9,618.78.  In  addition  to  the  aid  furnished 
by  these  societies,  there  were  large  amounts  of  both  money  and 
supplies  sent  by  private  parties.  In  fact,  the  history  of  the 
world  docs  not  furnish  a  parallel  to  the  liberality  with  which  the 
union  armies  were  sustained,  and  the  soldiers  lelieved,  by  contri- 
butions front  the  people.  Volumes  would  have  to  be  written  to 
give  an  adequate  idea  of  th3  inunensc  labor  performed  by  these 
societies,  and  to  enumerate  their  deeds  of  Christian  charity. 

The  state,  with  the  same  loyal  ])romptness  that  brought  her  to 
the  rescue  of  the  general  government,  soon  threw  oil  her  enormous 
war  debt,  and  was  not  long  in  regaining  her  usual  commercial 
strength,  which  had  been  weakened  during  the  wai-.  For  sketches 
of  the  modern  features  of  the  great  state  of  Michigan,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  other  portions  of  this  volume.  In  this  connection, 
we  speak  of  that  only  which  is  historical.  The  following  is  a  list 
of  the  names  of  the  governors  of  Michigan,  as  also  the  early  French 
commandants  of  the  post  at  Detroit : 

During^French  Rule. —  Sicur  dcMcsey,  appointed  1663  ;  Sieurde 


IMj^i^ 


State  IIistobies —  Wisconsin. 


327 


II- 


ic 


Courcclle,  1065  ;  Sicur  tie  Frontenac,  1672  ;  Sieur  de  Barre,  1682; 
Sieui-  Marquis  do  Nouville,  1685;  Sieur  de  Frontenac,  1689; 
Sieur  Chevalier  de  Callieres,  1699  ;  Marquis  de  Vaudreail,  1703  ; 
Jfarquis  do  Beauharnais,  1726 ;  Sieur  Compt  de  la  Gallisoniere, 
1749  ;  Sicur  de  la  Jonquierc,  1749  ;  Marquis  du  Qucsne  de  Mcn- 
neville,  1752  ;  Sieur  do  Vaudreuil  dc  Cavagnal,  1755. 

Duriufj  British  Rule. — James  Murray,  ai)pointed  1765  ;  Paulus 
Emelius  Irving,  1766;  Guy  Carleton,  1766  ;  Hector  T.  Cramahc, 
1770;  Guy  Carleton,  1774;  Frederick  Ilaldsman,  1774;  Henry 
Hamilton,  1774;  Henry  Hope,  1775;  Lord  Dorchester,  1776; 
Alured  Clarke,  1791  ;  Lord  Dorchester,  1798. 

Governors  of  Mk/u'r/an  Territory. —  Williani  Hull,  appointed  in 
1805;  Lewis  Cass,  1814;  George  B.  Borter,  1829;  Stevens  T. 
[Mason  {ex  officio),  1834  ;  John  T.  Horner  {ex  officio),  1835. 

Michigan  State  Governors.  —  Stevens  T.  Mason,  1835;  William 
Woodbridge,  1840;  J.  Wright  Gordon  (acting),  1841;  John  S. 
Barry,  1842 ;  Ali)hcus  Felch,  1846  ;  William  L.  Greenly  (acting), 
1847  ;  Epaphroditus  Eansom,  1848  ;  John  S.  Barr;)  "350;  Robert 
McClelland,  1852 ;  Andrew  Parsons  (acting),  1853  ;  Kinsley  S. 
Bingham,  1855  ;  Moses  Wisner,  1859 ;  Austin  Blair,  1861  ;  Henry 
H.  Crapo,  1865  ;  Henry  P.  Baldwin,  1869  ;  John  J.  Bagley,  1873. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII, 


STATE  IIISTOltlES  —  WISCONSIN  —  MINNESOTA  —  IOWA. 


«: 


WISCONSIN. 

TllEiiE  is  nothing  remarkable  in  the  history  of  the  state  of  Wis- 
consin. On  the  29th  of  May,  1848,  the  state  was  admitted  into 
the  Union  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  other  states.  Nelson 
Dewey  was  elected  governor  of  the  new  state,  and  the  political 
organization  moved  off  with  considerable  promise.  There  have 
been  a  few  political  jars  in  the  government,  but  aside  from  this 
the  political  history  is  dry  and  uninteresting.  The  following  list 
of  the  officers  of  the  state  and  territory,  will  be  useful : 


I 


" 


1'! 


' '    i 


328 


TuTTLE's   CeXTEXNIAL  NoiiTIlWEST. ' 


Territorkd  Governors. — Henry  Dodge,  appointed  by  Andrew 
Jaekson,  April  30,  1S3G  ;  James  Duane  Doty,  appointed  by  Jolin 
Tyler,  Sept.  30,  1841  ;  N.  P.  Tulmadge,  appointed  by  John  Tyler, 
June  23, 184-1 ;  Henry  Dodge,  appointed  by  James  K.  Polk,  April 
8,  1845. 

State  Governors.  —  Nelson  Dewey,  Lancaster,  from  June  5, 1848, 
to  Dec.  31,  1840  ;  Nelson  Dewey,  Lancaster,  from  Jan.  1,  1850,  to 
Dec.  31,  1851  ;  L.  J.  Farwell,  Madison,  from  Jan.  1,  1852,  to  Dec. 
81,1853;  Wr.'  A.  Barstow,  Waukesha,  from  Jan.  1,  1854,  to 
Dec.  31,  1855 ;  Coles  P.ashford,  Oshkosli,  from  Jan.  i,  1856,  to 
Doc.  31,  1857  ;  Alex.  W.  liundall,  Waukesha,  from  Jan.  1,  1858, 
to  Dec.  31,  1850 ;  Alex.  W.  Kandall,  Waukesha,  from  Jan.  1, 
1860,  to  Dec.  31,  ISGl  ;  Louis  P.  Harvey,  Shopiere,  from  Jan.  1, 
1862,  to  Apr.  19,  18(i2  ;  Edward  Salomon,  Milwaukee,  from  April 
20,  1862,  to  Dec.  31,  1863  ;  James  T.  Lewis,  Columbus,  from  Jan. 
1,  1864,  to  Dec.  31,  1865 ;  Lucius  Fairehild,  ^kladison,  from  Jan, 
1,  1866,  to  Dec.  31,  1867  ;  Lucius  Fairehild,  ^'^adison,  from  Jan. 
1,  1868,  to  Dec.  31,  1869  ;  Lucius  Fairehild,  Madison,  from  Jan.  1, 
1870,  to  Dec.  31,  1871  ;  C.  C.  Washburn,  La  Crosse,  from  Jan.  1, 
1872,  t(j  Dee.  31,  1873;  W.  R.  Taylor,  Cottage  Grove,  from  Jan. 
1,  1874,  to  Dec.  31,  1875  ;  H.   Ludington,  Milwaukee,  from  Jan. 


1,  1876,  to 


MINNESOTA. 


It  was  three  years  from  the  time  that  the  territory  of  Minnesota 
was  proposed  in  congress,  to  the  final  jjassage  of  the  act.  On  the 
third  of  March,  1849,  a  bill  was  proposed,  organizing  the  territory 
of  Minnesota  ;  at  this  time  the  territory  was  but  a  wilderness,  in- 
habited only  by  Indians  and  wild  beasts. 

Mr.  E.  D.  Neil,  in  his  History  of  ^Minnesota,  thus  describes 
the  condition  of  the  territory  when  the  government  wa.s  organ- 
ized in  1840:  "  At  Wapashaw  was  a  trading  post  in  charge  of 
Alexis  Bailly,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made,  and  here  also 
resided  the  ancient  voyageur,  ot. fourscore  years,  A.  Rocque. 
At  the  foot  of  lake  Pepin  was  a  storehouse  kept  by  Mr.  F.  S, 
Richards.  On  the  west  shore  of  the  lake  lived  the  eccentric 
Wells,  whose  wife  was  a  bois  brule  —  a  daughter  of  the  deceased 
trader,  Duncan  Graham,     The  two  unfinished  buildings  of  stone. 


StA  TE  His  TORIES  —  MlXKESOTA . 


329 


on  tlie  beautiful  bank  oppoRitc  the  renowned  ^laiden's  Rock,  and 
the  surrouiidinti;  skin  lodges  of  his  wife's  relatives  and  friends, 
presented  a  rude  but  picturesque  scene.  Above  tlie  lake  was  a 
cluster  of  bark  wigwams,  the  Dahkotah  village  of  llaymneecha, 
now  Red  AVing,  at  which  was  a  Presbyterian  mission  house.  The 
next  settlement  was  Kaposia,  also  an  Indian  village,  and  the  resi- 
dence of  a  Presbj'terian  missionary,  the  Rev.  T.  S.  Williamson, 
M.  D.  On  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi,  the  first  settlement  at 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix,  was  Point  Dcuglas,  then,  as  now,  a 
small  hamlet.  At  Red  Rock,  the  site  of  a  former  Methodist 
mission  station,  there  were  a  few  farmers.  St.  Paul  was  just 
emerging  from  a  collection  of  Indian  whisky  shops  and  birch- 
roofed  cabins  of  hnlf-brecd  voyageuns.  Here  and  there  a  frame 
tenement  was  erected ;  and,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Hon.  11. 
'M.  Rice,  who  had  obtained  an  interest  in  the  town,  some  ware- 
houses were  being  constructed,  and  the  foundations  of  the  Ameri- 
can House  were  laid.  In  1849,  the  population  had  increased  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  inhabitants,  for  rumors 
had  gone  abroad  tliat  it  might  be  mentioned,  in  the  act  creating 
the  territory,  as  the  capital." 

On  the  27th  of  May  following,  Alex.  Ramsey,  the  first  govern- 
or of  the  territory,  arrived  at  St.  Paul,  and  put  the  machinery  of 
the  new  government  in  motion.  After  a  territorial  existence  of 
eight  years,  !Minnesota  was  enabled,  by  proper  congressional 
legislation,  to  form  a  constitution  preparatory  to  taking  her  place 
in  the  union.  This  was  in  February,  1857.  A  constitutional 
convention  was  held  in  July  of  the  same  3'ear,  a  majority  of  the 
delegates  being  Republican.  "  At  midnight;''  savs  Mr.  Neil, 
'•previous  to  the  day  fixed  for  the  meeting  of  the  convention,  the 
Republicans  proceeded  to  the  capitol,  because  the  enabling  act 
had  not  fixed  at  what  hour  on  the  second  Monday  the  conven- 
tion should  assemble,  and  fearing  that  the  Democratic  delegates 
might  anticipate  them,  and  elect  the  ofiicers  of  the  body.  A  lit- 
tle before  twelve  A.  M.,  on  ^Monday,  the  secretar}'  of  the  terri- 
tor\'  entered  the  speaker's  rostrum,  and  began  to  call  the  body  to 
order ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  delegate,  J.  W.  North,  who  had 
in  his  possession  a  written  request  from  the  majority  of  the  dele- 
gates present,  proceeded  to  do  the  same  thing.     The  scjcretary  of 


■    -i:::^\\ 


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ll 


1  ■ 

It  jM 

M 


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I  !;i 


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I 


!(    I 


S     I 


i|. 


330 


TuTTLEfs  Centennial  NoiirnwEsT. 


the  territory  jmt  a  motion  to  adjourn,  anel  the  Democratic  mem- 
bers present  voting  in  the  afllrmative,  they  left  tlie  hall.  The 
Republicans,  feeling  that  they  were  in  the  majority,  remained, 
and  in  due  time  organized,  and  proceeded  with  the  Vuisiness 
specified  in  the  enabling  act,  to  form  a  constitntion  and  take  all 
necessary  steps  for  the  establishment  of  a  state  government  in 
conformity  with  the  federal  constitution,  subject  to  the  approval 
and  ratification  of  the  people  of  the  proposed  state.  A.fter  sev- 
eral days,  the  Democratic  wing  also  organized  in  the  senate  cham- 
ber at  the  capitol,  and,  claiming  to  be  the  true  body,  also  i)ro- 
cccded  to  form  a  constitution.  Both  parties  were  remarkably 
orderly  and  intelligent,  and  everything  was  marked  by  perfect 
decorum.  After  they  had  been  in  session  some  weeks,  moderate 
counsels  prevailed,  and  a  committee  of  conference  was  appointed 
from  each  bod)',  which  resulted  in  both  adopting  the  same  con- 
stitution on  the  29th  of  August.  According  to  the  provisions  of 
the  constitution,  an  election  was  held  for  state  officers  and  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution,  on  the  secoml  Tuesday,  the  13th  of 
October.  The  constitution  was  adopted  by  almost  a  unanimous 
vote.  It  provided  that  the  territoi-ial  officers  should  retain  their 
offices  until  the  state  should  be  admi  '  A  into  the  union,  not  an- 
ticipating the  long  delay  which  has  been  experienced.  The  first 
session  of  the  state  legislature  commenced  on  the  first  AVednes- 
day  of  December,  at  the  capitol  in  the  city  of  St.  Paul ;  and  dur- 
ing the  month,  elected  Ilcnry  M.  Rice  and  James  Shields  as  their 
i-epresentatives  in  the  United  States  senate.  On  the  29th  of 
January,  1858,  Afr.  Douglas  submitted  a  bill  to  the  United  States 
senate  for  the  admission  of  Minnesota  into  the  union.  On  the 
first  of  February,  a  discussion  arose  on  the  bill,  in  which  Senators 
Douglas,  "Wilson,  Gwin,  Hale,  Mason,  Green,  Brown  and  Critten- 
den participated.  Brown,  of  Mif^sissippi,  was  opposed  to  the  ad- 
mission of  Minnesota  until  the  Kansas  question  was  settled.  Mr. 
Crittenden,  as  a  southern  man,  could  not  indorse  all  that  was 
said  by  the  senator  from  Mississippi ;  and  his  words  of  wisdom 
and  moderation  during  this  day's  discussion  arc  worthy  of  re- 
membrance. On  April  the  seventh,  the  bill  passed  the  senate 
with  only  three  dissenting  votes ;  in  a  short  time  the  house  of 
representatives  agreed  to  the  action  of  the  senate,  one  hundred 


State  IIh^touies  —  Miunesota. 


331 


Til 


ami  fifty-eight  out  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  votes  being 
cast  in  favor  of  admission,  and,  on  May  11th,  tlic  president  ap- 
proved the  act,  and  Minnesota  became  one  of  the  United  States 
of  America." 

The  political  history  of  the  state  of  Minnesota  does  not  contain 
any  very  interesting  situations.  The  records  of  progress  which 
ha  ve  been  made  in  the  institutions  and  industries  of  the  state  are 
of  more  importance  to  the  readers  of  this  volume,  and  these  will 
be  found  further  on  in  this  volume.  Following  is  a  list  of  those 
who  have  served  in  the  ofticc  of  governor  of  the  state  and  terri- 
tory, and  an  account  of  the  several  apportionments  of  the  state 
and  territory  : 

lerriloriul  Governors.  —  Alexander  Ramsey,  June  1,  1819,  to 
May  15,  1853  ;  Willis  A.  Gorman,  ]\[ay  15,  1853,  to  April  23, 
1857  ;  Samuel  Medary,  April  23,  1857,  to  May  2-i,  1858. 

On  July  7,  1819,  Gov.  Alex.  Ramsey,  by  proclamation,  fixed 
the  following  council  districts  for  the  territory,  which  had  not  then 
been  divided  into    counties:     1.  The  St.  Croix  precinct,  of  St. 
Croix  county,  and  the  settlements  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi,   south    of  the  Crow  village,  to  the  Iowa  line.     2.  The 
Stillwater  precinct,  of  the  county  of    St.   Croix.      3.    The   St. 
Paul   precinct   (except  Little   Canada   settlement).      4.    Marine 
Mills,  Falls  of  St.  Croix,  Rush  lake.  Rice  river,  and  Snake  river 
precincts,  of  St.  Croix  county,  and  La  Pointo  county.     5.    The 
Falls  of  pt.  Anthony  precinct,  and  the  Little  Canada  settlement. 
6.  The  Sauk  Rapids  and  Crow  Wing  precincts,  of  St.  Croix  coun- 
ty, and  all  setdemeuts  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  north  of  the 
Osaka  river,  and  a  line  thence  west,  to  the  British  line.     7.  The 
country  and  settlements  of  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  not  included 
in  districts  1  and  6.    Total,  council,  9  members  ;  house,  18  members. 
In  1851,  the  territory  iiaving  been  divided  into  counties,  it  was 
apportioned  by   the  second  legislature  in  to  council  districts,  as 
follows  :     1.  Washington,  Itasca,  and  Chisago  counties.     2.  Pre- 
cincts of  St.  Paul  and  Little  Canada.    3.  Precinct  of  St.  Anthony 
Falls.     4.  Counties  of  Wabasha  and   Washington,  and  precincts 
of  St.  Paul  and  Little  Canada,  jointly  (Wabasha  county  to  be  one 
representative  district).     5.  Benton  and  Cass  counties.     6.  Dako- 
ta county.     7.  Pembina  county. 


,1    I ., 


332 


TvTTLK's  CkNTHSNIAL  XORTinVEST.' 


!!»rii 


Nl 


II 

■•1 

■i  ft 

1 

'     i 

:~4 

1 

! 
1 

Tn  1855,  the  followi'iij^  apportionment  was  tnnilc :  Fir>t  eonn- 
cil  district — Wa.sliiiiglon,  Itasca  and  Cliisago,  .Su|)erior  and  Doty 
counties.  2.  Precincts  of  St.  Paid  and  Little  Canada.  3.  Pre- 
cinct of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.  4.  GoodhnC',  Dodge  and 
Freeborn  counties.  5.  Benton  and  Cass,  Todd,  Stearns  and 
Wright.  6.'  Dakota,  Scott  and  liicc.  7.  Pembina  county. 
8.  Houston,  Fillmore  and  Mower.  9.  Winona,  Olmstead  and 
Wabasha.  10.  Le  Sueur,  Steele,  Faribault,  l^hio  Earth,  Brown, 
Nicollet,  Sibley,  Pierce  and  Renville.  11.  li  nnepin  (west).  Car- 
ver and  Davi.s.     Total,  council,  15  members  ;  house,  38  members. 

State  Governors. —  Henry  U.  Siblc}'.  ^Fay  24,  1858,  to  January 
2,  18G0  ;  Alexander  Kamsey,  January  2,  1800,  to  July  10, 1863  ; 
Henry  A.  Swift,  July  10,  18G3,  to  January  11,  186-1  ;  St(!phen 
Miller,  January  11,"  1804,  to  January  8,  1860;  William  B. 
Marshall,  January  8,  1866,  to  January  7,  1870  ;  Horace  Austin, 
January  7,  1870,  to  January,  1874;  Cushman  K.  Davis,  January, 
1874,  to . 

IOWA. 


WiiEX  Iowa  was  erected  into  a  separate  territory  in  1838, 
Eobert  Lucas  was  appointed  governor  of  the   new  territory  by 
president  Van  Burcn.     He  was  succeeded   by  John   Chambers, 
who   received   his   appointment  from    President   Harrison,    and. 
.served  four  years,  and  until  succeeded  by  James  Clarlc,  appointed 
by  President  Polk   in   November,  1S45,  who  held  the   office  till 
December  31,  1840,  when  the  .state  government  went  into  opera 
tion  with  Ansel  Briggs  as  governor,  who  served  as  .such  until  Dc 
cember,  1850,  one  term  ;  the  terms  of  office  of  the  governor.s,  un 
der  the  former  con.stitution,  being  for  four  years.     He  was  sue 
ceedcd  by  Stephen  Hempstead,  who  served  one  term,  ending  De 
cember,  1854.    The  next  was  James  W.  Grimes,  who  served  as  gov 
ernor  from  December,  1854,  to  January,  1858.    During  this  official 
terra  another  constitution  of  the  state  was  adopted,  which  reduced 
the  term  of  governor  from  four  to  two  rears,  makino;  it  bcsrin  on 
the  second  Monday  in  January  of  the  even  3-ears,  and  shortening, 
by  about  one  year.  Gov.  Grimes'  gubernatorial  career,  which  came 
to  a  close  in  January,  1858.     Ralph  P.  Lowe  was  the  first  gover- 
nor under  the  new  constitution,  and  served  one  term,  ending 


S T. i  Ti:  HlSTORIKS  —  lo  WA . 


333 


January,  1S60.  lie  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood,  who 
was  the  first  executive  of  Towa  honored  by  a  reelection,  an  inno- 
vation which  has  thus  far  been  continued  to  his  successors.  Gov. 
Kirkwood's  second  term  closed  in  January,  ISCi,  and  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  William  >[.  Stone,  who  also  served  as  governor  two 
terms,  ending  January,  1808,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Samuel 
Merrill,  whose  term  exi)ircd  in  January,  1870,  and  who  was  reelect- 
ed and  served  to  January,  1872.  Cyrus  C.  Carj"  'Uter  was  his  suof^^s- 
sor,  and  served  two  terms  until  January,  1876,  followed  by  Sam- 
uel J.  Kirkwood,  wiio  had  served  two  terms  as  governor,  from 
1860  to  ISO-t.     Ilis  third  term  expires  January,  1878. 

It  will  be  seen  that  Iowa,  since  she  has  become  a  separate  ter 
ritory,  has  had  eleven  executives  —  three  territorial  governors, 
during  a  period  of  seven  years  and  a  half,  ending  December  31, 
1846  ;  three  state  governors  under  the  old  constitution,  acting  dur- 
ing a  period  of  eleven  years,  ending  January,  1858;  and  five 
state  governors  under  the  second  constitution,  acting  during  a 
period  of  eighteen  years,  completed  January,  1876. 

Note.  —  In  the  forcgoiug  cliaptors  wo  liave  followed  the  history  of  all  the 
states  conteui plated  by  our  work,  down  to  the  date  of  their  admission  into  the 
union,  and,  in  addition  to  tliis,  we  liuvo  given  brief  historical  .sketches  of  In- 
diana, Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Iowa  and  5IiniK'S(jta,  from  tlie  date  of  tlieir 
admission  into  the  union  down  to  the  present.  Two  causes  operate  against 
our  giving  similar  sketches  of  the  other  states.  In  the  first  place  there  is  but 
little  of  interest  in  llie  political  rec'ords  of  those  states,  except  tliat  of  Kansas, 
and  this  state  is  not  strictly  speaking  included  in  the  northwest,  and  what  wo 
shall  have  lo  say  concerning  it  will  bo  more  of  a  descrii)tive  and  statistical 
character  than  historical,  except  what  has  already  been  said  concerning  its 
territorial  existence.  In  the  second  place,  the  want  of  space  compels  us  to 
discontinue  our  historical  records  at  this  point,  as  it  was  the  original  intention 
that  at  least  one  half  of  this  volume  should  be  devoted  lo  a  description  of  the 
internal  improvements,  educational  interests,  commerce,  nmnufactures,  towns 
and  cities,  etc.,  of  the  northwest.  AVe  shall  now  take  up  eael>  state  in  geo- 
graphical order,  beginning  with  Ohio,  and  present  a  brief  description  of  the 
various  industries  and  interests  of  each,  laying  particular  stress  upon  two 
points,  viz:  the  description  of  cities,  and  an  account  of  educational  interests. 


334 


Tuttle's  Ct:sTi:syiAL  NourinvicsT. 


CIIAPTKIl    XXIX. 


THE  STATE  OF  OHIO. 


Poiniliilion  —  Mnnufacturinij; — Commcrco  and  Railroiuls  —  Eilucation,  etc. 


■Ptt'i 


V 


V:|  •! 


Population.  —  Tn  1788,  the  first  pcrmnnent  settlement  wus 
iTiacle  in  Ohio  at  Marietta,  by  parties  from  New  Englanil.  "  Tlio 
second  settlement  was  made  in  the  same  3'ear  at  Columbia,  near 
tiie  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami  river,  and  in  the  next  year  Cincin- 
nati was  founded.  The  "  Virginia  Military  Reservation,"  between 
the  Scioto  and  Little  Miami  rivers,  was  .settled  by  revolutionary 
veterans  and  others  from  Virginia,  and  the  "  Connecticut  Re.serve," 
in  the  northeast  part  of  the  state,  attracted  many  citizens  froni 
Connecticut,  who  made  their  homes  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie. 
Before  the  close  of  1708,  eight  counties  had  been  organized,  and 
the  white  male  inhabitants  numbered  over  5,000."  In  1800  the 
population  was  45,30,5 ;  in  1810,  230,760;  in  1820,  581,205;  in 
1830,  037,003;  in  1840,  1,510,407;  in  1850,  1,080.320;  in  1800, 
2,330,511,  and  in  1870,  2.00."i,200,  of  whom  2,202.707  were  natives 
of  the  United  States,  including  1,813,000  natives  of  the  state,  and 
372,403  natives  of  foreign  countries.  Of  these,  12,725  were  born 
in  British  America,  3,000  in  Austria  jiroper,  12,778  in  France, 
182,880  in  Germany,  36,501  in  England,  81,074  in  Ireland,  7,819 
in  Scotland,  12,030  in  Wales,  and  12.727  in  Switzerland. 

^[anufacturing.  —  The  manufacturing  industries  have  greatly 
increased  during  the  last  ten  years  i)reccding  1870.  In  1800,  the 
nuniber  of  cstabli.shments  was  11,123  ;  the  capital  invested,  $57,- 
205,303,  and  the  value  of  products,  $00,800,270.  In  1870,  the 
establishments  numbered  22,773,  using 4,586  steam  engines,  of 
120,577  horse  power,  and  2,157  water  wheels,  of  44,740  hor.se 
power.  Tlicrc  were  employed  137.202  hands,  and  wages  paid 
were  .$40,060,488.  The  capital  invested  was  $141,023,004  ;  the 
materials  consumeil  had  a  value  of  $157,131,007,  and  the  products 
a  value  of  .$200,713,010.     The  principal  products  were  :  Agricul- 


Tin:  State  of  Ohio. 


335 


tural  implements,  $ll,907,3()() ;  boots  ami  shoes,  $0,059,940; 
bread,  crnckerri,  etc.,  $2,202,818;  cariientcring  and  building,  $0,- 
805,(153  ;  carriages  and  wagons,  $5,049,500  ;  freight  and  passenger 
cars,  $2,555,055 ;  men's  clothing  $12,'jt)7,440 ;  rectified  coal  oil, 
$5,3^8,473;  flour  and  meal,  $21,092,210;  furniture,  $5,794,370; 
rolled  and  forged  iron,  $13,033,109;  .:ails  and  spikes,  $2,097,848; 
pig  iron,  $10,950,938  ;  iron  castings,  $7,318,102  ;  stoves  and  hol- 
low ware,  $3,221,298;  leather,  $7,230,332;  distilled  licpiors,  $7,- 
022,050:  malt  liquors,  $5,753,000;  sawed  lumber,  $10,102.780 ; 
machinery  (not  specified),  $4,198,942  ;  steam  engines  and  boilers, 
$4,801,341;  packed  i)ork,  $10,055,950;  paper,  $4,010,483 ;  sad- 
lery  and  harness,  $2,074,208  ;  sash,  door  and  blind,  $3,410,998 ; 
soap  and  candles,  $2,970,544;  tin,  copper  and  iron  ware,  $3,214,- 
285  ;  tobacco,  $2,380,583  ;  cigars,  $2,000,183  ;  and  woolen  goods, 
$3,187,815. 

CoMMKRCK  AND  Kailroads.  —  Tho  Commerce  of  Ohio,  and 
the  grand  network  of  railroads  upon  which  it  moves,  have  reached 
a  colossal  magnitude.  "In  the  year  ending  June  30,  1871,  there 
were  imported  into  the  four  custom  districts  of  the  state  (Cleve- 
land, Sandusky,  Toledo  and  Cincinnati),  from  foreign  countries, 
goods  to  the  value  of  $3,314,378,  which  yielded  $209,737  duties. 
The  direct  exportation  amounted  to  .$1,743,843.  The  vessels 
owned  within  the  .state  numbered  1,148,  of  164,200  tons  burden." 

In  1872  the  mileage  of  railroads  was  5.309  miiCS,  against  4,598 
miles  in  1870,  and  2,598  in  1800.  The  following  are  the  princi- 
pal lines  :  The  Atlantic  and  Great  Western  Kailroad,  from  Sala- 
manca, N.  Y.,  to  Dayton,  and  thence  to  Cincinnati  (417  miles); 
the  Central  Ohio  Ilailroad,  from  Bellairc  to  Columbus  (137  miles) ; 
the  Cincinnati  and  Indianapolis  Junction  liailroad  (98  miles);  the 
Cincinnati  and  Muskingum  Valley  Railroad  (148  miles);  the  Cin- 
cinnati, Sandusky  and  Cleveland  Kailroad  (215'-  miles);  the 
Cleveland,  Columbus,  Cincinnati  and  Indianapolis  Mailroad  (471 
miles);  the  Cleveland,  Mount  Vernon  and  Delaware  Kailroad 
(114J  miles);  the  Cleveland  and  Pittsburgh  Kailroad  (225^  miles); 
the' Dayton  and  Michigan  Kailroad  (142  miles);  the  Little  Miami 
Kailroad,  from  Cincinnati  to  Springfield,  and  several  branehe.s 
(196  miles'!;  the  Marietta  and  Cincinnr.ui  Kailroad  (283|  miles); 
the  Pittsburgh,  Fort  AVaync  and  Chicago  Kuilroad  (408  miles) ; 


if 


!  ; 


n 


i  !i 


t  I   i 


Ir 


!  .: 


In 


33G 


T-jitle's  Cextuxxial  Xohthwj-jst. 


the  J'itkljurgli,  Ciiit'iiiiiaU  and  Saint  Louis  liailroad  (201  miles); 
and  the  Sandusky,  Mansllcld  and  ^Newark  Railroad  (IGOi  miles). 
"  Tl.c  canals  wore  built  at  the  expense  of  the  state,  and  iicve  a 
combined  ]cnc;th  of  7o()  miles  The  Ohio  and  Erie  Canal  runs 
froni  Cleveland  to  the  valley  of  the  Muskingum,  thence  to  Colum- 
bus aiui  drwn  the  Sci'-'.o  to  Portsmouth.  The  Waba;di  and  Erie 
Canal  follows  the  valley  of  the  Mauniee  to  Fort  A\"ayne,  and 
thence  extends  to  Tcre  Haute.  The  Miami  Cana^  branches  from 
the  Wtibash  and  I'^-ie,  13  miles  above  Deliance,  and  runs  up  the 
valley  of  the  Auglaize  river.  In  crossing  the  watcr.shed,  it  is  sup- 
plied from  a  reservoir  situated  })artly  iu  Mercer  and  party  in  Au- 
glaize counties,  which  covers  an  area  of  17,000  acres.  l"'rom  this 
point  tlie  canal  passes  down  into  the  Miami  valley  to  Uamilton, 
and  thence  to  Cincinnati." 

Education,  Ciiakities,  ktc. — There  is  perhaps  no  better  sys- 
tem of  public  ."^chools  in  the  United  States  than  iu  Ohio.  "Each 
township  has  :^  board  of  education,  and  each  subdistrict  a  local 
board  of  trustees,  whicii  manages  its  school  aflairs,  subject  to  the 
control  of  the  township  board.  All  public  schools  are  required 
to  bo  in  session  at  least  2-1  weeks  during  the  year.  The  probate 
judge  of  each  county  appoints  a  board  of  school  examiners,  which 
has  v>ower  to  rriant  certificates  to  teachers  for  a  term  not  exceedins: 
two  years.  In  1S65  a  state  board  of  examiners  was  created  with 
power  to  issue  cerlificates  for  life  to  teachers  eminent  for  learning, 
skill  and  experience.  Irreducible  or  special  school  funds  were 
created  by  the  sales  of  the  lands  appropriated  by  congress  for 
school  purposes.  The  state  pays  annually  six  j)er  cent,  interest 
on  these  funds  to  the  counties  and  towns." 

The  repori  for  the  school  year  ending  August  31, 1872,  shows: 
The  total  receipts  from  the  funds  and  the  taxes  amounted  to 
$9,81JJ,71o,  and  the  expenditures  for  school  ])urposes  to  §7,3So.SoG, 
The  number  of  scIkjoI  houses  in  townships  was  10,686,  and  in 
separate  districts  978,  having  an  estimated  value,  including 
grounda,  or  $17,108,190.  There  were  employed  22,061  teachers, 
and  there  were  enrolled  in  the  schools  708,800  pupils,  while  the 
dail}'  average  attendance  was  -±08,538. 

The  Ohio  University,  a  state  insMtution,  founded  in  '804,  is 
located  at  Athens.     At  Oxford  tuere  is  the  Miami  Uni,  oijity. 


Jj  ; 

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INQRAVU    ESPICIALLY    FCR   TUTfLCS   CENTENNIAL  NORTHWEST. 


I  ilT 


The  State  of  Ohio. 


337 


Oberlin  College  is  at  Berlin  ;  the  Baldwin  University  at  Berca  ; 
Kcnj'on  College  at  Gambier ;  Denison  University  at  Granville,  etc. 
Ohio  has  no  state  normal  schools.  01  the  nine  normal  schools, 
but  one,  the  "Southwestern,"  receives  subvention  from  the  state 
school  fund.  The  number  of  colleges,  universities  and  academies, 
in  1871,  was  03;  nor  is  there  any  lack  of  technical  and  profes- 
sional schools. 

Ohio  has  a  line  system  of  charitable  and  correctional  institu- 
tions. These  are  the  State  Penitentiary,  at  Columbus,  which  in 
1871  had  955  convicts  ;  the  lieform  Farm  School  for  Boys,  at 
Lancaster ;  the  Reforri  and  Industrial  School  for  girls;  the  Long- 
view  Asylum  for  Lunatics,  near  Cincinnati,  with  575  patients  in 
1871 ;  the  Central  Ohio  Lunatic  Asylum,  at  Colum'ous ;  the 
Northern  Ohio  Lunatic  Asylum,  at  Ncwburgh,  near  Cleveland ; 
the  Southern  Ohio  Lunatic  Asylum,  at  Dayton  ;  the  State  ^  -y- 
lum  for  Idiots,  the  Asylum  for  the  Blind,  and  the  Asylum  for  the 
Deaf  and  Dumb,  all  at  Columbus. 

Ohio  is  well  stocked  with  libraries.  These  are  the  Ohio  State 
Library,  at  Columbus,  36,100  volumes ;  Public  Library,  at  Cin- 
cinnati, 33,958  volumes  ;  Young  Afen's  ^[^rcantile  Librar}^,  at 
Cincinnati,  33,175  volumes  ;  Cleveland  Library  Association,  10,000 
volumes  ;  Cincinnati  Law  Library,  6.000  voliimcs,  and  Akron 
Library  Association,  -1,000  volumes. 

Columbus  is  the  capital  of  the  state.  It  had  a  population  in 
1870  of  31,27-1.  TliG  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  cities 
with  their  populations,  in  1870  :  Cincinnati,  216,239  :  Cleveland, 
92,829  ;  Toledo,  31  584  ;  Dayton,  30,-47S  ;  Sandusky,  13,002  ; 
Springfield,  12,C52  ;  Hamilton,  11,081  ;  Portsmouth,  10,592  ; 
Zanesville,  10,011,  and  Akron.  10,006.  The  following  places  had 
a  poiMilation  between  5,000  and  10,000  ;  Chillicothe,  Canton,  Steu- 
benville,  Youngstovvn,  !Manslield,  Xenia,  Newark,  Pitjua,  Pome- 
ro}-,  Ironton,  Delaware,  Trcmont,  Circleville,  Woo.ster,  and  Mas- 
sillon.  The  folic  ving  had  fi'om  3,000  to  5,000  inhabitants  :  War- 
ren, Lima.  Norwalk,  Mt.  Vernon,  Bellairc,  Middleton,  Paines- 
ville,  Bellefontaine,  Urbana,  Elyria,  Bucyru.s,  Alliance,  New  Phil- 
adelphia, Gallon,  Gallipolis,  IfilLsborough,  Findlay,  and  Lancaster. 

GovEKNMEN'T.  —  As  we  have  already  seen,  Ohio  was  formed 


mi 


^s^ 


T 


':;■• 

|: 

\:  ■:  '• 

I'll 

338 


Tuttlk'h  Cexteknial  Northwest. 


i 

1    1 

1           : 
1 

from  the  Northwestern  Territory  ceded  to  the  United  States  by 
Virginia,  in  1783,  and  admitted  into  the  union  as  a  state  in  1803  : 
"Tlio  governor,  lieutenant  governor,  and  treasurer  are  elected  by 
the  people  for  two  years,  and  for  the  same  period  the  secretary  of 
state  and  attorney  general ;  but  their  elections  take  place  in  alter- 
nate years.  The  comptroller  of  the  treasury  and  the  state  school 
commissioner  are  elected  for  three  years,  and  the  auditor  of  state 
for  four  years.  The  three  members  of  the  board  of  })ublic  works 
are  elected  for  three  yetvs,  one  going  out  of  oflice  each  year.  Tlie 
members  of  the  legislature  —  senators  and  representatives  —  are 
elected  for  two  ycftrs.  In  1872,  the  senate  con.sisted  of  36  mem- 
bers, and  the  house  of  representatives  of  105  members. 

The  judicial  power  of  the  state  is  vested  in  a  supreme  court, 
courts  of  common  pleas,  district  courts,  probate  courts,  and  justices 
of  the  peace.  The  supreme  court  consists  of  five  judges,  chosen 
by  the  people  for  a  term  of  five  years ;  one  judge  retiring  from 
office  each  year.  The  judge  having  the  shortest  time  to  serve  is 
chief  justice.  This  court  holds  at  least  one  term  each  year  at 
Columbus,  and  .such  other  terms  as  may  be  provided  by  law. 
The  state  is  divided  into  nine  conmion  pleas  districts,  one  of  which 
is  formed  by  Hamilton  county.  The  eight  other  districts  are  each 
divided  into  three  subdistricts,  for  each  of  which  one  judge  is 
elected  for  a  term  of  Ave  years.  District  courts,  composed  of  the 
judges  of  the  common  pleas  courts  of  the  respective  districts,  and 
presided  over  by  one  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  are  held 
in  each  county  at  least  once  in  each  year.  White  male  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  21  years  of  age,  who  have  resided  in  the 
state  one  year  are  entitled  to  vote.  " 


by 


The  Static  of  ixdiana. 


339 


of 
or- 

ool 


CH/VPTER   XXX. 


THE  STATE  OF  INDIANA. 


Population  —  Miinu''acturcs  ■ 


Coiiimcrce  —  Riiilroiuls 
cniment. 


Eilucation  —  Gov- 


PoruLATlON. — The  state  of  Indiana  was  admitted  into  the 
union  in  1816.  The  territory  when  organized  in  1800,  had  a  popu- 
lation of  o,G-±l.  In  1810,  the  population  was  24,520;  in  1820,  it 
was  1-47,178;  in  1830,  it  was  343,031;  in  1840,  it  was  085,866 ; 
in  1850,  it  was  988,416  ;  in  1860,  it  was  1,350,428,  and  in  1870,  it 
was  1,680,637.  Of  this  number,  1,655,837  arc  white,  24,560, 
colored,  and  240,  Indian.  The  population  is  thus  distributed  in 
referenee  to  nativity  :  born  in  the  United  States,  1,539,163,  includ- 
ing 1,044,575  natives  of  the  state;  born  in  foreign  countries,  141,- 
474. 

Manufacturing. — The  manufacturing  industr}^  of  Indiana  is 
largely  developed,  and  is  growing  rapidly.  In  1840,  the  value  of 
all  products  was  .f  41,840,434 ;  in  1870,  $108,617,278.  The  last 
census  reports  11  847  establishments  witl.  2,881  steam  engines  (of 
an  aggregate  of  76,851  horse  power);  58,852  hands,  and  $52,952,- 
425  invested  in  capital.  The  raw  materials  used  amounted  to 
$63,135,492,  ar.n  the  wages  paid,  $18,366,780.  The  mo.st  impor- 
tant manufactures  were:  agricultural  implements,  $2,128,794; 
boots  and  shoes,  $2,699,114:  carriages  and  wagons,  $3,448,959 ; 
freight  and  passenger  cars,  $2,577,726 ;  men" ;  clothing,  $2,261,- 
374;  flour  and  meal,  $25,371,322;  furniture,  $3,826,930;  forged 
and  rolled  iron,  $2,S45,005 ;  pig  iron,  $1,191,834 ;  iron  castings, 
$2,592,908  ;  leather,  tanned  and  curried,  $2,461,549  ;  whisky,  $2,- 
038,420;  beer,  $1,315,116  ;  sawed  lumber,  $12,324,755  ;  machine- 
ry, including  steam  engines  and  boilers,  $3,881,0/4  ;  piacked  pork, 
$2,780,021,  and  woolen  goods,  $4,212,737. 

Commerce  and  EAiLKOArs.— Indiana  has  a  very  healthy  com- 
merce which  is  aided  by  a  magnificent  network  of  railroads,  and 


:,  i 


I' 


w. 


I      t      I 


Hi 


340 


Tvttle's  Centennial  NoRTinrEsT. 


by  an  extensive  system  of  canals.  Of  tlie  latter,  the  Wabasli  and 
Krie  Canal,  is  the  most  extensive.  This  eonneets  the  Ohio  river 
with  the  great  lakes.  The  Whitewater  Canal  extends  from  Ha- 
gcr.stown  to  Lawreneeburgh,  is  seventy-five  milts  long,  and  pa,s.«es 
by  Brooksvillc,  Connersville  and  Cambridge.  Indiana  had,  in 
18G2,  2,175  miles  of  railroad,  and  ten  years  later,  3,529.  The 
following  ore  the  most  important  railroad  lines  :  Chicago,  Cincin- 
nati and  Louisville  liailroad,  connecting  La  Porte  with  Peru  (73 
miles);  Cincinnati  and  Lidianapolis  Junction  Railroad,  connect- 
ing Hamilton,  Ohio,  with  Indianapolis  (98  miles) ,  and  Conners- 
ville with  New  Castle  (25  miles);  Cincinnati,  llichmond  and  Fort 
Wayne  Pailroad,  (-12  miles) ;  Columbus,  Chicago  and  Indiana 
Central  liailroad,  connecting  Columbus,  Ohio,  with  Indianapolis, 
(188  miles),  liradford  Junction,  Ohio,  with  Cliicago,  (231  miles), 
Richmond  with  Logansport  (107  miles),  and  Logan.sport  to  Illinois 
state  line (61  miles);  Evansville  and  Crawfordsville  Railroad  (132 
miles):  Indianapolis,  Cincinnati  and  La  Fayette  Railroad  (179 
miles);  Indianapolis,  J'eru  and  Chicago  Railroad,  connecting  In- 
dianapolis with  Mieiiigan  City  (101  miles);  Indianapolis  and  St. 
Louis  Railroad  (72  miles);  Indiana])olis  and  Vincennes  Railroad 
(117  miles);  Jefferson,  ^ladison  and  Indianapolis  Railroad,  con- 
necting Louisville,  Ky.,  wliith  Indianaiwlis  (110  miles),  Madison 
with  Columbus  (45  miles),  Jefferson vi He  with  New  Albany  (G 
miles),  and  Columbus  with  Cambridge  City  (Oo  miles) ;  Louisville, 
New  Albany  and  Chicago  liailroad  (288  miles);  Ohio  and  Mis- 
sissippi Railroad,  connecting  Cincinnati  with  East  St.  Loui.s,  111, 
(340  miles),  and  North  Vernon  with  Louisville.  Ky.  (53  miles) ; 
Terre  {fante  and  Indianapolis  Railroad  (90*  miles);  Toledo,  Wa- 
b«»I)  and  \Ve--tern  Railroad,  connei^ting  Toledo,  Ohio,  with  Camp 
Poiiit,  111.  (4511  miles),  and  inte:.sectiiig  the  north  part  of  the 
state;  and  the  White  Water  Valley  Railroad,  connecting  Valley 
Junction,  Ohio,  with  Ilagerstown  (70  miles). 

Kducatiox,  Cuauitjes,  K'J'C-  Indiana  has  the  largest  school 
fund  of  any  state  in  the  union.  In  1870,  the  sum  cx])ended  for 
<uition  in  all  schools  amounted  to  $2,499,511  The  state  has  six 
universities.  These  are  the  State  Lhiiversity  at  Bloomington, 
Monroe  county,  was  opened  in  1840,  and  comprises  a  college  of 
arts,  literature  and  science,  a  college  of  law,  a  college  of  engineer- 


The  State  of  Indiana. 


341 


ing,  a  college  of  military  science  and  a  normal  scliool.  The  libra- 
ries embrace  over  5,000  volumes,  and  the  philosophical  and  chem- 
ical apparatus  is  very  complete.  The  faculty  consists  of  the  pre- 
sident, ten  professors  and  two  tutors ;  the  number  of  students 
was,  in  1870,  304.  Indiana  Asbury  Univcrsitj',  located  at  (ireen- 
castle,  Putnam  county,  is  under  the  control  of  the  ^lethodists. 
Wabash  College,  with  which  a  military  department  is  connected, 
is  at  Crawfordsville  ;  Earlham  College,  near  llichmand  ;  the  Uni- 
versity of  Notre  Dame,  at  Notre  Dame;. Salem  College,  at  Bour- 
bon ;  Fort  Wayne  College  and  Concordia  College,  at  Fort  Wavne. 
In  1870,  there  were  in  the  state,  8,871  public  ?c-'Ools  (including 
(]\)  high  and  371  graded  schools),  with  11.04?  »    '    'orj. 

The  charitable  and  correctional  institaLioi"^.  u.  Jndiana  have 
reached  a  commendable  state  of  pcrfcclior,.  i  ■,  writable  insti- 
tutions are:  the  Asylum  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb,  the  Institution 
for  the  Education  of  the  Blind,  the  Indiana  IIospit;d  for  the  In- 
sane, the  Indiana  Reformtitory  Institute  for  Women  and  Girls,  the 
House  of  Refuge,  near  Plainfield,  and  the  Soldiers'  Home,  which 
is  exclusively  lor  the  care  of  orphan  children  of  soldicns.  There 
arc  two  state  prisons,  the  one  styled  the  State  Prison  North,  at 
ilichigan  City,  and  the  other,  the  State  Prison  South,  at  Jeffer- 
son ville. 

Government. —  The  government  of  the  state  of  Indiana  dif- 
fers from  that  of  other  states,  in  some  respects.  "  The  governor, 
lieutenant  governor,  secretary  of  state,  treasurer,  auditor,  attor- 
ney general  and  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  are  chosea 
b};-  the  people  at  the  general  election,  held  on  th  ■;  secor'd  Tuesday 
of  October.  The  governor  and  lieutenant  governo'  l.old  office 
four  years  ;  the  others  two  years.  The  legislature  meets  biennially 
in  the  month  of  January,  in  the  odd  years  of  1873,  1875,  etc.,  and 
comprises  a  senate  of  50  members  and  a  house  of  representatives  of 
98  member.s.  The  j  idiciary  consists  of  a  supreme  court,  circuit 
courts  and  a  court  of  common  pleas.  The  supreme  court  is  com- 
l)o.sed  of  four  judges,  chosen  by  the  people  for  seven  years;  the 
judges  of  the  circuit  courts  arc  elected  for  six  years,  and  those  of 
the  court  of  common  pleas  for  four  years." 

Indianapolis  is  the  state  capital.  The  other  principal  cities  of 
the   state  arc:     I'Virt  Wayne,   Logan.sport,  Jciforsonville,   Law- 


342 


Tl'ttlk's  Centennial  Northwest. 


renceburgli,  Go.sheii,  Cunnersville,  New  Albaii}',  Seymour,  .Madi- 
son, Franklin  City,  Vinccnncs,  La  Porte,  Peru,  Crawfordsvillo, 
Kendallvillc,  Valparaiso,  Shclbyville,  Greencastle,  South  Bend, 
La  Fayette,  Evansville,  Terrc  Haute,  Wubasli  City,  lliehmond, 
Columbia. 


CIIAPTPm    XXXI. 


f' 


THE  STATE  OF  MICHIGAN. 


Population  —  Manufactures  —  Railroads  —  Commerce  —  Education  —  Gov. 

orument. 

The  state  of  Michigan  is  rapidly  increasing  in  a  very  select  and 
enterprising  population.  In  ISIO,  the  state  li;;d  4,762  inhabitants ; 
in  1820,  8,705;  in  1830,  31,030;  in  1810,  212,207;  in  1850, 
397,654;  in  1800,  749,113,  and  in  1870,  1,184,059,  besides  3,175 
Indians  living  on  leservations  and  sustaining  tribal  relations. 
The  whites  numbered  1,167,282  ;  the  colored  persons,  11,849, 
and  the  Indians  out  of  tribal  relations,  4,926.  In  regard  to  na- 
tivities the  following  numbers  are  <;iven  in  the  last  census  report : 
Born  in  the  United  States,  916,049,  of  whom  507,208  were  born 
in  Michigan;  7,412,  in  Connecticut;  692,  in  Delaware;  6,055,  in 
Illinois;  12,140,  in  Indiana;  1,480,  in  Iowa;  1,719,  in  Kentucky; 
3,932,  in  Maine;  1,265,  in  Maryland;  10,839,  in  ]\russachusetts ; 
660,  in  IMissouri;  3,033,  in  New  Hampshire;  8,023,  in  New  Jer- 
sey; 231,509,  in  New  York;  02,207,  in  Ohio;  28,507,  in  Penn- 
sylvania; 1,137,  in  Rhode  Island;  087,  in  Tennessee;  l-ii445,  hi 
Vermont;  2,984,  in  Virginia  atid  West  Virginia;  and  5,080  in 
\\'"isconsin.  The  foreign  born  [uipulation  was  208,010;  of  wlioni 
88,590  are  natives  of  British  America;  4,354,  of  France;  04,143, 
of  Germany;  35,051,  of  Fngland  ;  42,013,  of  Ireland  ;  8,552,  of 
Scotland;  12,550,  of  Holland;  3,922,  of  Sweden  and  Norway; 
and  2,116,  of  Switzerland.  The  population  of  ten  years  and 
over,  numbered  873,703;  of  whom  404,104  were  engaged  in  the 
useful  occupations,  viz.:  187,211,  in  agricallurc;  104,723,  in  per- 


The  State  of  Miciiigan. 


31;:! 


adi- 

illc, 

cud, 

)iid, 


sonal  and  professional  services ;  29,588,  in  trade  and  transporta- 
tion; and  82,037,  in  manufactures,  mcclianical  and  mining  indus- 
tries. 

Manufacturing. —  Michigan  lias  prospered  wonderfully  in  licr 
manufacturing  interests.  In  1850,  the  total  value  of  the  manufac- 
tures was  $11,1(50,001 ;  in  18G0,  $32,058,350;  and  in  1870,  it  had 
nearly  quadrupled,  being  $118,39-1,670.  Tlic  2,215  steam  en- 
gines liad  70,950  horse  power;  and  the  9,455  establishments  era- 
ployed  63,094  hands,  and  consumed  materials  to  the  amount  of 
$08,142,515.  The  capital  invested  was  $71,712,283;  and  the 
wages  paid,  $21,205,355. 

The  principal  products  of  industry  and  their  values  were  as 
follows  :  Agricultural  implements,  $1,509,590  ;  boots  and  shoes, 
$2,552,931 ;  carpentering  and  building,  $3,970,333  ;  carriages  and 
wagons,  $2,393,328;  freight  and  passenger  cars,  $1,488,724; 
men's  clothing,  $2,423,170;  copper,  milled  and  smelted,  $9,200,- 
970;  flour  and  meal,  $21,174,247;  furniture,  $1,030,199 ;  forged 
and  rolled  iron,  $780,750 ;  pig  iron,  $2,911,515;  iron  castings, 
$2,082,532;  leather,  $2.070,003 ;  beer,  $1,210,280 ;  lumber,  $33,- 
078,241;  machinery,  $1,355,371 ;  salt,  $1,170,811 ;  sash,  doors 
and  blind.s,  $1,808,596;  and  vobacco  and  cigars,  $1,849,383. 

Commerce  and  Railroads. —  Michigan  has  natural  advan- 
tages for  commerce.  It  has  four  poi-ts  of  entry,  viz. :  Detroit, 
Huron,  Superior  and  Michigan ;  into  which  entered,  in  1871, 
foreign  goods  of  $2,323,542  in  value,  and  from  which  were  ex- 
ported domestic  goods  of  $3,005,025.  The  first  twenty-four  miles 
of  railroad  were  completed  in  1840;  ten  years  later  the  mileage 
was  342.  From  1809,  when  the  mileage  was  1,199,  to  January  1, 
1873,  1,808  fniles  were  constructed  ;  or  150  per  cent,  more  than 
tlic  aggregate  length  ccmstructed  during  tlie  whole  previous  his- 
|(i)y  of  lh(!  state.  The  govenujr  estimates  the  cost  of  the  roads 
liillli  (lining  lliu  four  years  at  $54,000,000.  The  principal  roads 
are  llm  fullowing;  The  Detroit  and  iMihvaukee  railroad  (ISO 
miles);  the  Flint  and  Pere  Marquette  railroad  (232  miles);  the 
Jackson,  Lansing  and  Saginaw  railroad  (208  miles);  the  ^Mar- 
quelto,  Houghton  and  Ontonagon  railroad  (49  miles);  the  Michi- 
gan Central   railroad  (285  miles).;    the  Port  Huron  and  Lake 


344 


TuTTLE's  CkNTESNIAL  NoiiTinVKST. 


m 


^ficliigan  railroiid  (GO  miles);  and  the  Detroit,  Lansing  and  Lake 
Micliigan  railroad  (IGi  uiilcs). 

Education,  Ciiauities,  etc. —  Michigan  has  distinguished  licr- 
self  by  her  liberality  in  educational  enterprises.  "The  State 
rnivcrsity  at  Aim  Arbor  is  the  largest  college  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghany niountain.s,  and  ranks  with  the  foremost  institutions  of  its 
kind  in  the  country.  In  1870,  it  had  1,120  students  and  thirty- 
four  professors.  'I'he  number  of  students  in  the  department  of 
science,  literature,  <ind  the  arts,  was  477;  in  tliat  of  medicine  and 
surgcr}',  o40 ;  and  in  that  of  law,  o09.  The  total  receipts  for 
1872  were  $7(3, .'ioO,  and  the  expenses,  $92,000,  leaving  a  dclicicncy 
of  $15, 010.  The  university  admits  lady  students.  The  Agricul- 
tural College,  located  at  Jjansing,  was  established  in  LSOo,  and 
has  an  endowment  of  240,000  acres.  It  had,  in  1870,  seven  pro- 
fessors and  142  students.  The  three  other  colleges  of  Michigan 
are  at  Kalamazoo  Albion  and  Olivet.  The  State  Normal  school, 
at  Ypsilaiiti,  was  opened  in  1854,  and  embraces  a  training  cour.se 
and  a  higher  cour.se.  In  the  experimental  school,  the  pupils  of 
tlie  normal  school  practice  actual  teaching.  The  school  popula- 
tion Irom  five  to  twenty  years  of  age  was,  in  1870,  o84,54G;  of 
whom  278,685  attended  the  public  schools.  The  number  of  male 
teachers  was  2,793,  and  of  fenude  teachers,  8,221.  The  estimated 
number  of  pupils  attending  private  .schools  was  9,Gl;>.  The 
number  of  school  houses  was  5,111 ;  109  more  than  in  the  preced- 
ing year  (18G9).  The  value  of  school  houses  was  $0,243,797 ;  total 
resources  for  school  purposes,  $3,154,221." 

The  charitable  and  correcti(jnal  institutions  of  Micliigan  are 
apace  with  her  educational  progress.  The  asylum  for  the  deaf, 
dumb,  and  the  blind,  at  Flint,  was  opened  in  1854.  Mechanical 
instruction  has  lately  been  introduced,  which  enables  the  pupils 
to  qualify  themselves  for  self-support  after  leaving  the  institution. 
The  a.sylum  for  the  insane  at  Kalamazoo  had,  in  1872,  400  pa- 
tients. The  State  lieform  school  at  Lansing,  to  which  youthful 
delin(|uents  arc  committed,  is  maintained  at  a  cost  of  over  $30,000 
per  annum.  The  State  Pri.son  is  located  at  Jackson,  and  had,  in 
1870,  003  convicts;  in  1871,  027,  and  in  1872,  589.  For  the  last 
four  years  it  has  been  more  than  self-sustaining. 

GoVEiiXMENT.  —  The  state  of  Michigan  was  admitted  as u  state 


TiiK  State  or  fr.i.ixois. 


845 


ou], 


.1 


into  the  union,  in  IS.IT.  The  A)llowing  ofTiccrs  arc  clioscn  bicn- 
niiilly,  by  popular  vote  :  Governor,  lieutenant  governor,  seere- 
t:uy  of  state,  treasurer,  auditor  general,  superintendent  o[  public 
instruction  and  adjutant  general.  The  legislature  meets  bien- 
nially, in  the  odd  years,  and  consists  of  a  senate  of  thirty-two 
members,  and  a  house  of  representatives  of  one  hundred  mem- 
bers. The  rpialifieations  to  vote  are  :  Tie  must  be  above  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  ;  must  have  resided  in  the  state  three  months, 
and  in  liis  election  district  ten  days.  The  judicial  power  is  vested 
in  one  supreme  court,  circuit  courts,  ])robato  courts  and  justices 
of  the  peace.  The  supreme  court  has  suj)ci'intending  control  over 
all  inferior  courts,  and  consist  of  four  judges,  who  are  chosen  by 
the  voters  for  eight  years,  one  judge  retiring  every  second  year, 
unless  reelected.  The  judges  of  the  circuit  courts  are  chosen  for 
six  years.  Lansing  is  the  capital  of  the  state,  and,  in  1870,  had 
a  population  of  5,2-11.  The  following  are  the  principal  cities  of 
the  state,  with  their  populations  in  1870:  Bay  City,  7,064; 
Niles,  4,630 ;  Coldwater,  4,381 ;  Battle  Creek,  5,838  ;  Marshall, 
4,025;  Flint,  5,386;  Hinsdale,  3,518;  Jackson,  11,447;  Grand 
Bapids,  16,507;  Lapier,  1,772;  Adrian,  8,-138;  Manistee,  3,343; 
Big  Bapids,  1,237;  Monroe,  5,086 ;  ]\[uskcgon,  8,002;  Pontiac, 
4,867;  Grand  Ilavcn,  3,147;  Holland,  2,319;  East  Saginaw, 
11,350;  Saginaw,  7,460;  Corunna,  1,408 ;  Owasso,  2,065;  Port 
Huron,  5,973 ;  St.  Clair,  1,790 ;  Ann  Arbor,  7,363  ;  Ypsilanti, 
5,471 ;  Detroit,  79,577,  and  Wyandotte,  2,731. 


CHAPTER    XXXII, 


THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS. 


Population  —  Mauufuctui  cs  —  Railroads  —  Commerce  • 

ities  —  Government. 


-  Educational  —  Char- 


Manufactures.  —  Illinois  is  now  a  manufaC'Uring  as  well  as 
an  agricultural  state.  In  1870,  there  were  12,597  manufacturing 
establishments,  against  4,268  in  1860  ;  and  the  total  value  of  pro- 


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ducts  had  increased  during  the  decade  from  $57,580,887  to  $205.- 
620,672.  The  manufacturing  industry  employed,  in  1870,  2,330 
steam  engines,  with  73,091  horse  power,  and  82,979  liands,  and 
consumed  raw  materials  to  the  amount  of  $127,600,077.  The 
capital  invested  .  was  $9-l,o68,057,  and  the  amount  of  wages 
paid  was  $31,100,244.  Tlie  counties  most  largely  engaged  in 
manufacturing  were:  Cook,  including  the  city  of  Chicago, 
which  turned  out  products  to  the  amount  of  $92,518,742  ;  Peoria, 
with  $8,844,493  worth  of  goods ;  then  follow  Adams,  Hock 
Island,  St.  Clair,  Kane,  McLean  and  Winnebago.  The  products 
in  detail  amounted  to  the  following  values  :  Flour  and  meal, 
$43,876,775  ;  packed  pork,  $19,818,851  ;  agricultural  "  imple- 
ments, $8,880,390 ;  distilled  liquors,  $7,888,751  ;  men's  clothing, 
$7,429,363  ;  planed  lumber,  $7,290,465 ;  sawed  lumber,  $4,546,- 
769;  carpentering  and  building,  $6,785,264  ;  boots  and  shoes, 
$4,443, /94;  malt  beer,  $4,154,224,  etc. 

Eailroads  and  Commerce.  —  Illinois  is  favorably  situated  for 
commerce.  The  great  lakes  afford  an  outlet  for  the  produce  of 
the  state  to  the  east,  and  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  south.  A 
canal,  100  miles  long,  has  been  constructed  from  Chicago  to  Peru, 
connecting  the  waters  of  Lake  Michiojan  with  those  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi.  A  network  of  railroads  connects  every  portion  of  the 
state  with  the  great  commercial  centers  of  the  country.  The  ag- 
gregate mileage  of  railroads  has  increased  from  2,998,  in  1862,  to 
6,904,  in  1872.  II.  V.  Poor's  Railroad  Manual,  enumerates  fif- 
teen lines,  the  most  important  of  which  are  :  Tlio  Belleville  and 
Southern  Illinois  liailroad,  connecting  Belleville  with  Du  Quoin 
(56  miles) ;  the  Chicago  and  Alton  Eailroad  (359  miles) ;  the  Chi- 
cago, Burlington  and  Quincy  Eailroad  (706  miles);  the  Ciiicago, 
Eock  Island  and  Pacific  Eailroad  (544  miles);  the  Illinois  Central 
Eailroad  (707  miles),  connecting  Cairo  with  Dunleith,  and  Centra- 
lia  with  Chicago;  the  Indianapolis,  Bloomington  and  Western 
Eailroad  (202  miles),  connecting  Indianapoli.s,  Ind.,  with  Pekin  ; 
the  Peoria,  Pekin  and  Jacksonville  Eailroad  (83  miles) ;  the  Eock- 
ford,  Eock  Lsland  and  St.  Louis  Eailroad  (319  miles);  the  St. 
Louis,  Alton  and  Terre  Haute  Eailroad  (219  miles);  the  St.  Louis, 
Vaiulalia  and  Terre  Haute  Eailroad  (158  miles) ;  the  Toledo,  Pe- 
oria and  Warsaw  Eailroad  (246   miles),  and  the  Western  Union 


Thk  State  of  Illinois. 


S47 


H 


Kailroad  (180  miles),  connecting  Racine,  Wis.,  with  Savannah  and 
Port  Byron,  111. 

Education,  Ciiaiiities,  etc.  —  The  school  system  of  Illinois 
is  excellent.  In  1870  there  were  11,050  public  schools,  with 
20,097  teacners  (8,791  male,  and  11,806  female),  and  677,623  pu- 
pils. "The  total  income  of  these  schools  was  $7,810,265,  mostly 
raised  by  taxation  and  public  funds.  The  eighty  classical,  pro- 
fessional and  teclinical  schools  had  371  teachers  and  11,755  pu- 
pils, and  the  705  other  not  public  schools,  8,888  teachers  and 
78,397  pupils.  The  six  universities  had  fifty-six  teachers  and 
1,277  students,  including  148  females.  The  State  Industrial  Uni- 
A^ersity,  founded  by  act  of  the  legislature  in  1867,  and  located  in 
Cliampaign  county,  was  o])ened  in  1868.  It  has  over  1,000  acres 
of  improved  farming  lands,  foriy  acres  of  which  have  been  set 
apart  for  gardens,  nurseries  and  specimen  orchards.  The  remain- 
der is  to  be  used  for  experimental  and  stock  farms.  The  course 
of  this  institution  is  science,  literature  and  arts.  Neither  the 
classical  nor  modern  languages  are  taught.  The  State  Normal 
University  was  opened  in  October,  1857,  near  the  city  of  Bloom- 
ington,  and  is  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

The  penal,  reformatory  and  charitable  institutions  of  Illinois 
rank  among  the  most  advanced  in  the  union.  "  The  State  Peni- 
tentiary is  located  at  Joliet.  A  board  of  commissioners,  having 
charge  of  the  institution,  is  appointed  by  the  governor,  and  this 
board  selects  a  warden,  who  has  the  general  management  of  the 
prison.  The  labor  of  the  convicts  is  leased  to  persons  engaged 
in  special  pursuits;  but  the  state  retains  complete  control  of  their 
discipline  and  government.  The  State  Orphan  School  for  juve- 
nile oiTenders  is  located  at  Pontiac,  and  though  but  recently  or- 
ganized, is  expected  to  exercise  a  salutary  inlluence.  The  other 
charitable  institutions  of  the  state  are  mostly  located  at  Jackson- 
ville, and  comprise  the  Institution  for  the  De  f  and  Dumb,  which 
receives  pupils  between  ten  and  twenty-one  years  of  age ;  the 
State  Hospital  for  the  Insane,  which  can  accommodate  500  pa- 
tients, and  has  a  large  r.nd  productive  farm  ;  the  Institution  for  the 
Blind  ;  the  Institution  for  Idiots  and  Imbeciles,  and  the  Soldiers' 
Orphan  Ilo.ne.     The  erection  of  a  State   Inebriate  Asylum  has 


i 


'■ 


348 


Tuttlp:'s  Centennial  Northwest. 


f   i'l^' 


PI  !■ 


i 


•k 


been  recommended  to  the  legislature  by  Gov.  John  M.  Piilmer, 
and  is  likely  to  be  ordered." 

Government.  —  The  governor,  lieutenant  governor,  secretary 
of  state,  auditor,  treasurer  and  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion, are  elected  by  the  people  for  four  years.  The  general  elec- 
tion is  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  November.  The  senate 
consists  of  fifty-one  members,  elected  for'four  years;  the  house 
of  representatives  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  members,  elected 
for  two  years.  The  legislature  meets  biennially  on  the  first 
Monday  in  January  in  the  odd  yeans,  1871,  187o,  etc.  The 
supreme  court  has  appellate  jurisdiction  only,  and  LKJiisi.sts  of 
three  divisions,  corresponding  to  tlie  three  divisions  of  the  state. 
There  are  twenty-eight  circuit  courts.  Each  county  has  a  county 
court.  The  state  capital  is  at  SpringfieM.  Chicago  is  the 
metropolis  of  the  state  and  there  arc  fort^'-two  incorporated  cities 
in  the  state. 


CHAPTEH   XXXIII. 


THE  STATE  OF  WISCONSIN. 


Population — Manufacturing — Railroads  —  Commerce  —  Government - 

cation. 


-Edu- 


PoPULATiON,  —  The  state  of  Wisconsin  was  first  settled  at 
Green  Bay  in  1669,  by  the  French.  In  1840,  the  population  of 
the  state  was  30,945  ;  in  1850,  305,391 ;  in  1860,  775,881,  and  in 
1870,  1,054,670.  This  number  includes  1,051,351  whites,  2,113 
colored  persons  and  1,206  Indians  out  of  tribal  relations.  The 
Indians  uving  on  reservations,  or  agencies,  numbered  10,315.  In 
regard  to  nativity,  the  population  was  distributed  as  follows : 
Born  in  the  United  States,  690,171,  including  450,272  natives  of 
ihe  state;  5,714,  of  Connecticut;  12,233,  of  Illinois;  6,415,  of 
Indianna  ;  2,423,  of  Iowa  ;  1,582,  of  Kentucky  ;  8,931,  of  Maine ; 
10,403,  of  Massachusetts;  5,302,  of  Michigan;  2,103,  of  Minne- 


The  State  of  Wisconsin. 


249 


I'M. 


sota;  1,380,  of  Missouri;  4,908,  of  New  Ilampsli've ;  3,194,  of 
New  Jersey;  105,697,  of  New  York  ;  23,164,  of  Ohio;  21,358, 
of  Pennsylvania;  1,152,  of  Ehode  Island  ;  16,421,  of  Vermont, 
and  2,059,  of  Virginia  and  West  Virginia  ;  and  born  in  foreign 
countries  364,499,  including  25,603  natives  of  British  America  ; 
4,486,  of  Austria;  162,314,  of  Germany;  G,069,  of  Switzerland; 
2,701,  of  France  ;  28,192,  of  England  ;  48,479,  of  Ireland  ;  6,590, 
of  Scotland  ;  0,550,  of  Wales  ;  5,990,  of  Holland  ;  40,046,  of  Nor- 
way, and  2,799,  of  Sweden. 

Eailroads  and  Commerce.  —  The  state  of  Wisconsin  pos- 
sesses rare  commercial  advantage?  in  the  lakes  and  rivers  that 
surround  and  penetrate  it.  "  There  are  exported  from  the  ports 
on  lake  Michigan,  especially  from  Milwaukee,  large  quantities  of 
grain,  flour  and  lumber.  The  foreign  commerce,  however,  of  the 
state  is  small ;  the  exports  and  imports  amounting  in  1872  to 
only  $1,595,079." 

The  first  railroad  was  built  in  1850.  Ten  years  later  the  rail- 
road mileage  was  905 ;  in  1870,  1,525,  and  in  1872,  1,878.  The 
principal  lines  are  the  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railroad,  which, 
with  its  various  branches,  has  a  length  of  1.396  miles;  the 
Mineral  Point  Eailroad,  from  Mineral  Point  to  Warren,  Illinois, 
■with  a  branch  from  Calamine  to  Platteville  (51  miles) ;  the  She- 
boygan and  Fond  du  Lac  Railroad  (80  miles) ;  the  West  Wis- 
consin Railroad,  from  Elroy  to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota  (197  miles) ; 
and  the  Wiscon.sin  Central  Railroad,  from  Menasha  to  Ashland. 
(260  miles),  with  branches  from  Menasha  to  Appleton  City  and 
from  Stevens  Point  to  Portage  City. 

Education,  Charities,  etc. — The  state  of  Wisconsin  has 
made  very  liberal  provisions  for  all  cla.sses  of  educational  insti- 
tutions. The  public  schools  are  under  the  supervision  of  a  state 
superintendent  of  public  instruction,  and  county  and  city  super- 
intendents. "In  1872,  the  number  of  children  over  four  and 
under  twenty  years  of  age  was  423,717,  of  whom  266,789  attended 
public  schools,  and  15,618  private  schools.  There  were  in  the 
state  4,979  public  school  houses  and  9,304  teachers.  The  valua- 
tion of  school  houses  was  $3,295,268.  The  state  has  three  nor- 
mal ..chools,  one  at  Platteville,  one  at  Oshkosh  and  one  at  White- 


it''- 


i.'  ULUiisKi 


'■'t  'iif*'i 


3d0 


TuTTLtfs  Centexnial  NoilTinVEST. 


water.  The  state  university,  at  ^[adison,  is  in  a  prosperous  con- 
dition, and  had,  in  1870,  twenty-seven  professors  and  462  stu- 
dents, of  whom  124  were  females.  It  embraces  a  college  of 
letters,  a  college  of  arts,  a  preparatory  department  and  a  female 
department.  The  college  of  arts  is  the  agricultural  and  seientilic 
college  of  the  state.  1'iie  other  institutions  for  higher  and  pro- 
fessional education  embrace  twelve  colleges,  five  academics,  one 
law  school  and  three  theological  schools.  The  state  mair.tains 
the  following  institutions  for  the  support  and  education  of  the 
unfortunate:  the  hospital  for  the  insane,  at  Madison  ;  the  insti- 
tution for  the  education  of  the  deaf  and  dumb,  at  Delavan ;  the 
soldiers'  orphans'  home,  at  MadLson,  and  state  reform  school,  at 
Waukesha.  There  is  an  institute  for  the  blind,  at  Janesvillc. 
The  state  prison,  at  Waupun,  in  1872,  had  186  convicts,  being  a 
less  number  than  at  any  time  during  the  six  preceding  years." 

Government.  —  Originally,  Wisconsin  formed  part  of  the  ter- 
ritor}''  of  the  northwest.  The  state  was  admitted  into  the  union  in 
1848.  "  Every  male  person  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and 
upward,  belonging  to  either  of  the  following  classes,  who  shall 
have  resided  in  the  state  for  one  year  next  preceding  any  election, 
shall  be  deemed  a  qualified  voter  at  such  election  :  1.  Citizens  of 
the  United  States.  2.  Persons  of  foreign  birth,  who  shall  have 
declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
3.  Persons  of  Indian  blood,  who  have  once  been  declared  by  law 
of  congress  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States;  and  4.  Civilized 
persons  of  Indian  descent,  not  members  of  any  tribe.  The  legis- 
lative power  is  vested  in  a  senate  and  assembly.  The  assembly, 
according  to  the  constitution,  shall  never  be  less  than  fifty-four 
nor  more  than  one  hundred,  and  the  senate  shall  consist  of  a 
number  not  more  than  one-third  nor  less  than  one  fourth  of  the 
number  of  members  of  the  assembly.  The  members  of  the 
assembly  are  chosen  annually  for  one  year,  and  the  senators 
annually  for  two  years.  The  executive  power  is  vested  in  a 
governor,  who  holds  his  office  for  two  years.  A  lieutenant  gov- 
ernor is  chosen  at  the  same  time  and  for  the  same  term.  There 
are  further  chosen  at  the  time  and  places  of  choosing  the  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature,  a  secretary  of  state,  treasurer,  and   an 


TiiJi:  State  of  Wisconsin. 


361 


W 


attorney  general,  who  bold  their  olTiced  for  the  term  of  two  years. 
The  judicial  power  is  vested  in  a  supreme  court,  circuit  court?, 
courts  of  probate  and  justices  of  the  peace.  The  supreme  court 
has  appellate  jurisdiction  only;  but  in  no  case  removed  to  the 
supreme  court  shall  a  trial  by  jury  be  allowed.  It  has  a  general 
superintending  control  over  all  inferior  courts,  and  has  power  to 
issue  writs  of  habeas  corpus,  mandamus,  injunction,  quo  warranto, 
certiorari  and  other  original  and  remedial  writs.  It  holds  at  least 
one  term  annually  at  the  seat  of  government.  The  state  is  divided 
into  twelve  judicial  circuits,  for  each  of  which  a  judge  is  chosen  by 
the  qualified  electors  therein.  Tlie  circuit  courts  have  original 
jurisdiction  in  all  matters,  civil  and  criminal,  and  appellate  juris- 
distion  from  all  inferior  courts  and  tribunals,  and  a  supervisory 
control  over  tlie  same.  A  circuit  court  is  held  at  least  twice  in 
each  3'car  in  each  county  of  the  state,  organized  for  judicial  pur 
poses.  There  is  chosen  in  each  county  by  the  qualified  electors 
thereof  a  judge  of  probate,  who  holds  his  office  for  two  j'ears ; 
and  the  electors  of  the  several  towns  elect  justices  of  the  peace, 
whose  term  of  office  is  also  two  years."  * 

Madison  is  the  capital  of  the  state,  and  is  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful cities  in  the  whole  northwest.  The  other  cities  with  their 
population,  arc  Milwaukee,  71,440;  Oshkosh,  12,663;  Foud  du 
Lac.  12,764;  Racine,  0,880;  La  Crosse,  7,785;  Watertown,  7,550; 
Janesville,  8,789;  Sheboygan,  5,310;  Manitowoc,  5,168 ;  Green 
Bay,  4,666;  Appleton,  4,518;  Kenosha,  4,309;  Beloit,  4,396; 
Porfage,  3,045,  and  Beaver  Dam,  3,265. 

*Fi^in  Centennial  Gazetteer. 


■  :',■     V 

/    ••■!J:| 


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III  III 


352 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


1 
I 


I  I 
I  I 


Population 


CnAPTER   XXXIV. 
THE  STATE  OF  MINNESOTA. 

■Manulactures —  Hailroails  —  Commerce  —  Govcrnmeut- 
ciitiou,  etc. 


■Edu. 


Poi'ULATioN.  — The  population  of  Minnesota  has  had  a  rapid 
growth,  and  will  continue  to  have  in  the  future.  When  it  be- 
came a  territory,  in  1840,  there  were  but  4,057  inhabitants;  in 
1850,  there  were  6,077;  in  18G0,  172,023,  and  in  1870,439,706, 
thus  showing  an  increase  during  the  last  two  decades  of  2,766, 
and  156  per  cent  respectively.  In  1870,  the  population  consisted 
of  438,257  whites,  759  colored  persons  and  690  Indians  out  of 
tribal  relations;  there  were,  besides,  6,350  Indians  living  on  res- 
ervations and  at  agencies.  The  nativities,  according  to  the  cen- 
sus, were  as  follows :  natives  of  the  United  States,  279,009 ;  of 
the  state,  125,759  ;  of  Connecticut,  2,359  ;  of  Illinoij?,  10,979 ;  of 
Indiana,  7,438 ;  of  Iowa,  3,970 ;  of  Kentucky,  1,733  ;  of  Maine, 
"9,939 ;  of  Maryland,  719 ;  of  Massachusetts,  5,731  ;  of  Michigan, 
3,742;  of  Missouri,  1,447;  of  New  Hampshire,  3,271;  of  New 
Jersey,  1,348;  of  New  York,  39,500;  of  North  Carolina,  438;  of 
Ohio,  12,650  ;  of  Pennsylvania,  11,966  ;  of  Rhode  Island,  564  ;  of 
Tennessee,  320  ;  of  Vermont,  6,815 ;  of  the  Virginia.s,  1,812.  and 
of  Wisconsin,  24,048.  The  foreign  born  population  numbered 
160,697,  of  wh'om  were  born  in  Austria,  2,647  ;  in  Bohemia,  2,166 ; 
in  British  America,  16,698;  in  IVnmark,  1,910;  in  France,  1,743  ; 
in  Germany,  41,346;  in  England,  5,670;  in  Ireland,  21,746;  in 
Scotland,  2,194;  in  Wales,  944;  in  Holland,  1,855;  in  Luxem- 
bourg, 1,173;  in  Norway,  35,940;  in  Sweden,  20,087,  and  in 
Switzerland,  2,102. 

Manufactures. — Minnesota  has  already  made  considerable 
progress  in  manufacturing,  and  her  great  advantages  in  this  re- 
gard promise  much  for  the  future.  There  is  no  end  to  the  water 
power  of  the  state.     In  1870,  Minnesota  had  2,270  manufactar-  _ 


3'///i'  State  of  Minnesota. 


OiiO 


ing  establishments,  which  employed  246  steam  engines  of  7,OSi3 
horse  power,  and  11,290  workmen.  The  capital  invested  in 
manufactures  was  $11,993,729;  the  wages  paid,  $4,052,837 ;  the 
cost  of  raw  materials  consumcu,  $13,832,902,  and  the  total  value 
of  products,  $23,110,700,  an  increase  for  the  preceding  decade  of 
693  per  cent 

The  principal  products  of  industry  and  their  value  were; 
Boots  and  shoes,  $Go3, 163 ;  carpentering  and  building,  $1,067,- 
203;  carriages  and  wagons,  $5-49,fi6S;  cars,  $783,300;  flour  and 
meal,  $7,534,575,  and  sawed  lumber,  $4,299,102. 

Railroaps  axd  Commerce. —  Minnesota  has  a  favorable  situa- 
tion, geographically,  for  commercial  enterprises  ;  with  lier  lake  and 
river  and  lines  of  railroad  communication,  she  has  access  to  all  the 
world.  "  St.  Paul  is  the  only  customs  district  in  the  state,  and 
had  in  1S71,  62  steamboats  with  10,864  tons,  and  77  barges  with 
9,195  tons.  During  the  season  of  1870, 10  steamboats  were  trad- 
ing with  Duluth  ;  in  1871,  the  number  was  increased  to  26.  The 
export  of  grain,  reducing  flour  to  wheat,  was,  in  1871,  2,297,966 
bushels.  On  the  Eed  river  three  steamers  were  plying  between 
Breckinridge,  Moorhead  and  Fort  Garry.  The  first  mile  of  rail- 
road \vas  completed  in  1862,  and  ten  years  later  Minnesota  had 
1,612  miles,  of  an  a.sscssed  value  of  $84,135,332,  carrying  774,289 
tons  of  freight  and  641,711  passengers.  The  following  are  the 
principid  lines:  Southern  Minnesota  llailroad,  from  Grand  Cross- 
ing, on  the  Mississipi,  through  the  southern  tier  of  counties  (167|- 
miles),  with  a  branch  from  Wells  to  ^Mankato  in  course  of  con- 
struction;  the  Winona  and  St.  Peter  llailroad,  running  about  20 
miles  north  of  and  parallel  with  the  above  road  (200  miles) ;  the 
Hustings  and  Dakota  llailroad,  from  Hastings  to' Glencoe  (74 
miles);  the  Minneapolis  and  St  Louis  llailroad,  from  Minneapo- 
lis to  Carver  (27  miles),  and  soon  to  be  completed  to  a  point  on 
the  Iowa  Central  llailroad  ;  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City  llailroad 
(270  miles) ;  the  Mijwaukee  and  St.  Paul  llailroad,  from  !Minne- 
apolis  and  St.  Paul,  southward  through  Iowa  to  McGregor  on  the 
Mississippi  river,  and  thence  to  Milwaukee  (152  miles  in  Minne- 
sotp);'the  Chicago  and  St.  Paul  llailroad,  from  St.  Paul  to  Wi- 
nona on  the  Mississippi  river;  the  St  Paul,  Stillwater  and  Tay- 
23 


i:.i::i 


'*•■  '  m 


>!! 


854 


TuTTLE's  CeNTENXIAL  NoiiTIIWEST. 


lor's  Falls  Railroad  (20  miles) ;  tlie  Lal<c  Superior  and  Mississippi 
]{ailroad,  from  St.  J'aul  to  Dulutli  (15(5  miles);  the  St.  Paul  and 
Pacific  Kail  road,  from  St.  Paul  to  Brcckinridgo  (217  miles),  with 
a  branch  to  Sauk  Eapids  (06  miles),  and  the  St.  Vincent  llranch 
in  process  of  construction ;  and  the  Northern  Pacific  llai'road, 
from  Duluth  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  (1,775  miles),  of  which  255 
miles  arc  within  the  state. 

Education. — The  legislature  of  Minnesota,  in  1851,  provided 
for  the  establishment  of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  "and,  in 
1854,  the  building  was  begun  on  an  eminence  commanding  a  view 
of  the  P'alls  of  St.  Anthony.  After  many  struggles,  the  institu- 
tion is  now  in  full  operation,  with  a  classical,  agricultural  and 
military  establishment.  It  has  11  professors  and  371  students. 
Three  Normal  Schools  are  in  operation  :  the  first  at  ^Vinona,  the 
second  at  Mankato,  and  the  third  at  St.  Cloud.  The  attendance 
was,  in  1871,  498  students.  An  excellent  system  of  public 
schools  has  been  established  in  the  state.  In  1871,  the  number 
of  school  districts  was  2,732  (against  1,085  in  1803) ;  the  number 
of  persons  of  school  age,  167,403,  of  whom  113,983  attended  the 
public  schools.  The  4,385  teaciiers  were,  in  the  aggregate,  paid 
$540,388,  and  the  2,310  schoolhouses  had  a  value  of  $1,758,133. 
The  most  prominent  among  the  private  and  higher  institutions 
of  learning,  are :  Carleton  College,  at  Northficld ;  Groveland 
Seminary,  at  Wasioja ;  Afton  Academy,  at  Afton ;  St.  Mary's 
Female  Academy,  at  St.  Paul,  and  St.  Paul  Female  Seminary,  at 
the  same  place." 

Government. — Minnesota  was  admitted  into  the  union  in 
1857.  "The  governor,  lieutenant  governor,  .secretary  of  state, 
treasurer  and  attorney  general  are  chosen  for  two  years.  The 
auditor  is  cho.sen  for  three  years.  The  senate  consists  of  22  mem- 
bers, chosen  for  two  years,  one  half  each  year ;  and  the  house  of 
representatives  comprises  47  membens,  who  arc  elected  annuall3^ 
The  legislature  meets  annually  in  the  month  of  January.  Citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  who  have  resided  four  months  in  the 
state  and  ten  days  next  preceding  an  election  in  the  district,  are 
legal  voters.  The  judiciary  comprises  a  supreme  court,  district 
courts,  courts  of  probate  and  justices  of  the  peace.     The  supreme 


. 


The  State  of  Tow  a. 


court  lias  original  jurisdiction  in  such  remedial  cases  as  arc  prc- 
soribcd  by  law,  and  appellate  jurisdiction  in  all  cases,  both  in  law 
and  in  equity.  It  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  two  associate 
justices,  who  arc  elected  for  seven  years.  There  arc  six  district 
court  judges,  who  are  elected  in  single  districts  for  seven  years. 
The  district  courts  have  original  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  of  law 
and  equity  where  over  $100  arc  in  controversy,  and  in  criminal 
cases  where  the  punishment  may  be  imprisonment  for  over  three 
months,  or  a  fine  of  over  $100." 

St.  Paul,  with  a  population  of  20,030,  is  the  capital  of  the  state, 
and  the  other  principal  cities  are:  Mankato,  3,482;  Hastings, 
3,458;  lied  Wing,  4,200;  Minneapolis,  13,066;  Kochcster,  3,953  ; 
St.  Cloud,  2,101;  Owatonna,  2,070;  Duluth,  3,131;  Winona, 
7,192;  Stillwater,  4,124,  and  Faribault,  3,045. 


CHAPTEE   XXXV. 

THE  STATE  OF  IOWA. 
Population  —  M:uuifiicturcs  —  Education  —  Railroads  —  Government,  etc. 


Population.  —  The.  great  agricultural  state  of  Iowa  is  making 
gigantic  progress  in  population  and  wealth.  In  1840,  it  had. 
43,112  inhabitants;  in  1850,  192,214;  in  1800,  074,963,  and  in 
1870,  1,194,020.  "The  whites  numbered  in  the  latter  year, 
1,188,207;  the  colored  people  5,702,  and  the  Indians  348,  of 
whom  about  300  sustained  tribal  relations.  The  natives  of  the 
United  States  largely  exceed  the  foreign  population,  numbering 
989,328,  of  whom  428,020  were  natives  of  the  state;"  64,083  of 
Indiana;  14,180  of  Kentucky;  5,943  of  Maine;  5,972  of  ^Mary- 
land; 8,929  of  Massachusetts;  8,918  of  Micliigan  ;  2,083  of  Min- 
nesota; 13,831  of  Missouri ;  5,057  of  New  Ilampshire;  5,088  of 
New  Jersey;  79,143  of  New  York;  3,612  of  North  Carolina  ; 
73,435  of  Pennsylvania  ;  6,015  of  Tennessee  ;  12,204  of  Yermout ; 
19,558  ol  Virginia  and  West  Virginia,  and  24,319  of  Wisconsin. 


I  if  ! 


A  4 


356 


TVTTLt^S  CkNTESNIAL  NoHTIlWEST. 


Tlic  foreign  born  population  numbered  204,002  ;  of  wlioni  17,907 
were  natives  of  Britisli  America  2,827  of  J)enmark;  3,loO  of 
France;  00,160  of  Germany  ;  10,000  of  Kngland  ;  40,12 i  of  Ire- 
land ;  5,248  of  Scotland  ;  1,907  of  Wales  ;  17,000  of  Norway  ; 
10,790  of  Swc'len,  and  3,937  of  Switzerland.  Thus  is  tlii  popu- 
lation of  this  state  in  the  true  sense  of  thn  word  cosmopolitan. 

Manufactures.  —  The  manufacturing  industries  of  Iowa  have 

taken  a  new  start  within  the  last  few  years.  In  1800,  the  value 
of  its  products  was  $13,971,325,    in   1S70,  it  was  $40,534,322, 

showing  an  increase  of  233  per  cent.  In  1800,  there  were  1939 
industrial  establishments,  with  an  invested  cajiital  of  $7,247,130; 
in  1870,  there  were  6,500  establishments,  with  a  capital  of 
$22,420,183,  and  the  raw  materials  amounted  to  $27,082,096  ;  the. 
wages  paid,  to  $6,893,292,  and  there  were  899  steam  engines,  with 
25,298  horse  power.  The  principal  products,  as  reported  in  1S70, 
were  as  follows :  Flour  and  meal,  $15,635,345  ;  sawed  lumber, 
85,794.285 ;  planed  lumber,  $807,415 ;  boots  and  shoes,  $1,218,480; 
agricultural  implements,  $829,905;  carriages  and  wagons,  $1,952,- 
143;  iron  castings,  $432,780;  stoves  and  hollow  ware,  $100,000 ; 
furniture,  $975,506;  men's  clothing,  $905,130;  malt  liquor, 
,$902,848 ;  packed  pork,  $1,190,400 ;  saddlery  and  harness,  $1,110,- 
852,  and  woolen  goods,  $1,501,341. 

Kailuoads  and  Commerce.  — The  two  great  rivers,  the  Mis- 
souri and  the  Mississippi,  and  other  navigable  rivers,  render  the 
situation  of  the  state  of  Iowa  extremely  advantageous  for  com- 
merce. Iowa  also  has  a  very  perfect  system  of  railroads,  and  the 
goods  annually  moved  on  this  great  double  system  of  highways 
amounts  to  $500,000,000  in  value.  In  1802,  the  railroad 
mileage  was  731 ;  ten  years  later  it  was  3,100.  The  principal 
lines  are  :  Burlington,  Cedar  Rapids  and  Miniicsota  Railroad,  con- 
necting Burlington  with  Plymouth  (229  miles),  and  Plymouth 
with  Austin  (32  miles);  Burlington  and  Missouri  River  Railroad 
(349  miles);  Cedar  Falls  and  Minnesota  Railroad,  running  from 
Waterloo  to  the  Minnesota  state  line  (75  1-2  miles) ;  Cedar  Rapids 
and  Missouri  Railroad,  connecting  Cedar  Rapids  with  Omaha, 
Neb.  (271  1-2  miles),  and  Clinton  with  Lyons  (2  1-2  miles); 
Central  Iowa  Railroad,   connecting,  St,   Paul,   Minn.,  with  St. 


Tin:  Stati:  or  Ion' a. 


867 


Louis,  ^fo.,  running  from  tlic  northern  to  tlic  soutliorn  state  lino 
(203  niil'js);  Cliioago,  low.i  and  Nobra.'^ua  liailroad,  connecting 
Clinton  witli  ('edur  il;ipids,  Mo.  (8  1-3  miles);  Cliicagoand  South- 
western Kailroad,  from  Wasliington  to  Leavenworth,  Kans.  (271 
miles);  Des  Moines  V'alley  ilaih'oad,  from  Keokuk  to  Des  Moines 
(248  1-2  miles) ;  Dubuque  and  Si(iux  City  Railroad  (U3  miles) ; 
Dubuque  and  Southwestern  Railroad,  from  Farley  to  Cedar  Rap- 
ids (04  3-4  miles) ;  Iowa  Falls  and  Sioux  City  Railroad  (184  miles), 
and  Sioux  Citj'  and  l\n.i  i  •,  Railroad,  from  Sioux  City  to  Fre- 
mont, Neb.  (107  rv^es). 

FiDUCATioN,  Ciiahities,  ktc. — The  educational  facilities  of 
Iowa  are  excellent.  Tlic  number  of  .'school  districts  was,  in  1871, 
1,094,  an  increase  of  132  in  the  two  preceding  years.  There 
were  7,841  public  schools,  against  7,009  two  years  before.  The 
number  of  youth  within  the  school  ages  was  401,258,  of  whom 
342,440  or  74  1-4  per  cent,  were  enrolled  during  the  year,  and  the 
averfigc  attendance  was  211,720,  or  nearly  46  per  cent.  The  gov- 
ernor, in  his  message  of  January,  1872,  "  regards  the  constant  in- 
crease of  the  number  of  those  enjoying  school  privileges  as  a  strong 
evidence  that  the  common  schools  are  continually  enlarging  their 
usefulness,  and  will  gradually  bring  all  the  yov.i-,h  of  the  state 
within  the  scope  of  their  inestimable  privileges."  The  value  of 
school  houses  and  apparatus  was  $6,010,490,  an  increase  during 
two  years  of  $1,541,947.  A  system  of  normal  schools  at  conve- 
nient points  throughout  the  state,  for  the  thorough  training  of 
teachers,  was  urgently  recommended.  The  lust  census  reports 
public  schools  as  numbering  7.322,  with  8,866  teachers,  and 
205,923  pupils.  There  were  21  colleges,  34  academies,  6  profes- 
sional and  10  technical  schools  in  the  state. 

The  state  university,  at  Iowa  city,  has  an  endowment  in  land 
and  other  property  of  $195,582,  and  worthily  occupies  its  place 
at  the  head  of  the  school  system  of  the  state.  It  had,  in  1870,  25 
teachers  and  455  students,  including  178  females,  and  embraced 
•;  ■  u'emical,  law,  medical  and  normal  departments.  The  Agricul- 
toral  College  at  Ames,  Storey  county,  has  an  imposing  building, 
located  on  a  fine  farm  of  648  acres,  and  contains  a  library,  muse- 
um cabinet  of  minerals,  eta 


h  1 , 


Pi. 


p.    ! 


3o8 


TuTTLifs  Centennial  Nobtxiwest. 


)  I 


'I   ' 


!  II 


The  charitable  and  correctional  institutions  are  in  a  good 
condition.  "The  state  reform  school,  in  Lee  county,  near  Salem, 
Henry  county,  had  seven  oiTicers  and  teachers,  and  eighty-six 
inmates.  Th'.;  institution  for  the  blind  at  Council  Bluffs  is  in  a 
flourishing  condition,  and  offers  every  facility  afforded  by  similar 
institutions  in  the  country.  The  institution  for  the  education  of 
the  blind  at  Vinton  has  magnificent  buildings  and  a  farm  of  forty 
acres.  The  number  of  teachers  and  ofiiccrs  in  1870  was  twenty- 
five,  and  of  pupils,  one  hundred  and  one.  Hospitals  for  the  insane 
are  located  at  Mount  Pleasant  and  Independence.  'The  state  has 
three  homes  for  soldiers'  orphans,  one  at  Glenwood,  another  at 
Cedar  Falls,  and  the  last  at  Davenport.  The  state  penitentiary, 
located  at  Fort  Madison,  is  almost  self  sust.iining ;  and  had,  in 
1871,  t'.  0  hundred  and  sixty-three  convicts,  an  increase  of  sixty- 
one  in  two  years." 

The  state  historical  society  enjoys  an  appropriation  of  $500 
per  annum,  and  collects,  preserves  and  publishes  the  records  of 
the  settlements  of  Iowa,  and  the  deeds  of  its  pioneers.  The 
"  Annals  of  Iowa,"  an  excellent  quarterly,  is  issued  by  the 
society. 

-  Government.  —  The  government  of  the  state  of  Iowa  does  not 
differ  in  any  great  particular  from  ■'.hat  of  other  states.  "  The  gov- 
ernor, lieutenant  governor  and  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion are  elected  in  each  odd  year  for  a  term  of  two  years.  The 
register  of  the  land  office,  secretary  of  state,  auditor  and  treasurer, 
are  elected  in  each  even  year,  for  the  same  length  of  service. 
The  senators,  forty-nine  in  number,  are  chosen  for  four  years ; 
one-half  being  elected  biennially.  The  house  of  representatives 
consists  of  two  hundred  members,  who  are  elected  for  two  years. 
Every  male  citizen  who  has  been  a  resident  of  the  state  for  six 
months,  and  of  the  county  in  which  he  offers  to  vote,  sixty  days, 
is  a  legal  elector.  The  judicial  power  is  vested  in  a  supreme 
court,  twelve  district  courts,  '  and  such  courts  as  the  general 
assembly  may  establish.'  The  "upreme  court  has  appellate  juris- 
diction only,  and  consists  of  four  judges,  elected  by  the  people 
for  six  years.  It  exercises  supervisory  control  over  the  inferior 
judicial  tribunals.     The  district  courts  have  original  jurisdiction 


The  State  of  Kansas. 


859 


in  civil  and  crinninal  cases,  in  chancery  and  at  com'Tion  law.  In 
1868,  the  assembly  established  twenty-four  circuits,  in  each  of 
•which  a  circuit  judge  is  elected  for  four  years." 

Dcs  Moines,  on  the  river  of  the  same  name,  is  the  capital  of  the 
state.  The  principal  cities  are  :  Davenport,  Keokuk,  Dubuque, 
Cedar  Falls,  Waterloo,  Waverly,  Independence,  McGregor,  Clin- 
ton, Lyons,  Burlington,  Maquoketa,  Fairfield,  Iowa  City,  Fort 
Madison,  Cedar  llapids,  Winterset,  Oskaloosa,  Marsh alltown, 
Glenwood,  Muscatine,  Council  Bluffs,  Ottumwa,  Fort  Dodge  and 
Sioux  City. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 


THE  STATE  OF  KANSAS. 


Population  —  Manufactures  —  Education  —  Qovorument  —  Cliarities,  etc. 


Population. — Tlie  state  of  Kansas  is  rapidly  increasing  in 
population.  In  1860,  there  were  107,206  inhabitants,  and  in 
1870,  36-1,399,  an  increase  during  the  last  census  decade  of  147 
per  cent.  The  population  in  1870  comprised  316,377  whites, 
17,108  colored  persons  and  9,81-1  Indians,  of  whom  91-4  were  out 
of  tribal  relations;  about  5,900  were  living  on  reservations  and 
agencies,  and  about  3,000  leu  a  nomadic  life.  The  great  majority 
of  the  inhabitants,  viz.  :  316,007,  were  natives  of  the  United 
States,  including  63,351  iTtives  of  the  state,  1,402  natives  of 
Connecticut ;  35,558,  of  Ilhuois ;  30,953,  of  Indiana ;  13,073,  of 
Iowa  ;  15,918,  of  Kentucky ;  1,83  T,  of  Maine  ;  2,067  of  Maryland ; 
2,894,  oC  Massachusetts ;  4,466,  of  Michigan  ;  29,775,  of  Mis.souri ; 
1,158,  of  New  Tl'arnpshire;  1,345,  of  New  Jersey  ;  18,558,  of  New 
York  ;  3,602,  of  N-vth  Carolina ;  38,205,  of  Ohio ;  19,287,  of  Penn- 
sylvania; 6,209,  of  Tennessee  ;  2,370,  of  Vermont ;  9,906,  of  Vir- 
ginia and  West  Virginia,  and  4,128,  of  Wisconsin.  The  foreign 
population  was  48,392,  of  whom  5,324  were  natives  of  British 
America ;  1,274,  of  France;  12,775  of  Germany  ;  6,161,  of  Eng- 
land ;  10,950,  of  Ireland  ;  1,531,  of  Scotland  ;  1,021,  of  Wales,  and 


?:   (  ■!  i  I 
'        ii'ii 


860 


Tuttle's  Centeknial  Northwest. 


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588,  of  SwedcMi  and  Norwa}-.  The  total  population  of  ten  years 
and  more  of  age  numbered  258,051,  of  whom  73,228  were  engaged 
in  agriculture;  20,730,  in  professional  and  personal  services; 
11,762,  in  trade  and  transportation,  and  18,126,  iu  manufacturing, 
mining  and  mechanical  trades,  making  an  aggregate  of  persons 
pursuing  useful  occupations  of  123,852. 

Manufactures.  —  Possessing  abundant  facilities  for  manu- 
facturing, Kansas  is  already  on  tlie  highway  of  success  in  this 
direction.  There  were  in  the  state,  according  to  the  census 
report,  1,477  establishments,  employing  254  steam  engines  with 
0,300  horse  power,  0,844  hands,  and  a  capital  of  $4,319,060. 
The  value  of  products  was  $11,775,833,  and  of  raw  materials 
consumed,  $6,112,163.  The  wages  paid  amounted  to  $2,377,511 ; 
among  the  principal  articles  manufactured  arc  flour  and  meal, 
malt  liquors,  boots  and  shoes,  carriages  and  wagons,  furniture, 
iron  castings,  saddlery  and  harness,  tin,  copper  and  sheet  iron 
ware,  tobacco  and  cigars,  and  woolen  goods. 

Railroads  axu  Commerce. — The  state  of  Kansas  has  many 
commercial  advantages,  and  the  trade  of  the  state  is  growing  rap- 
idly. The  trade  in  Kansas  in  round  numbers  annually  is  $114,- 
-000,000,  of  which  $30,000,000  is  represented  by  the  transactions 
of  Leavenworth.  The  trade  in  Texas  cattle  has  become  a  very  im- 
portant branch  of  business.  Large  herds  arc  yearly  brought  by 
Texan  drovers  to  points  along  the  Pacific  railroad.  Abiline  is 
the  principal  cattle  depot,  and  in  1870,  50,000  head  were  sent 
east  from  this  ])oint,  while  in  1871,  the  number  moved  at  the 
same  point  was  150,000.  With  the  construction  of  new  lines  of 
railwa}',  Kansas  will  reach  a  high  point,  comraerciall}'.  In  1864, 
the  siate  had  but  40  miles  cf  railroads;  in  1806,  240  miles;  in 
1868,  048  miles;  in  1870,  1,501  miles;  and  in  1872,  1,760  miles. 
The  following  are  the  principal  roads:  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad, 
from  Kansas  City,  Missouri,  to  Denver,  Colorado  (0381  miles) ; 
a  branch  from  Lawrence  to  Leavenworth  (34  miles  long);  Atchison, 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  from  Atchison  to  staic  line  (450 
miles);  Leavenworth,  Atchison  and  Northwestern  Railroad,  (21i 
miles) ;  Leavenworth,  Lawrence  and  Galveston,  from  Leavenworth 
to  Parker,  on  the  southern  state  line  (143^  miles);  Missouri,  Kansas 


The  State  of  Kansas. 


301 


and  Texas  Eailroad,  from  Junction  City  to  Preston,  Texas  (432 
miles);  and  a  line  from  Sedalia,  Missouri,  to  Parsons  (IGO  miles); 
Missouri  River,  Fort  Scott  and  Gulf  Railroad,  from  Kansas  City, 
Missouri,  to  Baxter  on  tlie  state  line  (iOl  miles). 

Education,  Charities,  etc. — The  educational  interests  of  the 
state  of  Kansas  arc  now  in  a  very  prosperous  and  efficient  condi- 
tion. The  state  "  has  five  universities.  The  state  university  at 
Lawrence  was  organized  in  1864,  and  embraces  a  collegiate  and  a 
preparatory  course.  It  has  a  splendid  building,  on  a  hill  called 
Mount  Oread,  and  is  admirably  provided  with  all  the  appliances 
required  by  the  most  ad^^anced  methods  of  instruction.  Professor- 
ships of  drawing  and  practical  chemistry  have  lately  been  added 
to  the  faculty.  The  library  and  the  collection  of  apparatus  are 
increasing  rapidly.  In  1870,  it  had  9  professors  and  213  students. 
The  Ottawa  University  w'as  organized  in  1800  by  the  Baptist 
church  of  the  state;  Lane  University,  at  Lecompton,  in  1859; 
Baker  University,  at  Baldwin  City,  in  1858;  and  Highland  Uni- 
versity, at  Highland,  in  1859.  The  census  reports  11  classical  in- 
stitutions, with  63  teachers  and  904  juipils,  and  4  technical 
schools,  inclusive  of  the  State  Agricultural  School  at  ALanhattan, 
which  has  an  endowment  of  90,000  acres,  has  10  instructors,  194 
pupils,  and  a  library  of  8,000  volumes.  Kansas  had,  according 
to  the  census,  2,068  organized  school  districts,  with  1,663  public 
schools,  having  1,864  teachers,  and  58,030  pupils.  The  number 
of  persons  between  5  and  21  years  of  age  was  100,242.  The  char- 
itable institutions  already  established  are  in  successful  operation. 
The  Asylum  for  the  Insane  is  at  Osawatomie,  the  Asylum  for  the 
Blind  at  Wyandotte  City,  and  the  Asylum  for  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb  at  Olathe." 

Government. — The  government  of  the  state  of  Kansas  is  much 
the  same  as  that  of  the  other  states.  "  The  governor,  lieutenant 
governor,  secretary  of  state,  auditor,  treasurer,  superintendent  of 
uublic  instruction,  and  attorney  general,  arc  elected  for  a  term  of 
two  years.  Tlie  senate  i.i  composed  cf  25  members,  elected  for 
two  years,  and  the  house  of  representatives  of  75  members,  elected 
for  one  year.  The  legisla'  e  meets  annually  on  the  secciid 
Tuesday  in  January.     Male  citivcens  of  the  United  States,  or  per- 


\        '     \: 


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ifM 


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362 


TuTTLtfs  Centennial  Northwest. 


sons  of  foreign  birth,  who  shall  have  declared  their  intention  to 
become  citizens,  are  entitled  to  vote  after  having  resided  six 
months  in  the  state  and  30  days  in  the  township.  The  supreme 
court  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  two  associate  justices,  who 
are  elected  for  six  years.  The  state  is  divided  into  nine  judicial 
districts,  in  each  of  which  a  district  court  is  held,  the  judges  of 
which  are  elected  for  four  3-car3."  Toj)cka  is  the  capital  of  the 
state,  Leavenworth  is  the  metropolis,  and  there  are  quite  a  num- 
ber of  thriving  cities. 


CHxVPTER    XXXVII. 


THE  STATE  OF  NEBRASKA. 


Population  —  Manufactures  —  Educ;  tion  —  Commerce  —  Railroads  —  Govern- 
ment. 

PoruLATlON.  —  The  state  of  Nebraska  is  rapidly  increasing  in 
population  and  wealth.  In  18G0,  the  state  had  a  population  of 
28,841,  and  in  1870,  122/J93.  Of  these,  92,245  were  natives  of 
the  United  States,  including  18,425  natives  of  the  state.  The 
foreign  born  population  numbered  30,748  ;  of  whom  2,635  were 
born  in  British  America,  10,954  in  Germany,  299  in  Austria,  593 
in  Switzerland,  2,352  in  Sweden,  50G  in  Norway,  4,616  in  Eng- 
land, Scotland  and  Wales,  and  4,999  in  Ireland.  The  colored 
population  was  small,  numbering  but  789,  and  the  last  censut"  'e- 
ports  but  87  Indians. 

Manufactures. — While  the  manufacturing  interests  of  Ne- 
braska are  as  yet  but  little  developed,  the  prospect  for  future 
growth  is  goou.  In  1870,  there  were  670  manufacturing  establish- 
ments, employing  1,865  horse  power  in  steam  engines,  1,446  horse 
povver  in  water  wheels,  2,665  operatives,  and  $2,169,963  of  capi- 
tal. The  products  had  a  value  of  $5,738,512  ;  $1,429,913  of 
wages  were  paid,  and  $2,902,074  worth  of  raw  materials  wero 
consumed.     The  principal  products  of  industry  were  flour  and 


The  State  of  Nebraska. 


363 


meal,  $1, 516,150  ;  boots  and  shoes,  $195,722 ;  carpentering  and 
building,  $535,520  ;  distilled  liquors,  $140,789,  and  malt  liquors, 
$83,832. 

Eailroads  and  Commerce.  —  The  commerce  of  the  state  is 
entirely  local.  The  railroads  are  extending  rapidly.  "  In  1865, 
the  length  of  railroads  was  122  miles ;  in  1868,  473  miles ;  in 
1870,  705  miles ;  in  1871,  943  miles,  and  in  1872,  1,051  miles. 
The  Union  Pacific  Railroad  extends  from  Omaha  through  the 
entire  length  of  the  state,  and,  in  the  main,  follows  the  valley 
of  the  Platte  river.  The  Burlington  and  Missouri  River 
Railroad  runs  along  the  valley  of  the  Platte  river,  from 
Plattsmouth  to  Ashland,  and  thence  to  Lincoln  and  to  the 
junction  with  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  west  of  Fort 
Kearney.  The  Midland  Pacific  Railroad  extends  from  Ne- 
braska City,  on  the  Missouri  river,  to  Seward,  Seward 
county.  The  Omaha  and  Northwestern  Railroad  is  in  operation 
from  Omaha  to  Herman,  Washington  county,  and  will  be  ex- 
tended to  Niobrara  river.  The  Omaha  and  Southwestern  Rail- 
road consists  of  two  lines;  the  one  running  from  Omaha  to 
Omaha  Junction,  on  the  Burlington  and  Missouri  River  Railroad, 
and  the  other  from  Crete,  on  the  last  named  line,  to  Beatrice, 
Gage  county,  following  the  valley  of  the  Big  Blue  river.  The 
northern  part  of  the  Atchison  and  Ncbrc:^ka  Railroad  is  within 
this  state  and  extends  xrom  the  southern  state  line,  near  the  ^lis- 
souri  river,  to  Lincoln.  The  Fremont,  Elkhorn  and  Missouri 
Valley  Railroad  has  been  completed  from  Fremont  to  Wisner, 
Cuming  county,  and  will  be  extended  to  the  Niobrara  river." 

Education,  Chahities,  etc.  —  Says  a  recent  writer,  very 
truthfully,  "  Nebraska  has  more  organized  schools,  more  school 
houses,  and  those  of  a  superior  character;  more  money  invested 
in  buildings,  books,  etc.,  tho,n  were  ever  had  before  by  any  state 
of  the  same  age.  The  land  endowment  for  the  public  schools 
embraces  one-eighteenth  of  the  entire  area  of  the  state,  2,623,080 
acres.  The  governor  is  of  the  opinion  that  iho  whole  educational 
system,  fi:om  common  school  to  university,  can  be  made  entirely 
independent  of  the  state.  In  1870,  the  number  of  school  districts 
was  1,032  ;  of  persons  in  the  school  age,  41,063,  and  of  these 


S  i'  i 

1        ■  ^ 

Wv 


I'iM 


361 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


there  were  enrolled  in  the  public  schools,  23,158.  An  excellent 
normal  school  for  the  training  of  teachers  is  located  at  Peru,  Ne- 
maha county.  The  state  university  is  at  Nebraska  City.  The 
state  asylum  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  at  Omaha,  was  opened  in 
1809.  At  Lincoln,  are  the  state  lunatic  asylum  and  the  state 
penitentiary'." 

Government.  —  Nebraska  was  organized  as  a  territory  in  May, 
lSo-1.  "  A  constitution  was  framed  by  the  stale  convention  and 
latified  by  the  people  in  1866,  and  in  January,  1867,  Nebraska 
was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  state.  The  executive  power  is 
vested  in  a  governor,  lieutenant  governor,  secretary  of  state, 
treasurer  and  auditor.  These  oflicers  are  elected  for  two  years, 
except  the  auditor,  who  is  elected  for  four  years.  The  legi-slature 
consists  of  a  senate  and  a  house  of  representatives.  The  former 
has  thirteen  members,  the  latter  twenty-nine  members.  All  male 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  have  resided  six  months  in  the 
state,  and  ten  days  in  the  district  in  which  they  offer  to  vote,  are 
legal  electors.  The  judiciary  comprises  a  supreme  court,  district 
courts,  probate  courts,  and  justices  of  the  peace.  The  supreme 
court  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  two  associate  justices,  elected 
for  a  period  of  six  years.  The  state  is  divided  into  three  judicial 
districts,  in  each  of  which  one  of  the  supreme  court  justices  holds 
district  court  sessions."  The  state  capital  is  Lincoln,  2,4.41  in- 
habitants. The  most  important  cities,  with  their  populations,  are 
Omaha,  16,042;  Nebraska  City,  6,050;  Pkttsmouth,  1,954; 
Brownville,  1,305,  and  Tremont,  1,195. 


CHAPTER  XXXViri. 


PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  OHIO. 


Columbus  — Cincinnati  —  Clevcliind  —  Diiy  ton —  Toledo—  Sandusky —  Spring. 

field,  etc.,  etc. 


Columbus. —  This  city  is  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  and 
the  seat  of  administration  for  Franklin  county.     The  location  of 


m 


Principal  Cities  of  Ohio. 


866 


Columbus,  on  the  banks  of  the  Scioto,  was  well  chosen  for  the 
natural  beauty  of  the  position  and  for  the  advantages  of  drainage, 
as  tiie  land  rises  gradually  from  the  banks  of  the  sircam.  This 
was  but  a  tiny  village  when,  in  the  year  1812,  the  site  was  chosen 
for  the  state  capital ;  but  the  wilderness  has  been  made  beautiful 
by  the  arts  and  industries  which  have  gradually  been  concentrated 
on  the  spot;  and  the  broad,  well  graded  streets  are  admirably 
shaded  by  trees.  The  streets  cross  each  other  at  right  angles,  and 
the  care  bestowed  on  their  construction  tells  of  sound  judgment 
and  good  taste  in  the  men  who  have  presided  over  its  growth. 
The  remotest  points  of  the  spacious  city  are  brought  together  by 
street  railways,  which  traverse  the  principal  thoroughfares;  and 
the  main  square  of  the  city  is  a  fine  enclosure  of  ten  acres,  in 
which  stands  the  capitol,  a  spacious  and  commanding  structure  of 
the  Doric  order,  surmounted  by  a  cupola,  and  yet  further  embel- 
lished by  a  colonade,  in  which  the  men  who  are  entrusted  with 
the  affairs  of  the  state  may  exercise  their  ])hysical  powers,  while 
they  unbend  from  severer  labor.  The  position  occupied  by 
Columbus  is  about  ninety  miles  above  the  embouchure  of  the 
Scioto,  but  the  magnificent  railroad  facilities  enjoyed  by  residents 
in  the  state  capital  leave  nothing  to  be  desired  in  the  way  of 
travel  and  traffic.  The  Central  Ohio  division  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  railroad  has  here  its  western  terminus  ;  the  Columbus 
division  of  the  Cleveland,  Columbus,  Cincinnati  and  Indianapolis 
railroad  has  here  its  southern  terminus;  the  Columbus  and 
Hocking  railroad  has  here  its  northwestern  terminus ;  and  the 
Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis  railroad  has  a  station  which 
is  largely  used.  Facilities  such  as  these  could  hardly  fail  to  build 
up  a  great  city  on  a  spot  so  liberally  dealt  with  by  nature,  the 
more  especially,  seeing  that  it  is  sufficiently  distant  from  vjther 
great  centers  of  population,  to  possess  a  circle  of  support  entirely 
its  own.  Cleveland  is  nearly  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  from 
Columbus,  and  Cincinnati,  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  The 
city  stands  northeast  from  Cincinnati,  and  southwest  from  Cleve- 
land. There  were  but  a  few  scattered  dwellings  near  the  Scioto 
when  the  city  was  laid  out,  in  the  year  1812,  but  within  three 
years,  over  seven  hundred  persons  had  made  their  homes  on  the 
spot,  and  the  next  five  years  doubled  that  population.     The  gov- 


306 


TuTTLtfs  Centennial  Northwest. 


hS 


I: 


i'! 


ernment  of  the  state  made  this  the  seat  of  operations  in  the  year 
1817 ;  but  the  location  was  only  looked  upon  as  provisional  ;  and 
it  was  not  until  twenty  years  afterwards  that  tlic  capital  was  per- 
manently fixed  at  Columbus.  In  tlie  year  1851,  the  population 
of  the  city  had  increased  to  eighteen  thousand,  and  it  is  now  little, 
if  anything,  short  of  twice  that  number.  There  is  a  gentle  incline 
from  the  river  bank  to  the  highest  point  in  the  city,  but  there  are 
no  hills  nor  declivities  ;  the  ground  seems  to  have  been  intended 
as  a  site  for  a  great  center  of  population.  The  stately  elms  in  the 
square  add  much  to  the  eiTectivcncss  of  the  ca})itol ;  and  facing 
the  square  is  a  fine  Gothic  building  used  as  the  city  hall.  There 
are  many  other  public  buildings  in  Columbus  and  in  its  imme- 
diate surroundings.  In  the  northwestern  suburb  stands  the 
United  States  arsenal,  convenient  to  the  railroads,  with  all  the 
materiel  for  war  on  a  great  scale,  should  such  a  direful  necessity 
ever  again  arise.  The  several  buildings  are  allotted  to  the  ar- 
mory, to  storehouses  for  the  munitions  of  destruction,  and  to  the 
offices  and  quarters  of  the  several  officials  who  are  in  charge  of 
the  establishment.  On  the  left  bank  of  the  Scioto,  the  state  pen- 
itentiary challenges  admiration  for  the  beauty  of  its  design,  as 
well  as  for  its  fitness  for  the  purpose  to  which  it  is  devoted. 
Asylums  for  the  blind,  the  deaf  and  dumb,  for  idiots,  and  for 
lunatics,  seem  to  have  massed  in  one  grand  line,  the  adaptations 
of  benevolence  and  wisdom  to  ameliorate  the  woes,  and  to  repress 
the  vices  of  mankind.  Tlie  left  bank  of  the  river  is  made  more 
than  magnificent  by  that  array  of  beneficent  structures,  and  all 
the  buildings  arc  very  fine.  From  most  of  these  institutions,  a 
fine  view  of  the  businesslike  city  and  eapitol  can  be  obtained ; 
and  the  High  street,  devoted  to  business,  with  substantial  stores, 
usually  well  frequented,  on  both  sides  of  the  way,  explains  the 
splendor  of  the  private  residences  in  Town  and  Broad  streets, 
and  the  elegant  aspects  of  Broadway  and  the  parks.  Broadway 
is  a  splendid  boulevard,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  wide,  adorned 
with  four  rows  of  shade  trees.  There  arc  two  parks,  at  the  north- 
ern and  southern  extremities  of  tl)c  present  city,  Goodale  and 
City  parks,  each  about  forty  acres  in  extent,  but  it  can  readily  be 
seen  that  before  many  years  have  passed,  Columbus  will  extend 
beyond  these  enclosures  dedicated  to  health,  which  will  become 


rT^wrrjr^'r— 


Principal  Cities  of  Ohio. 


367 


(1  facing 
There 


as  lungs  in  tlic  center  of  a  great  emporium  oC  commerce  and  man- 
ufactures. Tlic  surrounJing  countty  brings  to  Columbus  an  ex- 
tensive commerce  in  grain  and  ])roducc;  live  stock  is  a  great  item 
in  the  daily  shipments,  and  wool  comes  in  in  very  considerable 
quantities.  The  agricultural  community  which  relies  on  Colum- 
bus to  find  markets  and  supply  means  of  transport  for  the  bounty 
of  nature,  and  the  enterprise  of  an  intelligent  population,  contrib- 
utes very  materially  to  the  success  tyj)ined  by  many  palatial 
homes  ;  but  the  great  smoke  stacks  of  iron  foundries  and  other 
manufacturing  establishments  are  further  solutions  of  the  kind  of 
alchemy  by  which  crude  matter  is  here  changed  to  gold.  The 
Scioto  river  docs  not  give  Columbus  means  of  tran.'^it  for  its  heavy 
freight.-^,  but  the  Ohio  canal  brings  the  city  into  direct  communi- 
cation with  Cleveland,  on  Lake  Erie,  and  with  Portsmouth,  on 
the  Ohio  river. 

Education  is  provided  for  in  Columbus  by  many  excellent  es- 
tablishments, foremost  among  which  we  place  the  public  schools, 
because  their  advantages  arc  common  to  all  classes.  When 
Eichte,  the  great  philosopher,  was  called  upon  by  the  Prussian 
king  to  devise  means  which  should  infallibly  build  up  the  great- 
ness of  his  empire,  he  simply  answered  "  Educate  your  people." 
Like  the  leper,  who  was  told  to  wash  and  be  clean,  the  king 
doubted  V. nether  so  trivial  a  method  was  capable  of  achieving  the 
result  at  wiiich  he  aimed.  The  kingdom  was  prostrate,  then,  at 
the  feet  of  the  first  Napoleon,  the  military  genius  of  the  age,  en- 
riched by  the  practical  lessons  of  the  school  at  Brienne,  and  the 
troops  of  France,  just  snatched  from  the  vortex  of  revolution, 
w-ere  masters  of  the  destinies  of  the  nation  which  had  been  built 
up  by  Frederick  the  Great.  The  scheme  was  tried,  and  the  whole 
world  has  seen  the  evidence  of  its  success  in  the  recent  humilia- 
tion of  Paris.  Every  child  must  be  schooled  until  he  has  reached 
tl>e  age  of  fourteen,  and  the  best  teachers  in  the  land  are  secured. 
No  plea,  short  of  idiocy  or  ill  health  of  the  severest  kind,  could 
be  accepted  as  an  excuse  for  nonattendancc.  The  crown  prince 
submits  to  the  same  law  which  is  obligatory  on  the  son  of  the 
licasant,  and  the  system  works  marvelously.  At  tlic  age  of  four- 
teen, unless  the  professors  have  pronounced  that  the  talents  of  the 
lad  are  of  such  an  order  as  to  demand  special  culture  for  science 


■y  -- 


111 


36S 


Tuttle's  Cextennial  Northwest. 


llii 


<'i 


r  »•; 


\  t 


p< 


or  for  letters,  ever}'  person  must  be  taught  the  trade  to  wliicli  his 
aj)tituclcs  best  fit  him.  The  jnrescnt  emperor,  and  his  son  who 
will  be  his  successor,  are  both  printers,  and,  should  occasion  arise, 
can  earn  a  living  working  at  case.  That  is  a  part  of  the  Prussian 
.system  of  education  —  every  man  must  be  prepared  for  earning  a 
livelihood.  Arrived  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  it  is  assumed  that 
the  young  man  has  learned  liis  trade;  but  he  must  now  learn  to 
be  a  soldier,  and  the  next  five  years  of  his  life  sees  him  facing 
the  hardships  c.  .J  mastering  the  discipline  of  the  camp,  aided  in 
his  pursuit  by  all  that  can  be  clleeted  for  him  by  the  best  gym- 
nastic culture,  and  his  faculties  contiimously  developed  by  study 
of  the  best  works  of  the  first  masters  in  tactics,  fortifications  and 
all  the  mysteries  of  war.  "When  the  Prussian  army  entered 
France,  almost  immediately  after  Louis  Napoleon  had  uttered  his 
ill-omened  order  «  Berlin,  it  was  found  that  two  Germans,  on  an 
average,  weighed  more  than  three  French  soldiers,  and  every  man 
was  as  nearly  perfect  as  discipline  could  make  him.  The  fire  of 
youth,  tamed,  and  subjected  by  culture  of  a  fierce  and  warlike 
kind,  had  become  strength,  and  every  soldier  not  only  carried  a 
baton  in  his  knapsack,  he  was  obliged  to  study,  every  evening, 
the  map  of  the  new  country  over  which  he  was  to  march  the  fol- 
lowing day.  The  series  of  victories  which  culminated  in  the  re- 
duction of  Paris  was  not  won  by  the  geni\is  of  Von  Roon,  Von 
Moltke  or  Prince  Bismarck,  but  by  the  system  of  training  which 
they  directed,  that  had  built  up  a  nation  of  giants  in  the  Ger- 
man peoples,  irresistible  as  the  legionaries  that  conquered  Home. 
In  art  education,  in  science  of  every  grade,  the  like  faithfulness 
has  resulted  in  similar  successes  ;  and  our  best  engineers,  artists, 
scientists  and  men  of  letters  to  day,  are  the  men  who  have  gradu- 
ated in  German  schools.  These  facts  are  of  immense  importance 
in  determining  the  value  of  education.  Columbus  has  no  com- 
pulsory cnjictments  as  to  school  training;  such  action  would  be 
foreign  to  the  genius  of  our  people,  unused  to  the  dictation  of 
king  or  kayser,  but  every  inducement  likely  to  convert  the  youth 
of  the  city  into  students  is  liberally  ofTered,  and  the  results  have 
been  proportionately  good.  In  the  3'ear  1871,  one  half  of  the 
children  of  school  age  in  the  city  were  enrolled  as  pupils,  and 
of  the  five  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-three  thus  entered, 


i ;  ;  ': 


Pdincipal  Cities  of  Ohio. 


309 


there  was  an  average  uttcndancc  of  four  tliousancl.  Tlio  hi-^h 
school  is  rcmarlvably  well  attended,  and  the  support  enjoyed  by 
tlie  State  University  and  the  Starling  Medical  College  testifies  to 
the  high  tone  of  the  populati(Mi  in  city  and  in  state. 

There  are  many  newspapers  published  in  the  city,  but  to  give 
a  detailed  description  of  eighteen  i)ublieations  would  require  a 
volume,  and  it  would  be  invidious  to  make  distinctions  in  favor 
of  a  few.  The  talent  which  is  employed  on  the  ))rcs3  in  Colum- 
bus is  equal  to  that  of  any  city  of  its  size  in  the  Northwest. 


ClNClNXATl.  —  This  city  is  the  metropolis  of  the  state  of  Ohio, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  loveliest  cities  on  tliis  continent.     In  some  re- 
mote age,  at  a  distance  of  time  which  it  would  be  folly  for  us  to 
speculate  concerning,  the  Ohio  river   must  have  been   a  much 
broader  stream  than  it  now  is,  carrying  down  an  immense  body  of 
water  from  the  vast  inland  lakes — ^  which  are  still  represented  on 
a  scale  much  more  ituignificent  than  the  lakes  of  other  continents 
—  to  the  sea.     As  the  river  diminished  in  volume,  it  cut  deeper 
into  the  earth's  crust,  and  the  present  channel  is  the  tliird  clearly 
indicated  in  the  changing  proces.s.     There  arc  two  planes  above 
the  river  banks;  one  about  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  low  water 
mark  is  called  "  Tlio  Bottom,"  and   the  next,  about  sixty  feet 
higher,  is  called  "  The  Hill,"'  above  wh'ch  towers  Mount  Auburn, 
two  hundred  feet  higher.     Cincinnati  occupies  the  bottom  and  the 
hill,  the  latter  elevated  plane   being  the  most  densely  inhabited 
part  of  the  city,  and  the  ascents  toward  the  hills  last  mentioned, 
such  as  Mount  Auburn,  arc  beginning  to  afford  clovernooks  of 
comfort  and   loveliness   to   the  merchant  princes  who  multiply 
their  wealth  in  the  metropolis.     Tiie  city  is  very  well  laid  out, 
and  its  site  gives  exceptional  facilities  for  drainage.     The  river 
rises  and  falls  at  different  seasons  of  the  year  from  the  lo./est 
mark  to  the  highest,  about  fifty  feet,  and  the  city  authorities  have 
caused    the   shore   to  be   paved  from   low  water   mark.     Fixed 
wliarves  would  be  an  inconvenience  where  the  changes  are  so 
considerable,  and  the  plan  resorted  to,  indeed  the  only  plan  pos- 
sible under  the  circumstances,  consists  in  the  use  of  wharf  boats, 
which  rise  and  fall  with  the  stream,  requiring  only  to  have  their 
moorings  adjusted  as  the  occasion  requires.     The  drainage  for  the 
24 


iHlBl' 


E^i: 


I     ,1 


tt 


I 


370 


Tuttlk's  Cestess!al  NonTinvEar. 


'\M 


W       II 


^1^ 


11'*!? 


';,;( -iia 


i!i!| 


sevcnil  elevations  on  wliidi  the  city  \a  built,  find:?  its  natural 
channel  in  the  river  bed,  and  although  eventually  some  inconve- 
nience must  arise  from  that  circumstance,  there  has  been  nothing 
to  connplaia  of  to  tlic  present  time.  The  gigantic  proportions  of 
this  nation  need  have  no  other  illustrating  fact  than  the  distances 
between  our  great  cities.  German  principalities  by  the  dozen,  could 
be  packed  into  odd  corners  in  our  states,  an*!  nobody  would  bo 
crowded,  added  to  which  it  may  be  observed  that  the  annual  reve- 
nues incidental  to  those  petty  .sovereignties  would  hardly  make  a 
ripple  in  the  monetary  tide  of  Wall  street.  Compared  with  tho 
vast  distance  between  tho  Golden  Gate,  tiirough  which  the  Pacific 
ocean  flows  to  lave  the  shores  of  San  Francisco,  and  the  roolc 
bound  coasts  of  ^faine,  daslied  by  the  big  waves  of  the  Atlantic, 
the  distances  are  trivial  which  it  falls  to  our  lot  to  record,  but  the 
Englishman,  who  is  accustomed  to  think  of  the  journey  from  Liv- 
erpool to  London  as  something  great,  will  place  a  far  diirerent 
estimate  on  such  measurements.  From  Cincinnati  to  Pittsburg  is 
just  four  hundred  and  si.\ty-si.\;  miles,  und  from  Cairo,  Illinois, 
is  nearly  six  hundred  miles. 

The  first  settlement  upon  the  site  of  Cincinnati  took  place  but 
a  few  years  after  the  vindication  of  our  Independence,  in  tho  year 
17SS,  one  year  before  the  French  Bastile  was  ra/.ed  to  the  ground, 
where  t!ie  French  soldiers  who  had  fouglit  the  good  fight  under 
La  Fayette,  and  had  seen  for  themselves  the  possibility  of  a  self 
governed  people,  realizing  the  blessings  of  security  for  property 
and  life,  were  able  to  sympathize  with  the  wrongs  of  their  coun- 
trj'^men,  and  to  see  the  want  paled  cheeks  of  women  and  children 
momentarily  drooping  toward  the  grave.  The  men  wdio  had 
fought  bravely  to  build  up  a  government  on  this  side  of  the  At- 
lantic were  marching  onward  to  the  time  when  they  would  just 
as  resolutely  struggle  to  break  down  a  throne,  an  aristocracy,  and 
a  blind  prescription,  which  for  centuries  had  consolidated  wrong. 
The  old  kingdom  had  reached  a  point  at  which  it  must  burst  its 
bonds  or  die.  The  utmost  limits  of  ta.xation  had  been  reached, 
and  still  the  treasury  was  bankrupt,  the  people  starving,  the 
monarchy  tottering  to  its  fall.  That  was  the  experience  in  France  ; 
how  widely  different  was  the  aspect  of  affairs  which  greeted  the 
observer  here  !  A  handful  of  colonies,  which  twenty  years  before 
would  have  treated  a  proposition  to  separate  from  England,  as  an 


Vnisru'AL  Cities  of  Ohio. 


vn 


evidence  of  insanity,  eompcllc.l  in  dcfenso  of  manliood  and 
lionor  to  take  Uf)  arms,  ]iad  established  tlieir  independence,  won 
recognition  of  tlieir  rights  from  the  oldest  monarchies  in  Europe, 
nnd  while  almost  every  family  had  lost  some  loved  member,  in 
tlie  conflict  which  had  humbled  the  pride  of  the  richest  nation  in 
the  world,  had  still  sufficient  energy  to  plant  new  cities,  capable 
of  deveIopn\eiit  inio  the  dimensions  of  an  empire. 

The  first  twelve  years  of  Cincinnati's  growth  only  aggregated 
about  seven  hundred  and  filty  people  within  its  borders,  and  it 
was  not  until  four  years  after  the  French  empire  had  been  a  sec- 
ond time  broken  up  by  foreign  troops,  and  Napoleon  had  been 
sent  to  St.  Helena  to  die  upon  that  inhospitable  rock,  that  the 
slowly  advancing  community  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  was  in 
1819  incorporated  as  a  city.  The  growth  of  the  place  was  still 
elow  until  the  Miami  canal  was  built  in  the  year  1830;  but  that 
event  gave  a  new  impetus  to  its  prosperity.  Ten  years  later  the 
Little  Miami  Kailroad  was  constructed,  and  from  that  time  until 
now  a  wonderful  succession  of  enterprises  has  gone  on,  centering 
new  lines  of  road  at  this  point,  demanding  and  supplying  new 
capital,  to  build  up  industries  and  employ  labor  from  all  parts  of 
the  civilijjod  world.  When  the  census  was  taken  in  the  year  1870, 
it  was  found  tliat  the  population  consisted  of  a  little  over  five 
hund.vd  Austrians,  nearly  fifty  thousand  Germans,  over  eighteen 
thou.ijuid  Irishmen,  about  eight  hundred  Scotchmen,  two  thousand 
Frenchmen,  more  than  eleven  hundred  British  Americans,  three 
thousand  five  hundred  Englishmen,  and  nearly  one  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  thousand  native  born  Americans.  The  advance  of 
the  citv  of  Cincinnati  had  be2n  wonderful  after  the  first  railroad 
was  opened.  Wo  have  seen  ihat  the  event  in  question  dates  from 
the  year  1840,  and  it  will  give  little  trouble  to  glance  at  its  prog- 
ress for  the  three  decades  next  ensuing.  The  population  in 
round  numbers  was  one  hundred  and  fifteen  housand  in  1850  ; 
one  hundred  and  sixty-one  thousand  in  IS'  ',  and  in  1870,  two 
hundred  and  sixteen  thousand.  From  the  commanding  hills 
which  look  down  upon  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  the  view  is  ex- 
tremely fine.  The  river  frontage  of  the  human  bee  hive  is  about 
ten  miles  in  length,  and  it  is  evident  that  e^'ery  foot  of  that  vast 
area  will  come  to  be  of  enormous  value.     The  streets  cross  each 


■■-I 


illlii!!  'I 


■I  iiii'i 


i     i!iS' 


i  lii 


372 


Tuttle's  Centexxial  Northwest. 


other  at  right  angles,  and  are  laid  out  with  perfect  regularity,  the 
portion  of  tlic  city  nearest  to  the  river  being  devoted  to  business 
premises  almost  entirely.     Many  of  the  establishments  have  erect- 
ed handsome  structures,  commodious  enough  for  all  pui'poses; 
but  through  all  the  charms  of  architectural  design,  there  is  evi- 
dent a  purpose  to  make  the  most  of  the  space  available,  to  carry 
on  a  business  of  vast  extent,  whose  possible  expansion  may  task 
the  powers  of  the  arithmetician.     The  stone  commonly  used  in 
the  more  elegant  of  tliese  buildings  is  a  fawn  colored  freestone, 
which  is  quarried  near  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  about  twenty  miles 
above  Cincinnati.     Butler  street,  in  Cincinnati,  is  joined  to  Sara- 
toga street  in  Newport,  Kentucky,  by  a  bridge  two  thousand  two 
hundred  and  fifty-two  feet  long,   resting  upon  eight  piers.     A 
(ierman  engineer  designed  and  constructed  this  fine  suspension 
bridge,  which  is  sustained  by  massive  towers,  two  hundred  feet 
high,  and  more  than  one  thousand  feet  distant  from  each  other. 
The  Colussus  at  Rhodes,  some  time  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
world,  pales  into   insignificance   hy   comparison  with  what  are 
thought  works  of  small  moment  in  the  hands  of  modern  cngineer.s. 
The  road  over  the  Simplon  was  a  work  whicli  better  deserved 
praise  than  any  other  work  in  which  Napoleon  ever  engaged  his 
masterly  intellect;  but  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether  the  com- 
merce b}'  that  route  in  ten  years  will  equal  the   average    six 
months  business  over  this  great  thoroughfare.     Cincinnati  takes 
high  rank,  considering  its  age,   among  the  manufacturing  and 
commercial  centers  of  the  world.     There  are  successfully  estab- 
lished, shoe  factories,  clothing  factories,  manufactories  of  furniture, 
establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  forged  and  rolled  iron,  and 
iron  castings,  tanneries,  breweries,  distilleries,  manufactories  of  en- 
gines, boilers  and  machinery,  manufactories  of  cigars,  of  soap  and 
candle.'',  of  tin,  copper  and  sheet  iron  ware,  besides  immense  print- 
ing and  publisliing  establishments,  and  a  large  aggregate  of  cap- 
ital invested  in  pork  packing,  and  in  the  preparation  of  animal 
oil.     Add  to  all  these  enterprises   the  handicrafts  which  custom- 
arily flourish  where  men  come  together  in   this  country  with  the 
means  as  well  as  the  desire  to  secure  home  comforts  and  luxuries, 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  amount  expended  annually  in  wages 
must  be  enormous. 


PiiiNcii'AL  Cities  of  Ohio. 


373 


31"  the  com- 


The  importance  of  Cincinnati  as  an  entrepot  of  commerce  '.vill 
best  appear  upon  a  brief  recapitulation  of  the  means  of  transit 
and  dispatch  which  arc  in  use  among  its  merchants  and  people.  By 
theOliio  river  the  city  is  connected,  without  a  break  of  any  kind, 
with  New  Orleans  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  its  water  carriacje 
docs  not  end  even  there,  as  the  Miami  canal  joins  the  city  to 
Lake  Erie,  making  close  connections  with  New  York.  The 
value  of  water  carriage  for  heavy  freights,  which  do  not  demand 
rapid  dispatch,  will  not  rec^uire  to  be  elucidated.  In  the  year 
1871,  the  city  had  in  use  an  aggregate  of  steamboats,  barges  and 
canal  boats,  amounting  to  four  hundred  and  twenty-three,  with  a 
tonnage  of  very  nearly  seventy-five  thousand.  But  the  river  and 
canal,  and  lake,  carry  only  a  small  per  centago  of  the  wealth 
which  is  produced,  and  required  for  consumption,  in  the  city  and 
its  prosperous  suburbs.  The  northern  terminus  of  the  Kentjcky 
Central  railroad  carries  away  a  considerable  amount  of  produce 
from  city  and  country,  bringing  back  to  the  artisan,  the  manu- 
facturer, and  the  agricuh  irist  such  returns  as  arc  demanded,  with 
a  speed  which  might  have  seemed  magical,  could  it  have  been 
realized  a  century  ago.  There  aiv^  many  termini  in  this  city,  the 
Cincinnati  and  Louisville  company,  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  the 
Indianapolis,  Cincinnati  and  La  Fayette,  and  nine  other  railroad 
companies  have  each  a  terminus  here,  p.nd  of  course  a  competing 
line  which  accommodates  the  ever  growing  commerce  of  Cincin- 
nati. The  first  demand  for  the  growth  of  a  community  is  fa- 
cility for  intercourse  and  traflic  with  Uie  world.  Without  these  the 
petty  neighborhood  sinks  down  into  the  status  of  a  village,  and 
cannot  rise  above  its  manners.  The  people,  satisfied,  with  such  a 
condition  of  affairs,  may  be  as  conientcd  as  was  K.isselas  in  his 
happy  valley,  but  they  will  probably  be  almost  as  ignorant,  and 
alwaj's  prone  to 

"  Mistake  llie  rustic  murmurs  of  their  woods, 
For  the  big  waves  which  echo  round  the  world." 


M 


!  if\ .  i  ^ 


-.1,;    I     i: 


i-  !     ,  I 


Commerce  is  the  great  civilizcr  and  benefactor  to  all  classes  in 
every  community,  which  has  risen  to  the  distinction  of  producing 
more  than  it  requires  of  some  one  commodity,  which  it  would 
exchange  for  the  superfluities  of  another  people. 


374 


Tuttle's  Centennial  NoRTiiwEsr. 


Next  to  that  great  demand,  and  only  second  to  it,  so  far  as  life 
must  exist  before  it  can  be  educated,  comes  the  necessity  for 
scliools.  No  city  can  hold  its  place  which  docs  not  provide  libor- 
ally  for  the  rising  generation  in  this  respect.  Allow  the  children 
of  one  generation  to  go  untrained,  and  unless  foreigners  come  in 
to  supply  the  vacuum  caused  by  ''iC  consequent  lack  of  intelli- 
gence and  skill,  the  city  so  unmindful  of  its  duties  must  suffer 
in  its  material  resources  to  the  extent  of  seeing  its  indus- 
tries transferred  to  other  wharves,  factories  and  streets.  The 
value  of  education  does  not  consist  merely  in  the  capacity  to  read, 
and  write,  and  ci])hcr,  but  it  bodies  itself  foi'ch  in  a  thousand 
ways,  in  the  readiness  with  which  the  mind  acquires  knowledge 
in  every  field,  and  trcnsmits  its  qualities  with  an  always  increas- 
ing ratio  to  succeeding  jenerations. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  chiL'';en  of  weavers  have  special 
fitness  for  the  work  which  their  progenitors  followed.  The  econ- 
omy of  nature  prompts  the  saving  of  force,  by  cutting  down  to 
the  merest  rudiment,  the  muscle  or  the  nerve  that  has  fallen 
into  disuse,  and  by  the  operation  of  another  branch  of  the  same 
law,  the  muscle  that  is  specially  active  grows  always  more  and 
more  in  strength  and  adaptability,  until  the  point  is  reached 
where  further  improvement  is  imp-yssible.  The  Lj'ons  silk 
weaver  is  a  silk  weaver  and  nothing  else  on  God's  earth  ;  every 
faculty  is  absorbed  in  his  loom  and  its  results.  When  he  grows 
richer  he  will  have  more  looms,  and  all  his  children  will  be 
weavers.  The  outcome  is  no'';  brilliant,  but  it  is  the  result  of  the 
.same  law  wliich  blinds  t'lt;  fish  which  are  accustomed  to  swim  in 
underground  rivers,  as  in  Kentucky,  and  which  diverts  to  other 
channels  of  activity,  or  to  inerlia,  what  might  have  been  mental 
power  in  former  generations.  The  capacity  to  grow  by  training 
is  correlated  with  the  tendency  to  deteriorate  by  neglect,  and  it  is 
a  wise  provision  to  which  we  must  accommodate  ourselves,  or 
suEer  the  inevitable  consequences. 

Cincinnati  long  since  made  its  election  as  to  the  future  by  pro- 
viding liberally  for  education.  In  the  year  1871,  there  were  fif- 
teen primary  schools  in  the  city,  with  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  teachers,  and  very  nearly  eight  thousand  pupils.  There 
were,  at  the  same  time,  three  grammar  schools,  with  two  thou- 


PniNciPAL  Cities  of  Ohio. 


375 


as  life 

itj   for 

e  liber- 

ildi'on 

ioine  iu 

hitelli- 

suH'er 

Indus- 

Tho 

to  read, 

lousaud 


sand  two  hundred  pupils  and  fifty-eight  teachers,  and  two  high 
schools  with  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  pupils  under  the  su- 
pervision of  ten  teachers.  Besides  these  very  excellent  institu- 
tions, there  is  an  evening  school,  which  is  tolerably  well  attended, 
and  a  normal  school  vvliich,  at  tho  time  named,  had  thirty-four 
pupils  and  four  teachers,  consequently,  there  were,  then,  in  tliat  one 
city  an  aggregate  of  thirty-eight  jiublic  schools,  presided  over  by 
five  hundred  and  thirty-six  teachers,  with  a  roll  of  pupils  ex- 
ceeding twenty-two  thousand.  Doubtless  it  would  be  easy  to 
show  that  better  schooling  and  more  of  it  would  be  advantage- 
ous; but,  under  a  free  government  striving  to  direct  and  control 
the  will- power  of  Young  America,  it  will  not  be  easy  to  make 
the  process  more  general  at  present.  The  process  of  selection, 
which,  in  the  course  of  years,  will  prefer  the  best  trained  speci- 
mens of  humanity,  and  leave  the  uneducated  to  be  erased  by 
neglect  and  misfortune,  will,  in  the  course  of  time,  eliminate  tlie 
idle  and  unimproved,  so  that  the  law  will  be  fulfilled  which  says: 
'•To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  from  him  that  hath  not, 
shall  be  taken  away  even  the  little  that  he  hath,"  so  that  the  un- 
educated class  will  gradually  perish. 

The  charitable  institutions  of  Cincinnati  deserve  notice.  There 
are  several  hospitals,  including  the  City  Hospital,  which  was 
opened  in  the  year  1809,  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  the  Hospital  of  the 
Good  Samaritan,  St.  Clary's  Hospital,  and  the  Jewish  Hospital; 
all  these  arc  in  the  city,  and  there  is,  besides  these,  a  city  infirm- 
arv  —  a  very  large  and-  remarkably  handsome  building — -which, 
for  hygienic  reasons,  has  been  located  about  eight  miles  north  of 
the  metropolis.  The  Cincinnati  Orphan  Asylum  occupies  a  beau- 
tiful site  on  Auburn  Hill,  overlooking  the  amphitheatre  in  which 
the  city  stands,  and  thnmgh  which  the  river  winds  a  stream  of 
silver.  The  Union  Bethel  is,  as  its  name  implies,  an  institution 
in  which  sectarian  aims  have  been  largely  put  aside,  and  several 
admirable  purposes  arc  served.  The  Widows'  Home,  tlic  Home  for 
the  Friendless,  the  Woman's  Christian  Association,  and  the 
Young  Afcn's  Christian  As.sociation  tell  each  their  own  story  in 
their  distinctive  names;  but  the  purposes  of  mercy  are  particu- 
larly served  at  little  co-;t  by  the  establishment  of  a  free  reading 
room  where  per3or.'=!  in  needy  circumstances,  away  from  home  and 


m 


li;il 


ii>ii 


376 


Tuttle's  Cextexnial  Northwest. 


friends,  can,  without  seeming  to  be  under  an  obligation,  sec  some 
of  the  best  literature  of  the  day,  and,  if  they  are  so  disposed,  be 
supplied  with  writing  materials  to  make  notes  of  their  studies,  or 
to  communicate  with  absent  dear  ones.  The  value  of  such  little 
advantages  ma}''  often  prove  beyond  price,  in  arresting  the  atten- 
tion of  persons- just  on  the  verge  of  falling  into  temptation.  In 
connection  with  the  benefits  just  named,  there  is  a  room  set  apart 
for  conversation,  and  another  for  music,  in  which,  it  may  be  said 
en  passant,  that  the  attention  and  the  skill  bestowed  by  those  who 
are  customarily  participants,  might  be  advantageously  copied  by 
assemblies  in  the  more  pretentious  circles,  where  wealth,  and  cul- 
ture, andshodd\-.  yawn  and  talk,  while  Verdi,  Beethoven  and  Men- 
delssohn are  tortured  to  the  verge  of  despair. 

Cincinnati  is  not  great  in  church  building.  The  age  of  mag- 
nificent edifices  seems  to  have  passed  away ;  there  will  be  but 
few  cathedrals  built,  during  the  next  hundred  years,  to  rival  such 
as  those  which  engaged  the  attention  of  the  religious  and  artistic 
world  in  the  age  of  Leo  X.  Utility  is  the  aim  of  to  day,  and 
elegance  may  be  superadded,  but  magnilicencc  is  the  dream  of 
bygone  times.  There  are  many  church  buildings  here,  and  some 
of  tliem  arc  certainly  fine,  but  none  are  superb.  Tlicre  are  otlier 
public  buildings  better  deserving  comment,  such  as  the  court 
house  ;  the  city  buildings,  occupying  with  the  ornamenta'  grounds 
on  which  they  stand,  a  complete  square  ;  the  City  Hospital,  al- 
vead}'  mentioned,  a  very  handsome  structure ;  the  Masonic  Tem- 
ple, worthy  of  the  descendants  of  the  !^[aster  TTiram  ;  the  custom 
house  and  post  office,  and  the  House  of  Refnge,  in  Mill  Creek 
valley. 

There  is  a  very  handsome  bronze  fountain  on  Fifth  street,  the 
design  and  workmanship  being  due  to  the  ateliers  and  fouiidries 
of  Munich,  the  capital  of  Bavaria.  Tlie  principal  attraction  to 
the  lover  of  beauty  is  a  graceful  fignre  of  a  woman,  beautiful  as 
the  Venus  de  Medici,  the  surroundings  arc  allegorical  rnd,  there- 
fore, "caviare  to  the  general,"  but  the  effect  is  very  fine,  and  the 
streams  projected  by  the  fountain,  when  in  play,  are  delightful. 
The  taste  for  fountains  is  probably  on  the  decline;  there  will 
perhaps  never  again  be  so  much  money  expended  on  works  of 
that  desc  ■"r>tion  as  were  spent  on  tbo  works  at  Yensaillcs,  when 


U 


I  St 


PnixciPAL  Cities  in  Ohio. 


377 


Louis  XIV  almost  beggared  a  nation  to  erect  his  palace  and  create 
a  park  in  the  desert;  but  hardly  one  traveler  in  ten  thousand  has 
ever  seen  those  fountains  with  their  interlacing  waters  leaping  and 
dancing  in  the  sunlight.  Tlic  waterworks  of  the  city,  which  are 
located  on  the  eminence  known  as  Eden  park,  give  an  excellent 
supply  for  domestic  and  ornamental  purposes. 

Eden  park  stands  to  the  cast  of  the  city  on  a  very  high  hill, 
and  it  includes  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  but  the  works 
designed  arc  not  yet  completed  ;  consequently  it  is  at  present 
principall}'  attractive  for  its  position,  which  commands  a  long 
reach  of  the  river  shore  of  Kentucky-,  with  Newport  and  Coving- 
ton in  the  distance,  seeming  to  be  ollshoots  from  the  vast  city  at 
the  base  of  the  eminence,  which  has  carried  its  street  across  the 
Ohio.  It  is  intended  that  Eden  park  shall  be  a  kind  of  paradise, 
with  considerable  improvements  which  will  more  tlian  rival  the 
New  York  Central  park.  There  are  two  other  parks  in  the  city, 
named  after  the  two  great  presidents,  Washington  and  Lincoln, 
both  very  attractive ;  the  latter,  with  splendid  avenues,  a  lake  and 
an  island,  being  much  frequented  by  pleasure  seekers.  Cincin- 
nati is  a  very  desirable  place  of  abode  ;  the  choicest  amusements, 
tlie  best  lecturers,  preachers,  readers,  and  all  the  attractions  of  the 
heaa  ?no?i(Z'?,  unite  with  fine  libraries,  and  the  charms  of  successful 
commerce  and  manufactures,  to  rival  the  finest  centers  of  popula- 
tion elsewhere;  added  to  all  which,  there  is  a  natural  beauty  in 
the  site  of  the  city  and  its  surroundings  which  might  well  make 
an  anchorite  forswear  his  vows. 

Clevklanix— Tliis  is  the  second  city  in  size  and  importance 
in  the  state  of  Ohio  ;  its  position  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake 
Erie  gives  it  the  advantage  of  a  sea  port,  as  it  can,  and  does,  send 
its  vessels,  by  way  of  the  Welland  canal,  direct  to  all  ports  in 
Europe  ;  and  quite  a  large  business  is  done  by  ship-builders  here, 
not  only  for  lake  navigation,  but  for  commerce  on  all  waters. 
Tlie  Cuyahoga  river  flows  into  Lake  Eric  at  the  point  where 
Cleveland  is  built,  and  that  fact,  added  to  the  numerous  coves 
into  which  the  waters  of  the  lake  have  fretted  the  shore,  gives  to 
the  city  an  immense  frontage  available  for  wharves,  storage  and 
commerce  by  lake  and  sea. 


;)■ 


!-         1 

'If.'    i 

378 


TuTTLE's   CeNTENXIAL  NoiiTHWEST. 


Next  to  Builalo,  Cleveland  is  the  greatest  city  by  the  Lake 
shore,  and  the  distance  is  only  about  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles.  The  journey  to  New  York  from  Cleveland  is  a  little  over 
six  hundred  miles,  and  the  railroad  facilities  are  first  class.  The 
northeastern  terminus  of  the  Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cincin- 
nati railroad  isin  this  city,  as  also  is  the  northwestern  terminus 
of  the  Mahoning  division  of  the  Atlantic  and  Great  Western  rail- 
road ;  and  the  Cleveland  and  Pittsburgh  railroad  has  here  its 
norlhern  terminal  station.  The  Ohio  canal  connects  Cleveland 
with  the  city  of  Portsmouth,  on  the  Ohio  river,  consequently  the 
facilities  enjoyed  by  men  of  business  for  traflic  from  the  lake  to 
the  ocean  and  through  the  interior  of  the  state  to  New  Orleans 
and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  are  complete. 

The  size  and  the  beauty  of  Cleveland,  apart  from  its  unsur- 
passed business  capacity,  would  command  admiration  as  one  of 
the  best  centers  of  population  in  the  United  States.  The  plain 
on  which  it  stands  is  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  lake,  and  the  streets  are  regularly  planned  and  grad- 
ed, crossing  at  right  angles.  River  and  Merwin  streets,  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  Cuyahoga,  are  the  principal  localities  for  busi- 
ness ;  the  best  retail  stores,  many  of  them  very  elegant,  and  the 
-banks  and  principal  newspaper  ofBces  are  on  Sujicrior  street. 
Commodore  Perry,  whose  exploits  on  Lake  Erie  have  long  been 
the  pride  of  his  countrymen,  i.s  honored  by  the  erection  of  a  mar- 
ble statue  in  Monument  S  quaro,  which  is  intersected  by  Superior 
and  Ontario  strcet.s.  Tiie  best  drive  for  the  citizens  who  emulate 
the  2  :13  of  Goldsmith  Maid  is  Euclid  avenue,  a  boulevard  three 
niles  long  and  very  wide,  with  stately  maples  on  either  side  which 
.row  their  umbrageous  shade  far  over  the  drive,  constituting 
.'  0  street  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  country.  Magnificent 
private  residences  standing  in  lawns,  and  open  parks,  form  the 
margin  of  the  road  in  which  the  beauty  and  the  fashion  of  Cleve- 
land may  be  seen  at  the  proper  times,  converting  the  locality  into 
a  very  fair  copy  of  Eotten  Row.  There  is  a  great  deal  in  fashion 
or  such  a  title  would  never  be  an  object  of  emulation,  and  it  may 
be  as  well  to  mention  how  that  name  came  first  to  be  applied  to 
the  favored  resort  of  fa.shion.  AYhen  Charles  II  was  king  of 
England,  and  he  and  all  his  courtiers  were  at  least  as  familiar 


It  ^< 


PjiiNOiPAL  Cities  of  Ohio. 


379 


with  the  French  language,  as  with  tlieir  native  tongue,  the  road 
which  the  king  used  in  his  passage  through  the  park  was  called 
lloute  a  Roi  John  Bull  never  yet  condescended  to  talk  French 
like  a  Frenchman ;  out  of  the  French  phrase  'jxc/que  chose,  he 
made  "kickshaws;"  out  of  the  name  of  the  king's  French  mis- 
tress, Madame  Carouaille,  Duchess  of  rortsmouth,  he  invented  the 
name  fittest  for  the  French  king's  spy,  Madame  Carrywcll,  and 
out  of  the  Route  a  Roi,  the  king's  road,  he  made  llotten  Row,  a 
much  better  descriptive  sentence,  considering  the  quality  of  the 
demireps  and  rascals  that  could  be  met  there,  but  the  name  re- 
mains, the  origin  is  well  nigh  forgotten,  and  wherever  beauty  and 
fashion  most  do  congregate  to  enjoy  mutual  display  in  the  diur- 
nal drive  in  our  great  cities,  some  man  is  sure  to  suggest  the  title 
of  Rotten  Row,  and  unthinking  custom  endorses  the  name.  Euclid 
avenue  is  in  danger  of  being  so  christened,  but  a  more  euphoni- 
ous and  respectable  ajipellation  is  to  be  desired. 

There  are  some  very  handsome  private  residences  in  this  city, 
and  the  public  buildings  are  many  of  them  very  grand,  all  of 
them  at  the  veiy  least,  presentable.  The  marine  hospital,  the 
Cleveland  medical  college.  Case  hall,  the  building  which  contains 
the  literary  treasures  of  the  Cleveland  library  association,  a  col- 
lection of  more  than  twenty  thousand  volumes,  the  general  post 
office,  and,  not  last,  but  greatest,  the  union  lailroad  depot,  make 
up  an  assemblage  of  public  buildings  such  as  few  cities  of  its 
size  can  excel.  The  city  was  first  laid  out  in  179G,  but  before 
that  time  there  were  sonfie  few  residences  on  the  site.  The  first 
fifty  yeors  of  its  growth  was  very  moderate,  indeed  ;  in  the  year 
1850,  there  were  only  about  seventeen  thousand  people  in  the 
city,  but  the  next  ten  years  saw  an  increase  to  more  than  forty- 
three  thousand,  and  in  the  year  1870,  when  the  census  was  taken, 
the  population  had  again  more  than  doubled  in  ten  years,  the 
numbers  then  returned  being  nearly  ninety-three  thousand.  The 
industries  which  employ  this  rapidly  exj^anding  city  are  numer- 
ous and  profitable.  There  are  coal  oil  refineries  which  give  re- 
munerative work  to  numerous  hands ;  cooper  shops,  whiclx  are 
necessary  to  supply  the  packages  in  which  this  article,  duly  re- 
fined, can  be  sent  into  the  market;  poik  packing  houses,  which 
threaten  to  rival  Porkopolis  itself,  iron  foundries,  rolling  mills, 


880 


Tuttle's  Cextexkul  XoirniWEST. 


Im?' 


!:'i,ii- 


and  the  tliousaiul  and  one  occupations  which  grow  out  of  com 
mercc,  manufactures  and  mineral  resources.  Not  merely  from 
the  country  immediately  surrounding  Cleveland,  but  from  long 
distances,  the  produce  of  the  west  finds  its  way  to  this  city,  where 
the  wool,  grain,  pork  and  coal  oil  of  this  region  can  be  exchanged 
for  the  manufaetures  and  the  greenbacks  of  the  east. 

The  .schools  in  this  city  are  very  good;  there  were  fifteen  pri- 
mary schools  in  1871,  employing  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
teachers,  mostly  ladies,  to  preside  over  the  training  of  about  eight 
thousand  scho]ar.s.  There  are  several  private  schools  in  addition, 
where  the  course  of  tuition  is  unexceptionable,  and  the  high  school 
had  at  that  time  fifty  pupils  with  two  excellent  teachers.  The 
number  of  children  attending  school  is  much  too  small  for  the 
population  of  such  a  city,  but  until  certain  classes  of  men  and 
women  can  be  reached,  more  cll'cctually  than  they  yet  have  been, 
no  reniedy  can  be  devised  ;  and  wc  have  to  fall  back  upon  the 
sentence,  first  used  to  imply  a  more  decided  spiritual  change : 
"  Paul  may  plant  and  Apollos  water,  but  God  alone  can  give  the 
increase."  In  the  year  1871,  there  were  more  than  thirty-two 
thousand  children  of  school  age  in  the  city,  but  little  more  than 
thirteen  thousand  were  enrolled  as  pupils,  and  of  these  only 
about  eight  thousand  attended,  or  one-fourth  of  the  number  that 
should  participate  in  the  advantages  of  early  training.  They 
manage  these  things  better  in  Prussia  ;  but,  then,  Frederick  Wil- 
liam is  a  despot,  and  his  people  are  obliged  to  obey  the  word  of 
command.  Some  day  we  shall  be  forced  to  inquire,  whether  the 
children  who  are  thus  being  neglected  by  their  natural  guardians 
have  no  rights  which  we  are  bound  to  respect ;  and  also,  whether 
the  slis;hted  school  house  does  not  lead  more  or  less  directlv  to 
the  thrrnged  penitentiary,  and  crowded  asylums,  vastly  to  the 
impoverishment  of  the  nation. 

The  Cleveland  press  has  made  for  itself  a  national  reputation  ; 
some  of  the  brightest  men  of  the  day  being  among  the  con- 
tributors to  the  several  organs. 


Dayton.  —  This  cit}'  was  founded  on  All  Fools  Day  in  1796, 
but  the  mad  cap  frolic  of  that  period  of  license  was  not  exem- 
plified  in  selecting  this  site  for  the  location  of  a  town.     This  is 


PiiiNciPAL  Cities  of  Ohio. 


381 


now  the  fiftli  city  in  tlic  state,  with  a  po]iuhitioii  of  nearly  forty 
tliousaiul,  and  it  will  contribute  many  clu/ice  specimens  of  manu- 
factures to  the  Centenial  Exposition.  Dayton  city  is  the  seat  of 
acIminstrationfor'Nrontgomcry  county,  and  it  is  built  at  the  point 
of  junction  between  Mad  river  and  the  Great  Miami,  where  the 
Miami  canal  adds  immensely  to  the  advantages  enjoyed  by  the 
community.  The  waters  of  the  Mad  river  arc  brought  by  means 
of  a  canal  into  the  city  and  utilized  in  supplying  motive  power 
to  numerous  manufactories  engaged  in  producing  carriages, 
freight  and  passenger  cars,  agricultural  implements,  flour  and 
meal,  clothing  and  cotton  goods,  iron  castings,  and  hollow  ware, 
engines,  boilers,  furniture,  paper,  and  liquors,  distilled  and  fer 
mcnted.  The  inland  commerce  of  Dayton  is  very  extensive  and 
important,  and  it  would  be  diflicult  to  select  a  city  in  which, 
considering  its  age,  size  and  numbers,  there  is  a  larger  average  of 
prosperity.  The  population  very  nearly  doubled  in  ten  years 
from  1850,  the  rate  of  progression  being  about  fifty  per  cent,  in 
the  decade  ending  in  1870,  when  over  thirty  thousand  persons 
resided  there.  The  railroad  facilities  of  the  city  are  very  satis- 
factory. The  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis  Railroad ;  the 
Cleveland,  Columbus,  Cincinnati  and  Indianapolis  Railroad ;  the 
Cincinnati,  Hamilton  and  Dayton  Railroad  ;  the  Dayton  and 
Michigan  Railroad ;  the  Cincinnati,  Sandusky  and  Cleveland 
Railroad;  the  Atlantic  and  Great  Western  Railroad,  and  the 
Dayton  and  Union  Railroad,  all  have  stations  here,  and  five  of 
the  lines  have  here  one  of  their  termini,  consequently  there  is 
an  abundant  choice  of  routes  available  here  for  the  shippers  of 
produce,  who  may  wish  to  go  farther  in  search  of  more  profitable 
markets.  The  city  is  just  sixty  miles  from  Cincinnati,  and  one 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  miles  from  Cleveland. 

Dayton  is  beautifully  located  and  is  a  very  handsome  city, 
having  numerous  elegant  public  buildings  and  private  residences, 
whicli  adorn  a  site  worthy  of  the  best  resources  of  art.  The  court 
house  reminds  one  of  the  Parthenon,  and  it  is  built  of  pure  white 
marble,  or  to  speak  more  correctly,  of  a  stone  which  so  closely 
resembles  marble  as  to  present  all  the  best  features  of  Carrara 
quarries.  Four  miles  from  the  city,  the  Central  National  Soldiers' 
Home  is  located  jn  a  plat  of  ground  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 


:i:-!--1 


r./i/i' 


^   I 


'■■'•,  ■' 


'  fTih 


;■      f 


,1    ■,  J 


'i     I 


Vil 


882 


T utile's  Centennial  Nohtuwest. 


in  extent,  liandsomely  laid  out  in  avenues,  artificial  lakes, 
shrubberies  and  nia/cy  walks.  TIic  homo  consists  of  several  largo 
buildings  under  suitable  direction,  and  the  hospital  is  very  liuely 
appointed.  Tlie  libi'ary  is  large  and  well  assorted,  and  there  are 
halls  for  reading  and  for  music,  as  well  as  the  head  quarters 
devoted  to  tlie  use  of  the  chiefs  of  tlie  official  staff. 

'^I'he  high  qualities  of  the  public  schools  in  Dayton  arc  well 
appreciated  by  the  better  class  of  citi/x'ns  and  the  teachers  arc 
well  sustained  in  their  vocation,  but  here  as  well  as  cLsewhero,  a 
large  proportion  of  the  children  are  only  nominally  participant  in 
the  advantages  provided  for  them  by  the  wisdom  and  bounty  of 
the  public.  Tlie  Cooper  Female  academy,  established  in  thiscity, 
is  doing  a  great  work  ia  the  education  of  women,  foreshadowing 
the  time,  which  should  not  be  distant,  when  the  training  for  the 
gentler  sex  will  not  be  an  exact  copy  of  the  system  applied  to 
their  brothers,  but  will  embody  all  that  is  best  adapted  to  the  cul- 
ture of  the  highest  powers  of  womanhood,  without  such  waste  of 
eticrgy  as  must  be  involved,  where  a  portion  of  the  years  devoted 
to  rudimentary  work  is  given  to  pursuits  which  arc  to  have  no 
application  in  the  practical  work  of  life.  There  are  several  pri- 
vate academics  in  Dayton,  and  they  are  as  a  rule,  very  well  con- 
.  ducted. 

The  churches  in  thiscity  are  elegant,  some  of  them  being  mod- 
els of  architectural  beauty  rarely  excelled.  The  streets  are  well 
supplied  with  water,  and  lit  with  gas,  and  by  way  of  completing 
the  machinery  for  enlightenment  and  purification,  there  are  six- 
teen new;-papers  published  in  Dayton,  two  of  which  are  dailies  of 
considerable  merit. 

Toledo. — The  City  of  Toledo  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  Lucas 
county,  Ohio,  and  a  port  of  entry  on  the  western  bank  of  the 
Mauinee  river,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Swan  creek,  and  about  four 
milc:'>  from  Lake  Eric  with  which  it  is  connected  bv  the  "Wabash 
and  Erie  Canal.  "Where  the  vast  city  now  stands,  there  were, 
soon  after  the  first  settlement  commenced,  two  business  locations, 
one  known  as  Vistula,  and  the  other  as  Port  Lawrence.  There 
was  at  one  time  qui("c  a  vivid  rivalry  between  the  two  landings, 
but  the  higher  landing,  Port  Lawrence,  has  realized  quite  a  suf- 


Principal  Cities  of  Ohio. 


383 


ficicnt  sliaro  of  prosperity  to  have  no  jealous  fcolin,!j;  in  tlio  con- 
templation of  the  good  fortune  of  Vistula,  or  the  lower  landing, 
now  both  comprised  in  Toledo.  From  Port  Lawrence,  there  is  a 
line  view  over  the  hike,  cotnnianding  on  clear  days  a  prospect  of 
many  of  the  small  islands  which  picturesquely  dot  Lake  Erie.  To 
this  point,  during  the  summer  months,  innumerable  pleasure  excur- 
.«ioiis  come  over  the  lines  of  railroads  to  avail  themselves  of  tho 
advantiiges  of  steam  vessels  to  visit  the  islands.  Jay  Cooke  po.s- 
sesses  an  island  which  is  very  frequently  visited  as  it  forms  a  part 
of  tho  protection  of  Put-in-Bay,  and  is  extremely  beautiful.  A 
moderately  good  rower  can  go  round  the  island  in  about  twenty 
minutes,  and  will  find  its  shores  embodying  all  the  charms  of  an 
extensive  line  of  coost.  Here  the  waves  have  fretted  the  roeks 
until  the  lower  strata  have  disappeared,  leaving  an  overhanging 
roof  which  seems  tlireatcning  to  topple  over ;  there  an  archway 
has  been  cut  through  a  wall  of  rock  which  continues  far  down  in 
the  transparent  waters  to  illuminate  the  deep,  and  while  tlie  boat- 
man is  maneus-ering  his  tiny  shallop  to  avoid  a  pinnacle  of  rock, 
which  ciiallengcs  admiration  as  an  infinitesimal  peak  of  Tene- 
rifife,  he  discovers  that  he  has  run  into  shoal  water  and  is 
aground.  Some  of  the  islands  on  a  clear  da}--  have  the  beauty 
of  Honolulu  scenery,  and  you  look  of  cour.se,  in  vain,  for 
tlie  Kanaka  boatman  with  his  unswampable  outrigger,  but 
the  manneis  of  the  people  with  whom  the  tourist  conies  in 
contact  speedily  remove  that  imprecision.  Toledo  is  a  very  sub- 
stantia! looking  city,  and  it  has  all  the  charms  of  a  metropolis,  in 
the  number  and  variety  of  amusements  with  which  its  residents 
are  supplied.  Theatres,  operatic  troops,  artistes  in  burnt  cork, 
necromancers,  and  all  the  wonderful  combinations  of  wdiich  the 
mountebank  is  capable,  find  fullest  appreciation  here,  if  not 
among  the  resident  population,  then  certainly  among  the  young 
men  from  the  country,  who  come  here  in  search  of  pleasure. 
The  very  fine  buildings  which  have  been  erected  as  residences  for 
the  wealthier  section  of  this  community  would  do  no  di.scredit  to 
Brooklyn,  or  New  Jersey,  and  the  bustle  in  the  streets  testifies  to 
an  amount  of  business,  more  than  stinicient  to  sustain  such  splen- 
dor of  equipment.  Tliere  are  excellent  schools  and  churches  here, 
and  the  public  buildings,  generally,  are  commodious  as  well  as 


I  mmw 


' 


m 


'li 


384 


TuTTUfs  CESTl'.yKIAL  NoiiTmVEST. 


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,  : '  r 

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1   ^r- 

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•.'■ 

:'': 

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!     I 

(i!ii 

^^M 

^^llh 

ornnt"  in  tlicir  design,  Tlic  Mauuice  rivor  is  a  wide  cstujiry 
which  iifronis  one  of  the  best  liarbors  on  tho  shores  of  the  hike, 
but  tlie  intricacy  of  the  pa:<aagc  is  such,  that  a  stranger  unac- 
quainted with  the  buoys,  which  warn  the  initiated  Ihjw  to  steer, 
would  aknost  inevitably  find  his  vessel  aground,  just  when  ho 
seemed  to  be  in  the  net  of  realizing  the  desired  haven.  What  was 
once  known  as  "  ^liddle  <iround,"  a  low  island  which  was  generally 
awash  at  high  tide,  has  been  reclaimed  to  the  extent  of  about  fifty 
acres,  and  is  now  used  for  the  storage  of  freights  and  for  other  sim- 
ilar purposes.  Several  elevators  have  been  erected  here,  and  rail- 
road depots  are  here  concentrated  in  positions  wliich  facilitate 
coimoetion  between  the  steamers  on  the  lake  and  the  iron  roads 
which  traverse  torm  jirma. 

The  extent  of  the  grain  trade  in  Toledo  can  be  best  understood 
from  the  fact  that  there  are  nine  elevators  in  the  city,  the  least  of 
which  has  a  storage  capacity  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
thousand  bushels.  The  canal  S3'stem,  of  which  Toledo  is  the  out- 
let, is  very  extensive,  probably  the  largest  on  this  continent.  The 
Toledo  and  Wabash  canal  runs  through  the  AVhito  river  and 
"Wabasl:  valleys  until  it  joins  the  Ohio  river  at  Evansville,  Ind,, 
and  about  fift}'  miles  from  Toledo,  at  Defiance,  the  canal  just 
named  intersects  the  ^fiami  canal,  which  is  cut  throii;rli  the  valley 
of  tlie  Great  Miami  river,  to  join  the  Ohio  i-iver  ;ii  Cincinnati. 
The  lines  of  traffic  thus  prc]>ared  aggregate  more  iiMf  t-cvcn  hun- 
dred miles,  tlirough  some  f)f  the  finest  agricultural  land  in  the 
world,  and  two  states  are  thus  enabled  to  convey  their  produce 
to  Toledo  at  a  minimum  of  cost.  Lake  steamers  and  boats  of 
various  tonnage  continue  the  traffic,  distributing  the  cereals  and 
other  products  in  the  eastern  ports,  and  bringing  back  to  Toledo, 
as  the  hcadiiuartcrs  of  the  wide  range  of  country  named,  the  lux- 
uri^.5  and  necessaries  required  by  the  agriculturists  and  traders, 
whose  welfare  is  bound  up  in  these  argosies.  In  the  old  civiliza- 
tions, vast  bodies  of  water  were  barriers  to  the  race  ;  they  are  now 
the  highwa3-s  of  the  foremost  nations.  Toledo  is  for  that  reason 
the  nearest  neighbor  to  many  of  the  ports,  which  would  have 
been  in  the  days  of  canoe  navigation,  or  still  more  in  the  days  of 
the  wicker  work,  skin  covered  coracle,  at  a  distance  impossible  to 
be  traversed.     The  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern  Railroad 


The 


r 


;    1 


i  :  i 
'  1  t 


t^^ 


Principal  Cities  of  Ohio. 


385 


W, 


r 


rM  li 


joins  tlic  Michigfin  Soutlicii  and  i^orthern  Indiana  divisions  at 
Toledo,  and  they  arc  here  also  tlie  termini  of  the  Toledo,  Wabash, 
and  Western  Kailroad  ;  the  Toledo  and  Detroit,  and  the  Dayton 
and  Michigan  lines.  There  arc  numerous  manufactories  estab- 
lished in  Toledo,  such  as  tobacco  factories,  manufactories  of  edge 
tools,  saws,  fdes,  sashes,  doors,  blinds,  steam  boilers  and  engines, 
agricultural  implements,  carriages,  and  a  vast  variety  of  other  in- 
dustries, which  def}-  enumeration.  There  are  numerous  banks  in 
the  cit}',  three  savings  banks,  four  national  banks,  and  a  number 
of  private  institutions.  The  evidences  of  growth,  presented  by 
Toledo,  meet  the  observer  at  every  step.  The  city  was  i-ioorpo- 
rated  in  the  year  1836,  and  three  yea/s  later  the  popu'ntion  ex- 
ceeded one  thousand  ;  in  tlie  year  1840,  the  residents  numbered 
one  thousand  three  hundred  ;  in  1850,  three  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred ;  in  1860,  thirteen  thousand  eight  hundred,  and  in  1870, 
thirty-one  thousand  .-ix  hundred ;  a  rate  of  progression  seldom 
equalled.  There  arc  sixteen  newspapers  published  in  Toledo,  all 
of  them  well  worthy  of  support,  and  the  dailies  arc  known  for 
their  racy  compositions  all  over  the  northwest. 

Sandusky.  — This  city  is  the  seat  of  Eric  county,  Ohio,  and  a 
port  -^f  entry,  standing  on  the  margin  of  Sandusky  bay,  Lake  Erie. 
The  ground  on  which  Sandusky  city  stands,  rises  as  it  recedes 
from  the  water  line,  sloping  south  from  the  bay,  and  the  build- 
ings on  the  higher  grounds  have  a  fine  view  of  the  lake.  The 
houses  generally  have  a  fine  appearance,  having  been  constructed 
from  the  beds  of  limestone  whicli  underlie  the  city,  and  which 
afTord  a  supply  at  once  cheap,  immediately  available  and  exhaust- 
less.  The  position  of  Sandusky  enables  the  merchants  cf  that 
citv  to  command  the  best  facilities  for  commerce  with  all  the  lead- 
ing towns  and  ports  opening  on  the  lake,  and  its  trade  is  exten- 
sive and  profitable.  Inland  the  business  of  Sandusky  is  also  con- 
siderable, as  it  is  the  northern  terminus  of  the  Cincinnati,  San- 
duskv  find  Cleveland  Railroad,  and  contains  also  termini  of  the 
Lake  Er:  >  division  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  llailroad,  and  of 
the  Sandusky  line  of  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern 
llailroad.  There  are  in  Sandusky  seven  newspapers  published, 
mostly  well  supported  ;  there  are  many  churches,  some  of  them  de- 


a"*     H-; 


fll 


i   k-i^i 


I..'.  I 


iit!  I 


-'  i  ! 


«        •'; 


r;.'i 


■  'i-ii^Sht—  ■ 


386 


TcTTLE^s  Cextexxial  Kortiiwest. 


cidcdly  liainlsomc  edifices  ;  the  stiects  arc  lined  with  shade  trees; 
a  handsoinc  square  occupies  the  centre  of  tlie  city,  and  the  manu- 
factures, which  employ  the  population  in  addition  to  the  large 
commercial  interests,  arc  rapidly  increasing.  Tlio  city  is  about 
five  miles  from  lake  Erie,  its  population  in  the  year  1800,  was  a 
little  over  eight  thousand,  and  in  the  next  decade  it  had  increased 
to  thirteen  thousand.  It  is  now  estimated  at  about  eighteen 
thousand. 

SPRlNGFiEliD. —  Springfield  is  the  count}'  seat  of  Clark  county, 
Ohio,  and  it  is  built  at  the  conduencc  of  Mad  river  and.  Lagonda 
creek,  about  forty-three  miles  from  Columbus.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  imagine  a  site  better  adapted  for  a  great  inland  city,  than 
chat  on  which  Springfield  rises,  and  the  city  itself  is  very  line, 
many  of  the  editiees  seeming  to  have  been  suggested  by  the  excep- 
tional loveliness  of  the  situation  in  which  the}'-  are  placed.  The 
Luthei'an  college  of  Wittenberg  is  located  near  this  city,  and  the 
hardy  Teutons  avail  themselves  of  its  advantages  as  though  the 
spirit  of  the  great  monk  reformer,  as  well  as  his  name,  attached  to 
them  and  their  institution.  The  devil,  at  whose  head  brave  Mar- 
tin Lutlier  flung  his  inkstand,  wag  beyond  doubt  the  demon  of 
ignorant  superstition,  whose  ghost  he  exorcised  wlicn  making  his 
free  and  able  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  vernacular  for  his 
countrj  men,  and  his  followers  could  hardly  render  a  more  cs.sen- 
t!al  service  to  his  name  than  by  associating  his  reputation  with 
the  enlargement  and  multiplication  of  their  means  for  training, 
which  will,  better  than  all  devices,  lift  them  high  and  dry  be- 
yond the  reach  of  the  old  sea  of  darkness.  The  college  is  well 
conducted,  and  its  curriculum  is  moderately  high.  Tlie  two 
streams  on  which  the  city  is  built,  Lagonda  creek  and  Mad  river, 
afford  excellent  water  ^iowers  for  driving  machinery,  and  very 
many  jites  have  been  improved  by  the  establishment  of  flouring 
mills,  factories  for  the  production  of  agricultural  inplomcnts, 
water  wheels,  and  other  mechanical  contrivances,  tlie  manufacture 
of  which  affords  employment  to  a  large  se(3tif)n  of  the  pcopkv 
Commerce,  as  well  as  manufactures,  flourishes  in  this  favored  spot, 
as  the  town  h;  s  been  niaih;  the  terminus  of  some  lines  of  road,  and 
a  station  on  o'.hcrs,  which  exercise  great  influences  in  its  favor. 


I 


"•■^UPPI^ 


Piuxcii'AL  Cities  of  Indiana. 


387 


P  H!!h'i^ 


Ic  trees ; 
e  inanu- 
lie  large 
is  about 
D,  was  a 
ncreased 
cii^htecu 


:  county, 
Lagonda 
Ibediffi- 
ity,  than 
,'crv  line, 
lb  excep- 
ed.     The 
J  and  the 
lOUgh  the 
itached  to 
rove  ^[ar- 
lornon   of 
aking  his 
ar  for  his 
ore  cssen- 
itioR  with 

training, 
d  dry  be- 
i^c  is  Nvell 

The  iwo 
^lad  river, 

and  very 
f  flouring 
iplemcnts, 
mufacture 
lie  people, 
i'orcd  spot, 
[  road,  and 

its  favor. 


I 


The  Atlantic  and  Great  Western  railroad;  the  Cincinnati,  San" 
dusky  and  Cleveland ;  the  Xenia  and  Springfield  branch  of  the 
Little  Miami  railroad  ;  the  Columbus,  Springfield  and  Cincinnati, 
and  the  Springfield  branch  of  the  Cleveland.  Columbus,  Cincin- 
nati and  Indianapolis  railroads  connect  witli  tlii..  city  and  assist 
to  c.t"r\  to  good  markets  the  produce  of  the  fert'le  and  populous 
c  •!  .♦  y  which  Springfield  is  surrounded.  Manufactures  and 
agncu'turc  are,  in  this  spot,  lin'.ced  with  commerce  to  build  up  a 
very  prof;perous  community,  the  growth  of  which,  already  rapid, 
will  certainly  go  on  with  accelerated  speed.  The  first  note  we 
can  fill  1  of  the  population  of  Springfield  was  in  the  yea"  18-iO, 
when  the  number  slightly  exceeded  two  thousand;  in  the  year 
ISoO,  the  population  was  over  five  thousand  ;  ten  3-cars  later  onl}^ 
two  thousand  had  been  added,  that  being  the  decade  of  arrcdted 
tlevelopment  everywhere,  as  a  result  of  the  great  rebelli(.)n,  then 
in  process  of  incubation,  and  in,  the  year  ISTO,  the  numbers  were 
twelve  thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-two.  Probably  there  are 
not  less  than  sixteen  thousand  ))ersons  now  in  Springfield,  and  with 
tlieemploymen'  ■>[  iacreasing capital,  the  ac^.umulation  of  numbers 
will  bo  yet  V  -•  -vi  "d.  There  are  seven  newspapers  published 
in  Springuc  I,  •  •  '  v.i  .-st  of  them  are  well  conducted,  as  well  as 
apparently  susui;   c  .  ly  advertisers  and  readers. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 


PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  INDIANA. 


Imliaaapoi- 


".>T.DSvilIn  —  Fort   Wayne  —  New    Albany  —  Madison  —  La 
Fayette  — Ten-e  Haute. 


Indianapolis.  —  Indianapolis  is  the  geographical  center  of  the 
state  of  which  it  is  the  capital,  and  many  favoring  circumstances 
have  combined  to  make  it  not  only  the  commercial  and  manufac- 
turing metropolis  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  but  also  the  largest 
strictly  inland  city  in  the  union.  The  rise  of  Indianapolis  has 
been  very  rapid,  all   things  considered,  and  yet  it  has  been  steady. 


i. 


M 


388 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


k  :, 


ijiif 


i  V0\ 


<  x\ 


^  !'  m 


■f   1; 


il!i 


If  W '  i 


In  the  }eav  1819,  the  first  white  settlement  was  made  on  the 
site  of  the  present  city,  and  in  the  following  year,  1820,  the  scat 
of  government  was  there  loeated,  although  it  war-  not  found  con- 
venient to  remove  the  archive;-  f  the  state  from  Corydon,  until 
four  years  later.     The  legislatuio  its  first  session  in  Indian- 

apolis in  1825,  and  the  incorporaii  f  this  beautiful  city  took 
place  in  1836.  Indianapolis  is  veritably  "  The  City  of  the  Plain," 
but  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  to  anticipate  an  evil  fate  for  it 
on  that  account.  The  land  on  which  the  town  was  originally 
platted  is  a  plain  of  vast  extent  and  great  fertility,  over  which 
railroads  can  be  constructed  for  miles  without  further  trouble 
than  is  involved  in  marking  ofi  the  track  and  placing  the  sleep- 
ers in  position.  As  the  city  has  increased  in  size,  building  lots 
in  successive  cdditions  have  been  brought  into  tlie  market,  with 
no  further  inconvenience  to  the  latest  comer  than  the  necessity  t,o 
make  rather  a  longer  walk  or  ride  to  his  homestead ;  and  there  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  work  of  extension  will  not  continue 
for  an  illimitable  period.  On  every  side  there  is  land  waiting 
only  to  be  occupied  for  building  purposes,  and  pending  that  time, 
being  made  useful  in  the  hands  of  the  farmer  and  gardener,  who 
can  repeat  his  operations  further  afield  whenever  circumstances 
shall  expand  the  area  of  city  industries,  and  with  it  the  home 
market  for  all  the  more  delicate  productions  of  the  soil,  under 
the  direction  of  his  enterprise  and  skill.  There  is  no  city  west 
of  the  Alleghanies  which  has  before  it  a  more  glorious  prospect 
than  Indianapolis,  but  many  years  elapsed  after  its  first  settle- 
ment before  there  seemed  to  be  any  likelihood  of  very  raoid  de- 
velopment.  Compare  London  of  to-day,  with  its  population  of 
nearly  four  millions,  with  Indiana})olis  and  its  population  of  about 
one  hundred  thou.sand,  and  the  younger  city  must  "  pale  its  inef- 
fectual fires;"  but  take  into  the  account  that  the  city  of  London 
had  probably  an  existence  when  Jesus  was  crucified,  nearly  two 
thousand  years  ago,  and  that  Indianapolis  only  sprang  into  being 
about  fifty-seven  years  since,  and  the  admiration  which  was  given 
to  the  richest  city  in  the  world  becomes  sensibly  abated.  Sixty 
years  ago  the  red  man  was  "  monarch  of  all  he  surveyed,"  in  the 
almost  untrodden  wilds,  where  now  the  city  rears  its  palace 
homes,  its  gigantic  factories,  and  its  splendid  churches,  where 


FpdNcirAL  Cities  of  Ixdiaxa. 


389 


schools  arc  laving  the  foundation  for  a  more  substantial  civiliza- 
tion than  our  own,  and  where  the  shriek  of  the  steam  whistle,  or 
the  clangor  of  the  warning  bell,  cautions  every  obstruction  to 
clear  the  track,  or  be  borne  down  beneath  the  wheels  of  an  inex- 
orable progress.  In  that  sense  Indianapolis  becomes  a  wonder. 
The  first  settlement,  as  we  have  seen,  commenced  in  the  year 
1819,  but,  seven  years  later  when  the  capital  of  the  siate  was 
established  there,  and  the  legislature  was  in  session,  there  were 
only  about  seven  hundred  and  sixty  residents  in  the  town,  and 
tlie  chief  items  in  the  business  records  for  that  year  were  whisky 
for  the  genus  homo,  and  powder  wherewith  the  aforesaid  homo 
could  bring  down  his  game,  to  soak  in  more  whisk3^  That  year 
it  was  asserted  that  $10,000  worth  of  goods  had  been  sold,  and  it 
appeared  that  over  two  hundred  barrels  of  whisky  figured  in  the 
bill  of  particulars.  One  hundred  kegs  of  powder  were  sold  dur- 
ing the  i-;ame  year,  probably  to  men  who  found  their  meat  mar- 
ket on  the  prairie  near  at  hand.  In  the  year  18-iO,  the  govern- 
ment sinned  lilvc  David  of  old,  by  causing  the  people  to  be 
counted,  and  it  appears  that  there  were  then  about  four  thousand 
residents  in  Indianapolis,  the  numbers  having  increased  to  that 
jioint,  irom  twelve  hundred  ten  years  before.  When  the  census 
was  taken  in  1850,  there  were  over  eight  thousand,  and  the  next 
ten  years  showed  an  increase  to  about  nineteen  thousand,  When 
the  last  cnunieration  was  made,  there  were  about  fifty-two  thou- 
sand, and  the  extraordinary  activity  which  has  been  manifest 
during  the  last  few  rears  leaves  little  room  for  doubt  that  Indian- 
apolis  has  now  very  nearly,  if  not  quite,  a  population  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand. 

Indianapolis  stands  on  the  west  fork  of  White  river,  on  the 
line  of  the  ^  Kliana}^)olis,  Cincinnati  and  La  Fa3'ette  Railroad,  and 
by  a  wise  arrangement,  which  earlier  or  latci'  will  be  followed  in 
every  progressive  city  in  tlic  world,  all  the  trains  that  arrive  in, 
or  depart  from  Indianapolis,  must  make  their  number  at  the 
Union  Eailroad  Depot,  the  immen.se  structure  —  four  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  long  —  liaving  been  prepared  expressly  to  afford 
the  public  this  convenience. 

The  Indianapolis  and  St.  Louis  Eailroad  makes  its  terniinus 
here,  after  a  run  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-one  miles  from  the 


■.•!i:i 


'H||| 


%  i. 


Ml 


]>%  ^^ 


I 


890 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


latter  city ;  and  the  St.  Louis,  Vandalia,  Tcrro  Haute  and  Indian- 
apolis line  finds  here  the  end  of  its  journey  and  ilic  beginning. 
Tiiis  is  the  northeastern  terminus  of  the  Indianajiolis  and  Vin- 
cennes  road,  and  the  northern  terminus  of  the  JefTersonville, 
[Madison  and  Indianapolis  line  of  travel.  I'he  Cincinnati  and  In- 
dianapolis Junction  Railroad,  the  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati  and  St. 
Louis,  the  Cleveland,  Columbus,  Cincinnati  and  Indianapolis, 
the  Indianapolis,  Peru  and  Chicago,  and  the  Indianapolis,  Bloom- 
ingtonand  AVestern  Raih-oads  all  come  to  this  depot,  deliver  their 
living  freight,  their  merchandise,  and  their  intelligence  as  to  all 
the  transactions  of  the  world  at  large,  every  da}'^  in  the  week  and 
eve/y  week  in  the  year,  to  the  number  of  seventy-eight  trains  joer 
day,  r.nd  about  six  hundred  thousand  cars  per  annum.  It  will 
be  readil}'  seen  that  an  immense  advantage  accrues  to  the  public 
from  this  act  of  centralization  which  brings  all  the  trafTic  of  the 
city  to  one  focus,  but  of  course  there  ,,ould  be  many  difllculties 
to  be  overcome  before  a  similar  arrangement  could  be  perfected 
iu  a  city  like  New  York,  where  every  foot  of  ground  is  owned 
and  occupied,  and  might  be  minted  in  the  process  which  would 
render  a  change  of  ownership  necessary.  Indianapolis,  standing 
on  a  plain,  can  be  apj)roachcd  from  any  ])oint  without  an  unfa- 
vorable gradient  to  be  overcome,  and  the  curved  lines  of  the 
practised  engineer  can  bring  every  train  to  its  proper  position, 
upon  its  own  time,  to  take  and  to  return  its  precious  burdens. 

The  city  is  laid  out  regularly,  like  most  modern  cities,  unlike 
the  Babylon  of  ^Manhattan,  whose  roads  were  made  by  the  cows 
as  they  marc'r.ed  homeward  with  their  lacteal  treasures,  chewing 
the  cud  in  their  leisurely  way,  never  reflecting  that  man,  the  civ- 
ilizer,  must  move  along  beside  their  paths.  The  streets  generally 
cross  each  other  at  right  angles,  but  there  are  four  streets  whicli 
start  out  diagonally  from  a  circle  in  the  center  of  the  city.  There 
are  somewhere  about  fifty  churches  in  Indianapolis,  all  of  which 
are  commodious  enough  to  accommodate  their  average  congrega- 
tions, and  many  are  very  substantial  and  elegant  edifices.  There 
are  numerous  public  buildings  which  deserve  notice,  the  more  es- 
pecially when  we  consider  how  brief  a  time  has  elapsed  since  the 
beginning  of  all  this  grandeur,  ocven  years  after  the  location  of 
the  seat  of  government  here,  there  wore  little  more  than  seven 


{   ! 


Principal  Cities  of  Indiana, 


391 


liundrcd  persons  in  the  city,  and  it  was  difllcult,  in  182i,  to  find 
proper  receptacles  for  the  archives  of  the  state.  Tliere  is  no  such 
diflicidty  now.  The  state  hou  was  erected  in  the  year  lS34r-35, 
and  it  contains  the  governor's  olhcial  residence,  the  arcliives  and 
muniment  rooms,  the  state  library  and  the  halls  of  the  assembly, 
being  a  building  in  every  way  wortliy  of  the  purposes  which  it 
serves.  The  State  Lunatic  Asvlum  was  first  built  in  18-18,  but 
has  been  enlarged  and  augmented  by  additions  of  various  kinds 
and  dimensions  since  that  date.  Perhaps  it  would  be  asking  too 
curiouslv,  if  the  records  were  examined  to  discover  whether  the 
original  consumers  of  that  two  hundred  barrels  of  whisk}',  and 
their  immediate  descendants,  have  increased  the  demand  for  space 
in  that  institution,  and,  if  so,  whether  the  "  worm  of  the  still " 
had  any  share  in  preparing  them  for  the  positions  they  occupy. 
The  State  Institution  for  the  Blind  was  founded  in  the  year  1817, 
and  it  is  in  every  way  a  credit  to  the  state,  the  management  being 
superior  to  the  average  of  such  establishments ;  but  it  is  antici- 
pated that  before  many  years  have  passed  additions  will  bo  made 
to  the  buildings  now  in  use,  or,  possibly,  a  new  asylum  will  be 
constructed.  The  Asvlum  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  is  a  state  in- 
stitution  which  was  founded  in  the  year  1818,  and  the  number  of 
claimants  upon  this  charity  is  very  considerable ;  but,  up  to  the 
present  time,  the  provision  made  has  been  adequate  to  deal  with 
all  the  most  urgent  cases.  A  Magdalen  Asjdum,  or  reformatory 
for  women  and  girls,  is  located  a  short  distance  east  of  the  city, 
and  it  appears,  upon  an  examination  of  statistics,  that  very  ex- 
cellent results  have  been  attained  where  the  advantages  of  the 
asylum  were  taken  hold  of  before  a  long  career  of  vice  had  hard- 
ened the  oil'ender  to  insensibility.  Society  has  much  wherewith 
to  blame  herself,  in  these  da^'s  of  fierce  competition  and  high 
pressure  life,  when  the  "sin  of  great  cities"  can  reckon  its  armies 
of  vice  by  the  hundred  thousand,  and  yet  it  does  not  devolve 
npon  individuals  to  cflcct  reforms,  in  thousands  of  cases,  in  which 
ameliorating  circumstances  could  be  brought  to  bear.  The  purity 
of  the  houseliold  must,  if  possible,  be  defended  at  all  hazard.s, 
and,  therefore,  the  rigid  rule  which  is  so  often  denounced  when 
good  women  "  pass  by  on  the  other  side,''  unmindful  of  their  err- 
ing sisters,  is  not  without  some  show  of  defense.     The  state  can, 


t  ■. 


W^- 


13? 


: 

•1. 

I 

'  '  1 

.1    • 

■:ii  ■ 

i  '1; 

1 

ifiM 

m 


m 


» 


I  4. 


tJl 


iniis 


fs 


392 


Tuttle's  Cestennial  Northwest. 


and  probably  will,  in  an  always  increasing  ratio,  assume  the  re- 
sponsibility of  providing  for  those  who  wish  to  lead  better  lives,  a 
temporary  retreat,  a  Zocws  j;e?n'teH//tc,  where  the  virtuous  resolution 
may  mature,  and  from  whence,  when  the  fair  results  of  their  own 
industry  have  accumulated  sufficiently  to  bear  the  cost,  the 
person  declared  convalescent  in  a  moral  sense,  may  remove  to 
other  districts  to  build  up  a  better  record.  The  United  States 
Arsenal  is  just  one  mile  north  and  by  east  from  the  city  limits, 
and  the  establishment  is  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  which  it  is 
meant  to  serve.  The  United  States  Post  Office  is  a  fine  building, 
and  contains,  in  its  upper  story,  accommodations  for  the  United 
States  courts.  The  Masonic  Uall  is  not  what  would  be  called  a 
showy  building,  but  it  is  an  edifice  of  good  type,  and  of  course 
is  devoted  to  the  best  forms  of  benevolent  action. 

AVhile  speaking  of  deeds  of  benevolence,  it  is  due  to  Indian- 
apolis charity  that  we  should  mention  that  there  are  three  orphan 
asylums  established  in  the  city:  one  for  native  born  white  chil- 
dren, one  for  colored  children,  and  one  for  Germans.  There  is 
also  a  home  for  friendless  women,  a  Catholic  reformatory  for 
women,  and  a  free  dispensary,  where  the  maladies  and  diseases 
common  to  rich  and  poor  can  be  treated  without  cost  by  men  of 
first  class  ability,  in  any  case  in  which  necessity  demands  the  ap- 
plication. 

The  Northwestern  Christian  University  has  its  location  here  ; 
and  a  great  deal  of  very  creditable  work  is  effected  in  this  institu- 
tion, the  curricul  'ti  being  tolerably  severe,  and  the  facilities 
offered  to  students  as  nearly  as  possible  perfect  in  their  kind. 
Eventually,  no  doubt  such  sectional  establishments  will  merge  in 
larger  unsectarian  eiforts,  in  which  all  classes  of  the  community 
may  join ;  but  for  the  present,  such  institutions  offer  tlie  only 
means  available  for  reaching  those  who  can  thus  be  educated  and 
prepared  for  the  highest  duties.  The  Odd  Fellows  have  a  fine 
hall  in  this  city,  and  it  is  available  for  almost  every  enlightened 
and  benevolent  purpose ;  and  the  Academy  of  Music  is  very  pop- 
ular as  a  resort  for  the  pleasure  loving  crowd,  who  can  find  in 
this  city,  as  in  most  others  of  metropolitan  growth,  facilities  for 
amusement,  coupled  with  instruction,  every  evening  in  the  work- 
ing week. 


PiiiNCii'AL  Cities  of  Isviaxa. 


393 


The  graded  sijliools  oC  Indianapolis  arc  famous  for  the  admir- 
able system  and  tact  with  which  they  arc  administered;  and  the 
best  proof  of  the  value  of  the  means  employed  can  be  found  in 
the  successful  working  of  the  several  establishments  from  the 
primary  to  the  high  school,  in  which  latter  young  men  can  be  pre- 
pared for  any  pursuit  in  life,  if  they  will  earnestly  avail  them- 
selves of  their  facilities.  One-half,  at  least,  of  our  best  public 
servants  are  self  made  men,  and,  in  spite  of  the  malicio-v  innuendo, 
the  self  made  man  docs  not  always  worship)  his  maker.  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  self  made,  and  he  was  one  of  the  most  modest  men 
that  ever  challenged  the  world's  admiration.  The  aniount  of 
schooling  that  came  to  him  within  what  is  known  as  the  school 
age  was  barely  twelve  months,  at  odd  times;  but  there  was  in 
him  an  absolute  hunger  for  development.  The  great  physical 
strength  which  ho  possessed  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  the  One 
type  of  nervous  power  which  he  had  inherited  frotn  the  organiza- 
tion of  his  mother,  and,  therefore,  he  bent  every  energy  to  the 
cultivation  of  his  mind,  when,  by  any  means,  the  opportunity 
came  in  his  way.  Was  he  the  hired  man  upon  a  farm,  he  could 
be  found  when  his  work  was  done,  reclining  in  some  shady  place 
in  summer  weather,  with  a  book,  storing  his  mind  with  lessons  of 
wisdom  and  fortitude  against  the  day  of  trial.  Clerking  in  a  store, 
piloting  a  flatboat,  which  he  had  himself  built,  or  splitting  rails, 
it  mattered  not  what  was  his  occupation,  there  was  always  some 
time  which  could  be  given  to  mental  culture;  and  he,  like  others 
similarly  endowed,  was  only  self  made  to  the  extent  that,  without 
the  watchful  eye  of  the  experienced  master  to  assist  him,  he 
rudely  applied  the  means  for  his  own  development  by  studying 
the  thoughts  of  other  men,  in  their  printed  form,  and  by  discussing 
with  Others  his  views  and  their  own,  until  there  was  hardly, 
among  the  best  educated  men  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  one 
person  his  equal  in  patient  practical  sagacity;  and  that  faith, 
without  which  the  best  gifts  of  the  race  become  a  mockery  and  a 
snare.  Young  men  of  moderate  capacity,  able  to  do  for  them- 
selves such  work  as  Abraham  Lincoln  accomplished  in  bridging 
the  chasm,  over  which  the  backwoodsman  passed  to  the  highest 
honors  of  the  presidential  chair  and  a  martyr's  death,  have  a  won- 
derful aid  in  such  well  graded  schools  as  they  find  provided  in 


;!  "'t 


'-  i 


;(,.' 


\\l:M 


llh 


M 


394 


TuTTLifs  Centennial  Noutiisveht. 


■■■  III.'  i 


\ ' 


I 


m 


ludiiuiapolis;  iind  soiiio,  at  leas',  of  tlicir  mimbcr  in  that  city,  ap- 
{icar  to  appreciate  the  boon  in  which  they  parlicipiite.  'I'he  num- 
ber of  ehiklreii  who  are  entirely  lui^hooled  is  not  very  large  in 
this  city,  but  an  immense  numbcr<J|re  little  more  than  nominal 
schooling,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  determine  how  their  case  can  be 
satisfactorily  dealt  with. 

The  growth  of  manufactures  in  Indianapolis  is  one  of  the;  great, 
facts  of  the  age,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  mention  a  })ursuit 
except  gold  mining,  in  which  the  city  and  the  iumicdiately  sur- 
rounding country  does  not  more  or  less  succcssfull}'  engage. 

The  supply  of  coal  which  underlies  nearly  the  whole  of  Indi- 
ana transcends  computation  by  millions  of  tons  ;  seven  thousand 
sc^uare  miles  is  the  known  area,  and  the  quality  is  as  remarkable 
as  the  quantity.  Bituminous  coal,  of  the  very  best  kind,  is 
abundant,  but  there  is  a  valuable  variety  known  as  block  coal, 
which  in  some  places  protrudes  above  the  level  of  the  soil,  and 
thus  seems  to  unite  the  various  properties  of  coke  and  charcoal, 
being  es])ecially  useful  in  the  manufacture  of  iron,  ^fany  years 
elapsed  after  the  discovery  of  this  deposit  before  its  jjcculiar  fit- 
ness for  iron  works  was  known,  and  it  is  now  evident  that  for 
smelting  and  rolling  works  this  coal  can  have  no  superior.  Steel 
works  may  demonstrate  a  yet  higher  type  of  usefulness  in  block 
coal,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  every  new  feature  of  its  value  will 
aflord  wider  and  more  profitable  ranges  of  employment  for  hu- 
man labor  in  the  locality  which  is  enriched  b}'  its  presence. 
Ita2)id  growth  in  a  neighborhood  which  has  an  inexhaustible  sup- 
ply of  coal  and  iron  ore,  with  especial  adaptations  of  the  one  de- 
posit, to  bring  the  other  to  its  highest  value  for  the  use  of  man, 
is  by  no  means  surprising.  The  iron  roads  multipl}'  their  lines 
and  their  rolling  stock,  the  vast  warehouses  are  crowded  with  the 
plethora  which  is  hourly  produced,  the  workshops  and  factories 
which  now  employ  ten  thousand  men  will  soon  require  five  times 
that  number,  giving  em{)loyment  to  every  trade  and  profession 
that  can  supply  their  multitudinous  wants,  and  providing  com- 
fortable homes  for  innumerable  wives  and  families,  each  in  their 
several  ways  building  up  the  prosperity  of  our  beloved  land. 
The  iron  industries  of  Indianapolis  are  affecting  the  whole  of  the 
state,  and  Indianapolis,  is  Indiana,  to  a  much  greater  extent  than 


1= 

u 


i 
n 


^^m^m 


Piimcii'AL  CiriKs  OF  Ixdiava. 


395 


any  oUicr  cajjital  cit}*  or  metropolis  in  tliis  country,  represents  the 
state  in  which  it  stands  as  tlio  governing  center.  Of  course  it  is 
not  Indiana,  in  the  same  sc'isc  as  the  city  of  Paris  is  France,  be- 
cause every  minor  city  docs  its  own  thinking  and  its  own  govern- 
ing, and  there  is  no  system  of  centralization  to  i)revcnt  the  fullest 
development  of  every  industry  at  the  point  of  its  inception,  but 
Indianapolis  combines  so  many  advantages  and  facilities  for  the 
prosecution  of  labors,  and  the  realization  of  rnighty  projects,  that 
it  operates  as  tlie  vast  heart  of  an  arterial  system,  which  sends  its 
invigorating  streams  to  the  remotest  extremities  of  the  state,  and 
is  itself  strengthened  by  the  growth  of  every  new  industry  and 
development  elsewhere.  When  enumerating  the  products  of  the 
state,  it  is  curious  to  observe  how  much  of  all  the  gross  totals  of 
production  come  almost  of  necessity  to  be  credited  to  the  capital 
city.  The  manufacture  of  hxnx  did  not  commence  successfully 
until  long  after  manufactures  from  iron  had  been  acclimated  in 
Indianapolis,  but  that  branch  of  industry  is  now  employing  a 
large  number  of  men  and  the  wages  fund  in  that  line  will  very 
greatly  increase.  Some  day,  not  far  distant,  this  city  will  rival 
Pittsburgli  itself,  in  its  own  special  enterprise ;  already  the  quality 
of  the  iron  furnished  by  the  rolling  mills  here  causes  it  to  be 
largely  patronized  for  the  finer  work  to  which  iron  can  be  applied, 
and  steel,  by  the  process  long  since  patented  by  Bessemer,  can  be 
produced  here  veiy  cheaply.  Six  thousand  persons  are  now  sup- 
ported by  the  iron  works  of  Indianapolis,  reckoning  every  man 
engaged  in  this  department  of  labor  to  represent  a  family  of  three 
persons  besides  himself;  and  then  there  remains  to  be  computed 
the  number  of  capitalists  and  their  families,  the  number  of  clJtks 
and  agents,  the  number  of  storekeepers  and  their  families,  flbit 
draw  their  sustenance  from  the  nearly  four  millions  of  dolp""' 
worth  of  iron  ware  produced  every  year,  and  from  the  investitrent 
of  about  two  millions  and  a  quarter  of  capital  in  such  enterprises. 
I'ork,  the  mainstay  of  Cincinnati,  which  has  won  for  that  city 
the  appellation  ]'orkopolis,  bids  fair  to  be  rivalled,  if  not  sur- 
passed, by  Indianapolis,  within  the  next'  two  decades,  so  largely 
are  the  producing  powers  of  Indiana  on  the  increase,  and  so  rap- 
idly are  the  packers  multiplying  their  facilities  for  handling  the 
meat  which  the  Ilebrews  so  wisely  abhor.     It  i&  now  nearly  forty 


if! 


■'ii: 


I'    ir 


390 


TuTTiJi's  Centennial  Northwest. 


V»tt:- 


I 


i.>;      t 


years  since  the  first  nttumpt  was  inatlc  to  establish  pork  packing 
ns  one  of  the  .staples  (jf  tliis  eity;  like  many  other  first  essays  the 
result  was  not  flattering  nor  prolitable  ;  but  perseverance  wins  suc- 
cess, and  the  busitiess  done  in  this  state  during  the  year  just  ended, 
must  liavc  cost  nearly  eight  hundred  thousand  hogs  their  precious 
lives,  and  have  given  to  the  finances  o[  the  state,  and  to  that  part 
of  Illinois,  which  makes  Indianapolis  the  center,  little  less  than 
$1), (500,000.  The  value  of  such  an  industry  must  be  apparent  to 
the  most  superficial  observer.  The  value  of  stock  in  the  country, 
which  makes  its  principal  trades  and  .shipments  here,  represents 
in  the  several  items  of  detail,  nearly  $-10,000,000  !';»■  exportable 
surplus  annually,  leaving  untouched  the  enormrjs  capital  stock, 
which  may  be  relied  upon  for  an  always  increasing  supply.  The 
area  of  country  from  which  stock  can  be  I'aised  in  such  j)r()fitable 
abundance,  grows  cereals  also  in  inunense  quantity,  and  almost 
every  other  exportable  commodity  in  i)rofusion,  but  our  readers 
shall  not  be  exhausted  by  further  figures. 

Indiana  produces  black  walnut  in  vast  forests,  and  the  enter- 
prise of  its  caj)italist.s,  combining  with  the  skill  of  its  workmen, 
has  built  up  a  large  trade  in  furniture.  It  very  soon  became  ap- 
parent to  the  persons  who  were  most  interested,  that  it  would  be 
wiser,  and  more  economical  in  every  sense,  to  apply  the  skill  of 
the  artist,  and  the  labor  of  the  workman,  on  the  sjiot  where  the 
timber  was  native,  and  to  export  first  class  furniture  to  all  parts 
of  the  union,  than  to  export  the  raw  material  to  be  .shaped  into 
elegant  forms  elsewhere.  The  consumer  is  certainly  benefited  by 
the  vast  growth  of  this  industry  in  Indianapolis.  The  great  man- 
ufacturers procure  the  best  designs  from  France,  and  from  the 
eastern  states,  to  enable  their  productions  to  compete  with  the 
elegance  of  the  best  establishments  in  other  lands,  and  many  of 
them  have  commenced  to  employ  artists  of  their  own  to  furni.sh 
designs,  combining  the  highest  beauty  of  outline  and  finish,  with 
the  fullest  realization  of  utility.  With  so  much  enterpri.se  and  skill, 
and  a  practically  unlimited  reproductive  capital,  there  is  no  reason 
why  the  furniture  trade  in  the  capital  of  Indiana  should  not  grow 
into  enormous  proportions  with  corresponding  ])rofit. 

The  lumber  trade,  in  woods  of  all  kinds,  gives  a  large  aggregate 
of  employment  and  remuneration,  but  there  is  a  reasonable  de- 


,«-':l 


-;!-, 


:!l-'    '    ! 


Piiiycii'AL  Cities  of  Indiana. 


397 


siro  to  conocntrato  upon  its  own  cities  and  towns,  tlic  wages  fund 
which  is  now  being  di.slriljutcd  over  tlie  wliole  country,  necessary 
to  convert  tjjc  crude  matter  to  its  liigliest  use,  and  the  design  will 
necessarily  prosper. 

Til  is  brief  description  of  the  material  resources  of  the  city  of 
Tndianupolis  is  necessarily  incomplete ;  many  items  of  large  im- 
portance have  been  omitted  in  the  enumeration,  because  it  was 
thought  better  to  describe  one  or  two  lines  with  some  particulari- 
ty, than  to  go  on  with  a  dry  catalogue  of  the  articles  produced 
and  manufactured  for  use  and  shipment. 

'^^  \  the  city  was  first  located,  the  country,  in  which  Indian- 
ape  lids,  was  a  dense  forest,  and  nearly  the  whole  area  was 
a  plain,  with  just  suOicient  rise  and  fall  in  the  surface  to  accumu- 
late stagnant  pools  and  marshes  in  contiguity  to  each  other.  The 
consequence  of  that  configuration  and  those  circumstances  was 
that  malaria  largely  prevailed,  everybody  had  or  expected  to  have 
chills  and  fever,  and  veiy  few  were  disappointed.  Since  settlement 
has  prevailed,  the  condition  of  the  surrounding  country  has  much 
improved.  The  agriculturist  has  denuded  much  forest  land  to 
make  liis  farms ;  planting  timber  of  the  best  kinds  only  in  the 
positions  best  adapted  to  favor  his  pursuits,  and  the  continuous 
breaking  of  soil  for  purposes  of  cultivation,  tends  alwaj's  to  the 
hygienic  improvement  of  the  earth  and  atmosphere.  The  medical 
faculty  can  now  testify  to  the  healthful  condition  of  the  state,  and 
with  every  progressive  year  there  will  be  still  further  advances 
in  that  respect. 

There  are  thirty-four  newspapers  published  in  Indianapolis,  and 
many  of  them  have  a  national  repute,  but  pursuing  our  usual 
course,  we  leave  the  fourth  estate  to  speak  for  itself. 

EvANSViLLE. —  The  site  of  this  city  was  first  settled  upon  in 
the  year  1812,  but  in  consequence  of  many  small  incidents  and 
accidents,  which  need  not  be  here  recorded,  there  was  no  consid- 
erable settlement  for  many  years  afterwards.  Evansville  was  the 
seat  of  justice  for  Warrick  county  for  about  one  year  from  1813, 
a  number  of  lots  having  been  donated  to  the  county  on  that  condi- 
tion ;  but  in  the  year  181-1,  the  legislature  removed  the  county  seat 
elsewhere,  and  Evansville  fell  into  a  very  depressed  condition  until 


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III  : 


'CI-    ! 


398 


Tuttle's  Cextexmal  Northwest. 


after  1817,  npparently  without liopc  fortlic  iutnrc.  After  that  date' 
there  was  a  determination  evir.c"'!  to  make  Evan-:villc  a  tovvn. 
'i  Le  site  was  fresh  ])h\tted,  trustees  were  appointed,  and  generally  a 
goahcad  spirit  was  evineed,  which  augured  well  for  development; 
but  in  the  year  1819,  there  wore  only  one  hundred  residents  on  the 
town  site,  and  most  of  those  depended  on  trade  with  the  pioneers 
and  hunters,  with  whom  peltry  was  currency. 

The  first  school  ever  taught  in  Evansville  commenced  in  a  very 
hiformal  way,  in  the  year  1818,  but  it  was  not  until  six  years 
later  that  a  school  house  was  erected,  and  long  after  that  the 
building  continued  to  be  avail. -ble  for  public  meetings  and  for 
religious  worship.  The  necessity  for  ameliorating  in{lue;ice5  in 
this  region  was  seriously  felt  for  many  years,  as  there  were  hun- 
dreds cf  boatmen  who  made  this  their  port  of  departure  for  their 
periodical  ^rips  on  the  lower  Missi'-sippi.  Naturally  enough,  this 
hardy  class  of  men,  accustomed  to  hard  \vork  and  many  priva- 
tions when  .  loat,  wished  to  enjoy  life  in  their  own  fa.shion  after 
one  voyage  had  ended,  and  before  another  began.  They  were 
certainly  a  rough  set,  fitted  only  for  living  on  the  outskirts  of  civ- 
ilization ;  yet  in  manv  /expects  superioi  to  the  average  "  rousta- 
bout," on  the  same  river  to-day.  The  pen  and  ink  skctcli  of 
"Jem  Bludso,"  the  engineer  of  the  Prairie  Belle,  wlio  died  "hold- 
ing her  nozzle  agin  the  bank,"  that  night  when  the  boat  was 
burned,  ma}'  stand  as  a  counterfeit  presentment  of  a  large  class 
arnon?  those  boatmen,  not  bad  men  absolutelv,  but  rough  and  un- 
conventional  to  a  surprising  degree.  The  poet  said  of  the  .nan 
whom  he  depicted  as  "going  up  in  the  shiokc  that  night  of  the 
Prairie  Belle"  with  the  constancy  of  a  martyr  hero,  that: 

"He  wau't  no  saini,  them  cngiuecrs 
Is  pretty  mucli  all  alikc,-^ 
One  w'.<!  at  Xatehoz  under  tlie  Hil!,. 
And  anot'icr  one  here  in  Pike." 

With  men  of  that  class,  the  principal  support  of  v  hat  was 
known  as  the  "Landing  for  the  Wabash,"  the  rafters  of  the  tcmix)- 
rary  hg  huts,  erected  for  ilieir  accommodation,  must  have  re- 
sounded to  many  rude  pleasantries,  and  to  many  fandangoes  less 
graceful  than  the  like  saltatory  exercise  in  Mexico;  less  stately 
than  the  viinuel  de  la  coar,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  the 


i 

I 


n 


PiiixciPAL  Cities  ix  Ixdiana. 


309 


hearts  of  the  more  settled  residents  in  Evansville  were  troubled  as 
to  the  permanent  effects  of  such  scenes  upon  the  minds  of  their 
children. 

Churches  and  schools  weie  their  specifics,  and  tlic  means  were 
used  unsparingly  as  far  as  tlicir  circumstances  would  permit. 

Busii.ess  in  Evansville  was  very  slowly  increasing;  the  flat  boat 
navigation  of  the  ilissiasippi  diflcred  very  largely  from  the  regu- 
lai'ity  and  speed  of  the  steamboat,  and  yet  more  considerably  from 
the  velocity  and  certainty  of  the  railway  train.  Produce  came 
slowly  in,  and  the  procPs.>  of  realization  was  still  more  dilatory  ; 
but  in  this  desultory  way  the  town  became  recognized  as  a  center 
of  contact  with  the  busy  world,  and  a  post  of  supply  for  a  very 
wide  region  of  country,  watered  by  the  White  river  and  the 
Wabash.  In  and  aft  r  the  year  ISo-i,  there  were  much  larger  in- 
dications of  progres.s.  Indiana  had  concluded  to  establish  a  state 
bank,  and  one  of  th^.  branches  of  that  institution  was  located  here 
The  canal  system  made  its  southern  terminus  here,  joining  the 
town  to  the  line  of  the  Central,  the  Eric  and  Wabash,  and  for 
some  time  the  prosperity  of  E\-ansville  passed  the  bounds  which 
the  mos'  sanguine  had  allotted.  To  have  real  estate  there  was 
equivalent  to  having  "  .'truck  ile,"  in  the  regions  which  at  a  later 
date  brought  "  shoddy  "  into  prominence,  Close  following  upon 
this  accession  of  paper  p"o.sperity  ear  ^  the  revulsion  of  1837,  and 
Evansville  wo'='  swailovel  up  by  eastern  creditors  in  part  liqui- 
dation of  overwhelming  indebtedness.  Still  the  population  did 
no'u  fall  to  the  old  lov  standard,  the  natural  advantages  which  hr '1 
been  the  basis  of  so  much  rash  speculation  could  not  be  "  fool^jd 
away,"  and  for  the  advancement  of  material  interests;  it  was  an 
advantage  rather  than  otherwise,  that  the  property  had  fallen  into 
the  liands  of  capitali.sts,  who  were  bo  ind  to  develop  their  new 
possessions,  if  they  were  ever  to  come  out  even.  In  the  3'car 
184:0,  the  population  was  a  little  over  two  thousand,  and  the  in- 
crease was  slow  for  four  or  five  years,  then  signs  of  more  rapid 
development  set  in  once  more.  A  man  staggering  up  a  strange 
stairway  in  the  dnrk,  with  a  heavy  load  upon  his  back,  is  not  a 
bad  representative  ci  the  efforts  cf  a  people  to  push  ahead  in  a 
new  country,  with  the  iriprovements  which  arc  essential  to  their 
prosperity.     At  i^rst  the  stairs  can  be  dimly  perceived,  as   the 


'   f:    '    ■    n 


mm- 


,|i||t 


400 


Tuttle's  Cextexnial  Northwest. 


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liglit  slants  in  from  the  passage,  and  tlic  buRlen  wliicli  is  being 
borne  docs  in-t  seem  opjivessive.  Confidence  increases  with  every 
step  which  announces  substantial  progress,  the  load  which  is  being 
sustained  taxes  the  strength  of  the  bearer,  but  hope  tells  "  a  flat- 
tering tale"  of  ends  being  achieved  M-hich  will  contribute  in  the 
future  to  comfort  and  enjoyment;  the  way  is  dark  now,  but  still 
the  weary  plodder  continues  his  ascent,  step  by  step,  until  the 
landing  is  reac'ncd,  and  then  comes  the  calamity ;  as  accustomed 
to  step  up,  he  makes  a  false  move,  and  with  a  crash  suggestive  of 
an  earthquake,  the  heavily  laden  man  falls  prone  on  the  floor  all 
but  crushed  by  the  weight  which  he  had  so  pluckily  carried. 
Just  so  is  it  with  the  jirosccution  of  improvements,  the  first  needs 
are  supplied  with  an  effort,  and  there  are  returns  which  fully  sat- 
isfy investors  that  they  are  on  the  right  track.  The  successive 
steps  which  are  to  be  taken  can  be  seen  with  difficulty,  and  every 
outlay  brings  its  fair  compensation.  Then  the  way  becomes 
darker,  and  tlie  faith  of  the  climber  more  elastic.  The  load  in- 
creases at  every  step,  but  he  bears  it  liko  a  man,  until  the  end  or 
his  possible  progress  has  been  reached,  and  then  lik )  his  ellow 
on  the  stairs,  he  boldly  steps  once  more  and  comes  down  liicc  an 
avalanche.  He  has  put  all  his  force  into  a  venture  for  which 
-there  v;as  no  warrant,  in  f;ict  he  has  made  a  canal  or  a  railroad 
where  there  is  no  population  to  give  leturns,  his  stock  is  worth- 
less, his  last  red  has  long  since  disappeared,  and  as  he  lies  there 
discomfited  by  his  failure,  he  remembers  the  distich  of  the  poet: 

"  IIojic  springs  eternal  in  the  liinnan  breast, 
IMun  never  is,  but  always  to  be  blest." 

However  much  the  original  projectors  of  die  canal  works  may 
liave  suffered  in  the  contingent  collapse,  there  was  no  collapse 
for  the  work  actually  accomplished,  and  whether  under  one  set 
of  property  holders  or  another,  there  was  some  progress  to  be 
recorded  ever\'  A-eai".  The  canal  was  brought  up  to  Tcrre  Ilaute 
under  a  legislative  land  grant  in  1856,  and  sulxsecpiently,  under 
another  concession,  the  work  was  brought  to  the  Ohio  at  Evans- 
ville.  Before  that  event  occurred,  the  city  had  been  incoi- 
porated,  wharves  h:,d  been  constructed,  and  in  the  j'car  1850,  the 
first  railroad  was  commenced,  known  as  the  Crawfordsville  and 
Evansvillc  Kailroad.     Tlirec  j'cars  later  the  city  commenced  the 


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I   ""I!"!  I    II 


PiiixciPAL  Cities  of  Ixdiaka, 


401 


present  system  of  public  schools,  superseding,  or  more  properly 
developing  the  small  commencements  ut  which  we  glanced  earlier 
in  this  sketch.  It  was  wisely  concluded  by  the  leading  minds  in 
Evansvillc,  that  the  best  description  of  settlers  would  not  come 
to  a  city  in  which  inferior  schools,  ill  conducted,  supplied  the 
chief  means  available  for  the  training  ol  youth,  and,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  the  same  men  knew  that  the  citizens  who  would  be  most 
scrupulous  in  providing  instruction  and  training  for  youth,  were 
the  persons  in  whose  hands  the  welfare  of  the  community  would 
be  most  safe.  The  establishment  of  first  class  schools  came 
therefore  to  be  voted  an  absolute  necessity.  The  progress  made 
upon  tliat  sujiposition  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  figures 
illustrative  of  the  school  status  of  Evansvillc.  The  superin- 
tendent of  public  instruction  published  a  statcnient  in  1874, 
under  which  it  appeared,  that  the  value  of  school  buildings, 
apparatus,  seats  and  conveniences  was  then  estimated  at  about 
$10,87o,()42  for  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  in  the  city  itself,  there 
are  properties  pertaining  to  the  schools  which  amount  to  $-160,000, 
and  which  include  fifteen  school  buildings  containing  the  best 
modern  improvements  adapted  to  meet  the  wants  of  a' superb 
tuition.  The  means  thus  used  by  the  directors  of  aflairs  in 
Evansvillc  had  the  effect  of  attracting  men  p.:id  families,  such  as 
have  since  that  time  been  agglomerated  into  that  community 
with  excellent  results,  so  that  the  business  interests  of  the  city 
have  flourished,  and  the  population  has  risen  to  about  thirty 
thousand.  The  great  rebellion,  which  deteriorated  almost  every 
other  city  in  the  union,  served  to  build  up  a  few,  and  Evansville 
was  one  of  that  number;  the  time  of  that  internecine  strife  bcin'j: 
singula.'h^  favorable  to  tlie  development  of  Evansvillc,  which,  from 
the  p.osition  occupied,  could  render  essential  service  in  the  matter 
of  supplies.  Tlie  stores  and  warehouses  of  the  city  were  daily 
increasing  in  size,  and  yet  barely  sufficient  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  tir.ie,  a"d  from  that  era  to  the  present  there  has  been  no 
declension.  Usually  the  facts  have  exhibited  a  steady  progres- 
sion, and  the  private  residences  of  her  citizens,  no  less  than  the 
public  buildings  which  adorn  the  locality,  have  helped  to  make 
Evansville  one  of  the  handsomest  cities  in  the  state,  and  only 
second  in  commercial  importance. 
20 


!  (i 


mm^ 


ii!  ■ : .' 


402 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


n 


''■?  i 


Vanderburgh  county  lies  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Ohio  rlvor, 
and  in  giving  a  description  of  the  progress  of  the  county  scat,  the 
whole  of  that  area  may  be  considered  as  fully  covered.  Two 
hundred  miles bclowEvansville  is  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and  two 
hundred  miles  above  the  city  is  Louisville,  in  the  state  of  Kentucky, 
while  Indianapolis,  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Indiana  is  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant.  With  the  canal  system,  briefly  ad- 
verted to,  and  the  excellent  timber,  which  can  be  obtained  at  little 
cost,  added  to  almost  unlimited  supplies  of  coal,  breadstuffs, 
stock,  and  all  else,  that  is  necessary'  to  agricultural,  manufactur- 
ing and  commercial  growth,  the  time  cannot  be  distant  when  the 
city  will  still  further  extend  its  borders,  to  provide  for  such  val- 
uable accretions,  as  must  come,  from  the  crowded  cities  of  the 
east.  Evansville  is  in  no  danger  of  being  flooded  by  the  Ohio  river, 
as  it  is  built  on  a  very  high  bank,  and  the  drainage  of  the  local- 
ity is  secured  by  the  configuration  of  the  sui-face,  which  slopes 
toward  the  water  and  carries  all  fluids  to  the  stream.  The  streets 
are  broad,  well  graded  and  paved,  and  the  buildings  for  business 
and  for  residence  are  very  handsome.  Among  the  more  elegant 
of  the  public  edifices,  the  court  house  challenges  first  notice,  as 
although  the  county  has  the  honor  of  having  paid  the  bills,  it  will 
bear  favorable  comparison  with  the  more  pi'ctentious  buildings 
for  which  the  general  government  is  res]:)oiisible.  The  Marine 
hospital  is  very  handsome,  and  commodious  enough  to  meet  all 
requirements,  and  the  state  bank  is  worthy  to  be  viewed  as  the 
temple  of  Pluto,  showing  signs  of  having  been  endowed  by 
Croesus.  The  city  is  lighted,  with  gas,  and  it  is  asserted  that  it 
was  in  this  place  that  !^[rs.  Partington  was  confronted  b}'  that  im- 
provement, when  she  asked  the  question,  now  historical :  ''  What 
will  the  poor  whales  do  for  a  living  now  ?  "  The  Ohio  river  is 
made  to  supply  water  for  the  city,  and  the  means,  although  not 
particularly  expensive,  answer  every  purpose  well.  Churches 
were  desiderata  with  the  more  staid  of  the  population,  when  the 
boatmen  made  the  "  landing  for  the  AV abash  "  their  place  of 
amusement,  and  churches  are  still  prominent  features  in  the  pol- 
ity of  Evansville.  There  was  then  one  school  house  which  had 
to  serve  as  a  church,  also,  as  well  as  to  serve  numerous  other 
pui-poses.     There  are  now  no  less  than  thirty  churches  of  various 


-Jiife: 


^^fpppifi"* 


% 


Principal  Cities  of  Ixdiaxa. 


403 


sizes  and  degrees  of  beauty,  many  of  tliem  being  very  ornamental, 
and  there  are  numerous  private  scliools,  besides  tlic  fifteen  pub- 
lic seliools,  wb'ch  minister  to  the  wants  of  every  ward  of  the  city. 
There  arc  nine  newspapers  published  in  this  city,  and  two  of  them 
are  dailies.  All  of  them  appear  to  be  well  supported,  and  their 
literary  tone  is  invariably  creditable  to  publishers,  editors  and  the 
public.  The  show  of  adverticicments  is  excellent.  As  the  ter- 
minus of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal,  Evansvillc  commands  much 
business,  as  the  four  hundred  and  sixty-two  miles  of  territory, 
traversed  by  the  artificial  river,  comprise  some  of  the  best  lands  in 
the  region,  and  besides  that,  the  Green  river  valley  of  Kentucky 
finds  at  this  point  its  best  market  and  port  of  sliipment.  South- 
western Indiana  finds  here  its  j^i'i'icipal  shipping  place  for  grain 
and  pork,  and  there  are  numerous  manufactories.  Tlie  exports  of 
Evansville  exceed  $8,000,000  annually,  inclusive  of  pork,  lard, 
tobacco,  iron,  flour,  and  brass.  Within  a  mile  from  the  court 
house,  there  is  a  coal   mine  opened,  from  \  all  the  citizens 

can  procure  fuel  for  domestic  consumption  and  for  their  manu- 
factories. Besides,  being  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Crawfords- 
ville  and  Evansville  railroad,  this  city  is  the  eastern  terminus  of 
the  St.  Louis  and  Southeastern  railroad,  and  the  facilities  thus 
afforded  for  traffic  make  the  remembrance  of  flatboat  naviga- 
tion on  the  Mississippi  an  amusing  reminiscence.  It  is  not  easy  to 
recal,  now,  the  feeling  of  alarm,  with  which  the  good  people  of 
Evansville  used  to  look  upon  the  fandangoes  of  the  hundred  boat- 
men. 

Fort  Wayne.  —  This  city  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  Allen 
county,  and  it  stands  at  the  confluence  of  St.  Mary's  and  St. 
Joseph  rivers,  where  the  two  form  the  ^raumec  river.  This  re- 
gion was  first  visited  by  a  white  man  in  the  year  1676,  when  a 
Jesuit  missionary  came  to  this  point  from  the  mission  on  Lake 
Michigan,  and  commenced  his  ministration  among  the  red  men. 
Then  as  now  the  Indians  could  not  understand  the  self  :?acrificing 
zeal  of  the  men  who  dared  privations  and  even  death  for  the  pur- 
pose of  diffusing  a  knowledge  of  Christ,  nor  could  they  comprehend 
the  story  of  the  crucifixion,  but  the  French  tongue  was  a  pass- 
port among  the  tribes  in  this  area  of  country,  and  the  manners 


Ill  V 


404 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Noutiiwest. 


m^ 


'■^\  i 


of  the  Jesuit  priest  commanded  reverence,  almost  akin  to  that 
which  the  savage  bestowed  upon  his  own  medicine  men.  In  the 
year  16S0,  Baron  La  Salle  representing  the  Grand  Monarque  Louis 
XIY  of  France,  visited  the  Indians  at  their  lodges  here  in  Fort 
Wayne,  and.  there  was  a  grand  pow  wow  of  all  the  Sachems  and 
braves,  while  the  representative  of  the  gn.yest  court  in  Europe, 
must  have  viewed  Uiany  of  their  antics  with  disgust.  KiUionga 
was  the  name  of  the  spot  held  sacred  as  the  place  of  gathering 
for  the  Miamis,  and  there  is  a  tradition  that  La  Salle  built  here 
the  fort  which  afterwards  gave  its  name  to  the  district,  but  there 
docs  not  appear  to  be  an  element  of  probabilty  in  the  story. 
French  traders  and  voi/ctf/curs  had  probably  gone  over  the  same 
ground,  before  the  Jesuit  priest  visited  the  spot,  as  commerce 
sends  its  missionaries  more  perseveringly,  and  at  greater  risk, 
than  even  the  church  will  dare.  There  are  no  records  as  to  the 
observations  and  the  trials  of  the  traders,  and  Baron  La  Salle  with 
all  his  staff,  made  very  few  notes  worthy  of  preservation.  Settle- 
ment did  not  grow  out  of  his  expedition ;  the  French  are  not  a 
colonizing  people  at  the  best ;  they  have  never  done  anything  in 
that  way  unless  under  some  pressure  which  compelled  removal 
from  their  native  country.  AVhen  the  Huguenots  were  driven 
from  home  by  the  niassacrc  of  St.  Bartholomew,  three  centuries 
ago,  and  in  the  attendant  persecutions  of  that  time,  nuiny  crossed 
the  Atlantic  to  this  continent,  and  again  in  the  days  of  Cardinal 
Eiehclicu,  there  was  a  hegira  of  a  somewhat  similar  description. 
Still  later  when  Louis  XIY  abrogated  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  there 
was  an  exodus,  and  while  many  of  the  fugitives  betook  them- 
selves to  England,  and  to  Holland,  some  came  to  this  country, 
forming  colonies  in  which  they  wei'c  careful  to  preserve  as  much 
as  possible,  the  manners  of  their  own  land,  associating  as  far  as 
they  could  control  circumstances,  only  with  those  who  spoke  the 
language  of  la  belle  France;  hence  although  many  years  elapsed 
after  the  visit  of  La  Salle,  before  the  defeat  of  Montcalm  made 
Canada  a  British  possession,  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
the  slightest  intention  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  French  Cana- 
dians to  people  the  new  territory.  -After  the  conquest  of  Canada, 
the  fort  which  was  erected  near  the  Maumee  in  1705,  by  Santer 
Vincennes,  having  been  destroyed  by  the  Indians,  another  fort 


n  to  that 
In  the 
[uc  Louis 
in  Fort 
icins  and 

Europe, 
Kikionga, 
gathering 
uilt  hero 
but  there 
the  story. 

the  same 
commerce 
ater  risk, 

as  to  tlio 
Salle  with 
1.  Settlc- 
I  arc  not  a 
ly thing  in 
d  removal 
ere  driven 

centuries 
ny  crossed 
E  Cardinal 
escription. 
ntes,  tliere 
)ok  them- 
s  country, 
3  as  much 

as  far  as 
spoke  the 
irs  elapsed 
aim  made 
have  been 
nch  Cana- 
of  Canada, 
by  Santer 
other  fort 


PniNciPAL  Cities  of  Indiana. 


405 


which  was  built  in  1748,  was  taken  possession  of  by  a  British 
oiliccr  and  a  small  force; ;  but  tlic  insolent  bearing  of  the  red  coats 
seems  to  have  given  oifense  to  the  Indians,  and  that  circumstance 
was  taken  advantage  of  by  a  French  Canadian  to  foment  an  at- 
tack upon  the  outpost,  and  it  fell  mainly  in  consequence  of  the 
treachery  with  which  the  assault  was  planned.  The  force  of  mil- 
itary was  only  an  ensign's  command,  and  the  fate  of  the  defenders 
was  deserved,  because  of  the  carelessness  with  which  the  troops 
omitted  all  warlike  precautions. 

The  iiumc  of  Fo.'t  Wayne  dates  from  the  campaign  of  1794, 
when  Gen.  "Wayne  came  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Maumce,  and 
the  fort  was  continued  in  the  custody  of  our  military  forces  from 
and  after  that  time.  There  was  great  peril  for  the  garrison  in 
1812,  but  the  brave  force,  small  but  constant,  stood  to  their  guns 
ready  for  every  emergency.  The  attack  upon  the  fort  in  1812 
proved  a  failure,  as  the  savages  were  held  in  check  by  the  fortifi- 
cation and  its  defenders  until  Gen.  Harrison,  with  an  army  of  re- 
lief, came  up.  The  little  village  which  had  been  built  under  the 
protection  of  the  fort,  was  destroyed  by  the  red  skins,  and  as  a 
consequence  Fort  Wayne  was  little  other  than  a  military  post, 
until  its  abandonment  in  1819.  Until  the  demonstration  of  1812 
called  attention  to  the  dangerous  spirit  subsisting  among  the  sav- 
ages, the  timber  and  undergrowth  had  been  allowed  to  flourish 
close  under  the  walls  of  the  fort ;  and  the  Indian  villages  had 
been  respected,  so  that  there  was  every  facility  afforded  to  ilio 
enemy  to  mass  a  force  for  attack  in  the  neighborhood,  and  to  bring 
his  treacherous  power  under  cover  close  to  the  position  which  was 
to  be  surprised  ;  but  after  Gen.  Harrison  had  surveyed  the  condi- 
tion of  affairs,  there  were  no  such  blunders  to  be  deplored.  The 
undergrowth  was  destroyed  in  a  radius  far  beyond  the  carrying 
power  of  the  weapons  of  the  savages,  there  was  no  longer  shelter 
under  which  they  could  approach  without  being  seen  by  the  sen- 
tinels, and  the  villages  of  the  unfriendly  Indians  suHered  heavy 
reprisals  for  the  losses  which  their  hostility  had  caused  the  whites. 
In  the  year  1815,  a  civil  settlement  once  more  began  to  shape 
itself  at  Fort  Wayne ;  but  warned  by  the  experiences  of  former 
years,  the  pioneer  storekeepers  and  traders  moved  very  cautiously, 
and  their  families  were  slow  to  trust  themselves  in  an  outpost  so 


m 


niifr 


r. 


'li  1 


ill  '-iri 


i       I 


5 


406 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Nortuwest. 


far  beyond  tlie  lines  of  civilization.  The  Indians  were  still  on  and 
near  tlic  spot,  but  tlicy  were  peaceful  and  friendly,  quite  inclined 
to  cultivate  kindly  feelings  among  tlic  white  settlers.  Tlie  old 
burial  grounds  of  the  Indian  tribes  were  here  located,  and  there 
was  good  bunting,  consequently  the  attractions  of  both  worlds 
held  them  here  until  the  onrush  of  civilization  could  no  longer  bo 
impeded  by  their  presence.  The  ap[)roach  to  Fort  AVayne  was 
usually  made  by  water  in  those  early  days.  Flat  boats,  or 
pirogues,  as  they  were  more  commonly  called,  could  reach  the 
settlement  by  St.  Mary's  river,  and  by  tln^  Maumee  ;  but  after  the 
year  1838,  these  primitive  modes  of  progression  gave  place  to 
other  means  better  adapted  to  the  jirogressivc  spirit  of  a  rapidly 
moving  age.  Still,  some  few  of  the  old  craft  could  be  seen  at 
times,  mementoes  of  a  life  gone  by  forever.  Dnms,  erected  at  dif- 
ferent points  for  mill  purposes  in  and  after  the  year  1822,  gradu- 
ally narrowed  the  scene  of  operations  within  which  these  trans- 
ports could  be  used,  and  at  last  they  were  blocked  out  altogether. 
This  point  was  for  a  long  time  one  of  the  chief  depots  of  Indian 
commerce,  and  a  very  large  trade  was  done  in  peltry,  until  hunt- 
ers, Ir  lians  and  game  disappeared  almost  entirely,  and.  other  in- 
dustries, more  continuous  and  remunerative,  supplied  their  place 
with  profit.  One  of  the  Indian  chiefs,  who  remained  near  Fort 
Wayne  to  the  end  of  his  career,  although  he  was  more  than  sus- 
pected of  having  given  information  and  aid  to  the  British  in  1812, 
is  said  to  have  accumulated  $200,000  in  specie,  which,  after  his 
death,  was  found  buried  in  the  earth.  Such  instances  of  accumu- 
lation arc  very  rare  among  Indians,  and  it  may  be  presumed  that 
at  some  period  in  the  history  of  his  ancestors  there  had  been  a 
cross  of  civilized  blood,  bringing  with  it  the  practical  astuteness 
and  care  of  the  economist  to  the  organization  of  chief  Ilichard- 
ville.  The  roads  which  led  up  to  the  settlement  were  little  better 
than  Indian  trails,  traveled  over  by  white  men  with  the  more 
commodious  means  of  progression  at  their  command ;  but  of 
course  the  vehicles  of  the  pioneers  were  rougli  and  inconvenient, 
and  the  people  who  traveled  by  them  knew  that  they  had  not 
been  saved  by  patent  axles  and  improved  springs,  Pullman's 
palace  cars  were  not  sought  for  in  the  days  of  primeval  effort  and 


It, J 


\ 


rWi 


PRINCIPAfTVlTlES   OF  IXDIAXA. 


4o; 


privation,  and  tlic  rough  oxi.stcnco  of  Fort  Wayno  conliuucd  for 
some  years  after  Indiana  was  admitted  as  n  state. 

In  the  year  1822,  under  a  special  act  of  congress,  the  United 
States  established  a  I.md  olliee  at  tliis  point,  and  in  the  fall  of  tho 
succeeding  year,  tlic  lands  surveyed  were  sold  under  tho  hammer 
of  the  auctioneer,  tlic  u{isct  or  minimum  price  being  ten  t^hilliiigs 
per  acre.  There  was  very  spirited  competition  for  choice  allot- 
ments, and  some  of  the  land  brought  very  good  prices.  Two 
years  later,  the  first  school  house  ever  erected  at  Fort  Wayne  was 
built  of  brick.  It  was  a  simple  but  commodious  building,  and 
for  many  years  it  was  the  place  of  rendezvous  for  the  adult  public 
as  well  as  for  youth.  During  the  day  the  children  here  consulted 
or  evaded  their  primary  lessons,  and  more  advanced  youth  pur- 
sued "knowledge  under  difliculties,"  while  there  were  innumera- 
ble occasions  upon  which  the  orators  of  the  day,  like  Jhgherri/, 
inflicted  their  tediousness  upon  all  comers,  in  ventilating  some 
local  or  general  grievance,  or  in  carrying  into  ellect  some  neces- 
sary organization.  The  town  meetings  generally  were  held  here, 
the  caucuses  of  both  sides,  and  the  meetings  in  which  the  virtues 
of  the  several  nominations  were  dit-cussed.  Here  at  the  appointed 
time  the  polls  were  taken  and  declared,  and  here,  to  the  music  of 
popular  approval,  or  steadied  by  the  deeper  tones  of  censure,  the 
accepted  and  rejected  candidates  gave  their  acknowledgments  of 
favors  received.  Here  also  the  city  fathers  discussed  for  some 
time  the  requirements  of  their  petty  municipality,  with  as  much 
decorum  as  might  have  prevailed  in  the  Venetian  senate,  v/hen 
answering  the  complaint  of  BntlnnHio,  Othello  addressed  his  de- 
fense to  his  "most  })otcnt,  grave  and  reverend  seigneurs,"  in  refer- 
ence to  his  marriage  with  Dcsdemona,  assuring  them  that  the  head 
and  front  of  his  offending  had  that  extent,  no  more.  Here  the. 
citizens  convened  when  they  were  to  be  spoken  to  by  practised 
orators,  upon  the  stump,  on  the  great  political  issues  of  the  day, 
discussing  rpiestions  which  in  any  other  land  would  have  been 
supposed  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the  oi polio i,  yet  as  a  rule 
commanding  fair  attention,  and  very  generally  such  conclusions 
as  niight  shame  the  more  pretentions  councils,  of  the  governing 
few,  in  the  old  monarchies,  and  the  all  but  effete  institutions  in- 


408 


TUTTLlfs  CeSTENNIAL  NoiiTHWEST. 


^  ' 


J   il 


'. 


U  I 


sm 


i 


cidcntal  lo  the  race  in  Europe.  "When  tlio  mystic  craft  opened 
its  first  luilgc  in  this  wiUleniesH,  the  school  house  supplied  the 
place  of  abode,  for  tlic  men  who  liavc  jjresided  in  many  lands, 
under  several  civilizations,  in  perpetual  succession,  over  the  be- 
ginnings of  religious  thought,  building  up,  with  masonic  regulari- 
ty, the  foundations  of  morality  and  good  faith,  ready  for  the  roof 
and  finish  of  piety,  in  good  season.  The  !Masonio  Brotlierhood, 
still  largely  represented  in  I''ort  "Wayne,  was  f(jr  many  years  the 
chief  embodiment  of  all  that  was  social  and  fraternal,  outside  the 
church  itself,  in  the  whole  settlement.  Here  also  preachers  of  the 
go.-i[)el  set  up  their  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness,  and  sp(.ike  of 
Divine  love  under  all  the  .several  phases,  which  religious  teaching 
can  a.ssuine,  addressing  that  "  lioncst  doubt,"  wdiich  Tennyson 
assures  us  "  has  more  faith  than  all  your  creeds,"  and  directing 
the  weary  and  heavy  laden  toward  the  better  land  which  is  prom- 
ised. Here  on  the  Sunday  came  the  ox  team,  which  brought  a 
whole  houf=ehold  to  worship,  and  hero  it  waited  until  the  hospi- 
talities of  the  occasion  had  been  dispensed  by  the  citizens,  toward 
their  friends  and  yokefellows.  Here  also  the  social  chat  and  the 
philanthropic  gathering  were  held,  when  "  tlie  cup  which  cheers 
but  not  inebriates,"  was  disjicnsed  by  the  neat  handed  maidens 
and  matrons  o'i  the  village,  in  aid  of  some  local  or  general  object, 
thus  to  be  recuperated.  The  first  school  house  had,  and  must 
always  have  a  charm  for  the  growing  settlement,  because  many 
of  the  tenderest  tics  that  subsist  through  life  date  from  church 
meetings  and  the  village  junketings,  which  bring  together  men 
and  maidens  fitted  to  render  life  ha])py  for  each  other,  and  the 
public  business  there  discussed,  however  mulli furious  in  detail, 
had  always  some  bearing  on  the  welfare  of  tlic  mass,  besides 
which  most  of  the  men  who  in  later  days  have  come  to  be  recog- 
nized as  the  "  guides,  philosophers  and  friend.s,"  of  the  community- 
procured  there  their  initiation  into  book  life,  which  in  tlie  end 
served  the  state  and  themselves  so  well.  The  first  rcgulai-  teacher 
in  the  old  school  house  at  Fort  Wayne  was  alive  and  residing  on 
the  same  spot,  in  the  year  just  ended,  and  his  reminiscences 
abound  in  startling  scenes,  which  would  make  a  work  intensely 
interesting,  could  they  be  set  down  upon  the  printed  page  as  they 
are  photographed  with  fidelity  to  life  in  his  busy  brain.     The 


PiiisciPAL  Cities  of  Isdiana. 


400 


county  jail  was  for  sonic  time  used  as  a  scliool,  and  in  that  fact 
thcro  is  evidence  tliat  tlic  criminality  of  die  population  in  the 
frontier  village  was  not  of  a  hardened  type,  nor  the  associations 
of  the  building  such  as  would  detract  from  the  freshness  ami 
purity  of  chih'ii -lod, 

Allen  county  was  organized  in  1823,  and,  in  tlie  following  year, 
Fort  Wayne  was  nominated  as  the  county  scat,  the  first  session  of 
the  county  government  being  held  in  the  pioneer  city  in  October, 
1824,  wliei:  there  seemed  to  bo  no  promise  of  the  greatness  which 
has,  since  that  time,  become  "  native  and  to  the  maimer  born  "  in 
the  city.  The  state  taxes  were  commonly  paid  in  wolf  scalps,  as 
the  bounty  for  the  destruction  of  such  animals  was  liberal,  and 
those  who  h;d  nuiher  skill  nor  inclination  for  such  sj)ort  could 
employ  others  or  purchase  wolf  scalp  currency  for  the  tax  col- 
lector. The  charges  for  public  service  and  for  hotel  accommoda- 
tion were  very  moderate  in  those  days,  hence  the  economy  which 
was  observable  in  the  admmistration  of  business;  yet  most  things 
that  weio  considered,  worth}'  of  attention  were  well  done. 

In  the  year  1830,  an  Indian  chief,  who  had  killed  a  half-caste 
woman  in  the  settlement  of  Fort  Wayne,  was  brought  to  trial  at 
the  county  seat  and  convicted  of  murder,  but  the  jury  recom- 
mended him  to  mercy,  on  the  ground  that  "Lo,  the  poor  Indian," 
did  not  know  that  he  had  no  longer  sovereign  power  to  adjudge 
his  slave  to  death  and  to  execute  the  sentence  with  his  own  hand. 
While  the  chie'f  lay  in  prison,  waiting  trial  and  sentence,  it  was 
generally  concluded  that  he  would  be  hanged,  and  proposals  were 
made  by  members  of  his  tribe  that  another  person,  of  less  value 
in  their  body  politic,  should  suffer  in  his  stead.  Failing  success 
in  that  direction,  the  Indian  murderer  wished  to  be  shot,  instead 
of  being  hanged,  and  eventually,  in  the  general  desire  to  make 
things  agreeable,  the  prisoner  was  pardoned,  removing  to  Kansas, 
in  18-18,  with  a  party  of  men  of  th .  iliami  tribe.  Captain  Jack, 
the  famous  Modoc  chief,  had  scruples  about  being  hanged,  and  he 
also  proposed  a  substitution  of  less  distinguished  persons  in  that 
delicate  operation  ;  but  Gen.  Grant  could  not  see  his  way  to  meet 
the  views  of  the  traitor  against  the  laws  of  war,  and,  beyond  all 
doubt,  he  was  right.  The  first  necessity  in  the  realization  of  civ- 
ilized life,  wherever  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  savage,  is  to  im- 


■      '  i 


I'm! 


•1:   '  !i 


i'! 


il 


410 


TuTTLEfs  Centen^'ial  Nortiiwest. 


press  upon  the  sensorium  of  the  red  man  that  lie  is  only  an  indi- 
vidual in  a  vast  system  of  governmert,  whieh  is  hold  together  by 
unswervinj  law.  Until  that  point  is  reaehed,  the  polity  of  civil- 
ization 's  mere  cliildishness  to  him,  and  when  his  occasional  out- 
breaks are  niado  excuses  for  loading  liiin  with  favors,  ho  very 
naturally  makes  ins  opportunities  frequent  fur  brcnhing  bounds. 
The  savage  must  be  treated  like  a  grown  up  child,  .and  th""  ■■ 
should  be  no  occasion  slighted  when  it  is  possible  to  convince 
liim  that  the  pale  face  is  as  strong  and  resolute  as  he  claims  to  bo 
just  ai^.d  kind.  Voltaire  said,  in  reference  to  capital  j^unishments, 
that  "all  operations  in  the  way  of  punishmen'.  should  aim  at  ren- 
dering men  good  for  something,  but  when  a  man  is  hanged,  he  is 
good  for  nothing."  Doubtless  tliere  was  •nuch  cogency  in  his 
statement,  but  a  little  hanging  is  net  a  bad  thing  when  incorrigi- 
bles  are  to  be  dealt  with,  whether  they  are  savage  ov  tame ;  and 
it  must  not  be  fo'-gotten  that,  '.''n  another  eminent  Frenchman 
saw  a  gallow.'',  he  gave  thanks  for  that  evidence  of  civilization. 

In  tlic  year  1828,  there  was  a  can"!  constructed  to  conn.ect  Fort 
Way  To  with  the  general  navigation  by  the  Wabosh  and  lake 
Erie,  and  soon  after  that  even,  there  were  cvi-'ences  that  frontier 
life  was  being  abandoned.  A  piano  was  brought  to  the  village, 
and,  although  it  was  but  a  poor,  jingling  affair,  tlie  llrst  stroke 
upon  its  ke^'s  brought  a  crowd  v.  ithin  listening  distance,  and 
there  was  as  much  atLC/.ion  Tbestovvei",  upon  the  performer  as 
could  have  b:>en  given  if  the  great  Li.-zt  had  presided.  ll;iilwpys 
followed  i:.  rapid  ouccessiun.  The  Toledo,  Wabash  :  nd  Western 
Eailro'id,  the  Fort  Wayne,  Jacks  i  and  Saginaw,  the  Pittsburgh, 
Fort  ^\''ayne  ana  Chicago,  and  other  h.ies  and  connections  meoc 
and  intcr^cct  here,  affoi'dmg  unrivalled  facilities  for  the  transac- 
ts oi  of  shipping  and  other  business,  and  the  growth  of  the  city 
h  IS  been  proportioned. 

Fort  Wayne  is  the  only  large  city  in  Allen  county,  and  aP  the 
best  signs  of  gro'.vib  in  tlpt  area  can  be  seen  typified  in  the  high- 
est form  in  the  county  seat.  1'herc  are  nine  newspapers  of  vari- 
ous value,  but  all  good,  and  reasonably  well  supported  ;  but  it  is 
in  public  schools  tlat  tlie  city  and  the  county  shine  preeminent, 
the  vigor  oi  .he  people  having  found  its  highest  utility  in  provid- 
ing for  die  training  and  education  of  youth.     There  are  thirteen 


(■<,  !■ 


■"»— r— "IFIniiJ"  I 


Principal  Cities  of  Indiana. 


411 


well  appointed  schools  in  tlic  city  to  afford  accommodation  to  the 
youth  of  a  population  of  nearly  twenty-six  thousand,  which  has 
risen  to  that  point  within  twenty-five  years  from  a  total  ol  about 
four  thousand  in  the  year  1850.  Tiic  scliool  buildings  are  valued, 
with  their  furniture  and  appointments,  at  $185,000,  and  there  are 
seventy-five  teachers  presiding  over  the  education  of  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  pupils.  The  high  school  is  an  admirable 
structure  of  brick,  star;ding  in  beautiful  grounds  which,  for  tlieir 
ornamentation,  as  well  as  for  the  space  available  for  perfect  ven- 
tilation, are  alike  excellent.  On  this  spot  the  author  of  Festus 
might  be  content  to  remain,  unsaying  his  resolve, 

"  I'll  to  the  mountains.    I  do  hate 
To  think  the  thoughts,  .ind  brcalhe  the  breath  of  other  men." 

The  several  ward  schools  are  some  of  them  only  temporary  and 
rented  structures,  but  many  of  them  arc  owned  by  the  citi.?;ens, 
and  the  grading  of  the  schools  as  a  whole  merits  the  highest  ap- 
^i.'obation.  The  attendance  of  children  is  not  so  great  as  the 
magnitude  of  the  interests  involved  make  desirable,  but  in  that 
respect  Fort  Waj  ne  is  fully  up  to  the  average  of  cities,  and  no 
better  results  can  be  looked  for  until  the  adult  population  can  bo 
more  fully  impressed  with  the  value  of  early  training.  That 
must  be  a  work  of  time  in  Fort  Wayne  as  well  as  elsewhere,  and 
all  the  influences  of  the  press,  the  pulpit  and  the  platform  should 
be  made  to  converge  toward  success  in  that  particular.  There 
are  twenty  churches  in  Fort  Wayne,  many  of  them  being  very 
handsome.  The  Episcopal  church  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  in  the  state,  and  the  Koman  Catholic  cathedral,  greater 
in  dimensions,  is  not  far  behind  in  elegance  of  design.  The  other 
churches  are  commodious  and  costly  enough  for  their  several  con- 
gregations, and  there  are  other  buddings,  such  as  the  county 
court  house,  the  county  jail,  and  others  of  less  note,  which  help 
to  make  this  city  well  \\orth3'^  of  a  visit,  for  its  architectural  as 
well  as  its  commercial  and  manufacturing  importance. 

New  Ai.hany. — Tliis  city  is  the  scat  of  justice  for  Floyd 
county,  Indiana.  Its  position,  only  five  miles  below  Louisville, 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio  river,  is  not  without  advantages  in 
some  respects  ;  but  the  growth  of  the  city  would  have  been  much 


nmm 


'!•: 


i 


i  Hii 


:||l 


i< 


lill^i^ 


ii?  f  ;!• 


ph 


I 


m 


It  I 


412 


Tittle's  Centexxial  Nohtiiwest. 


more  rapid  had  there  been  "  no  rival  near  the  throne."     The  falls 
of  the  Ohio  are  only  three  miles  above  New  Albany,  and  the  im- 
mense value  of  the  water  power  thus  placed  at  the  disposal  of  en- 
terprising   men  and   manufacturing  companies  must  eventually 
bring  into  one  vast  metropolitan  city,  devoted  to  manufactures, 
commerce,  and  the  arts,  the  two  populations  which  arc  now  draw- 
ing in  opposite  directions,  and  wasting  vital  force  in  rivalry.     The 
city  of  New  Albany  is  one  hundred  miles  from  the  capital  of  tlio 
state,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles  from  Cincinnati,  with 
which  city  it  has  abundant  means  of  communication.     Tlie  city 
was  originally  laid  out  in  the  year  1813,  and  for  some  time  the 
growth  of  the  infant  settlement  was  very  slow  indeed  ;  but  the 
facilities  ofl'ered  by  the  Ohio  river  early  induced  the  location  of 
manufactures,  which  have  in  no  inconsiderable  degree  helped  to 
make  New  Albany  th.>  center  of  industry  and  commerce  that  it 
now  is,  with  two  lines  oi  railroad  competing  with  the  river  and 
each  other  for  the  carryinj^  '  ade  of  the  place.     The  commerce  on 
the  Ohio  river  is  very  considerable,  and  it  is  to  a  large  extent 
commanded  by  New  Albany.     The  lines  of  railroad  alread}^  re- 
ferred to  are  the  Louisville,  New  Albany  and  Chicago,  and  the 
Louisville  and  New  Albany  branch  of  the  Jcflersonville,  Madison 
and  Indianapolis  Railroad.     The  amount  of  shipping  eileeted  by 
these  lines  and  the  river  is  very  large  indeed,  and  the  local  trade 
arising  out  of  that  abundance  of  produce  handled,  builds  up  the 
financial  success  of  New  Albany.     When  the  city  was  originally 
platted,  and  the  lots  sold  by  auction,  in  the  year  1813,  there  wa:i 
an  announcement  made  by  the  parties  engaged  in  the  transaction 
that  twenty-five  per  cent,   of  all  the  purchase  money  realized 
should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  trustees,  to  the  amount  of  $u,000, 
as  a  permanent  school  fund  for  the  city.     The  promise  so  made 
by  the  original  platters  of  New  Albany  has  been  religiously  ob- 
served,  and  in  addition  thereto,  there  were  abundant  reserves 
allotted  for  churches,   county  and  other  public  buildings,  and  a 
very  elegant  site  was  designated  as  a  park.     The  high  school  which 
now  flourishes  in  New  Albon}',  and  is  one  of  the  most  attractive 
features  to  men  of  family  and  good  judgment,  was  thus  provided 
for  sixty-three  years  ago,  and  the  foundation  of  the  establishment 
dates  from  about  sixty  years  since.     During  the  whole  of  the  time 


3 


PniNcii'AL  Cities  of  Ixdiaxa. 


413 


The  falls 
(1  the  im- 
).sal  of  en- 
cntually 
u  facta  res, 
o\v  d raw- 
ly.    The 
tal  of  tho 
lati,  with 
le  citv 
time  the 
but  tlie 
)cation  of 
helped  to 
ce  that  it 
■iver  and 
merce  on 
e   extent 
I'eady  rc- 
and  the 
Madison 
"ected  by 
eal  trade 
Is  up  the 
riginallj 
here  waa 
uisaction 
realized 
f  $5,000, 
so  made 
uslj  ob- 
reserves 
:s,  and  a 
-)1  which 
tractive 
fo  vided 
i.shmeat 
be  time 


■which  has  since  elapsed,  the  institution  has  been  improving  in 
efliciency  and  repute.  The  progress  of  Floyd  county  has  been 
the  progress  of  IS^ew  Albany  almost  from  the  firot,  and  the  county 
scat  will  long  continue  to  be  the  most  important  city  in  that  re- 
gion. The  year  1814  saw  a  large  emigration  to  Kew  Albany. 
There  was  a  moral  and  intellectual  tone  about  the  place  which 
could  not  fail  to  attract  settlement,  and  the  men  and  women  that 
came  in  pursuit  of  such  advantages  possessed  the  highest  qualifi- 
cations for  founding  a  state.  The  city  had  undoubtedly  other 
charms,  such  as  its  position  on  the  Ohio  river,  ,"nd  the  very  sa- 
lubrious atmosphere  which  combined  with  the  well  drained  land 
to  supply  the  requisites  of  hygiene,  when  added  to  the  unbounded 
supply  of  first  class  water.  These  advantages  have  all  been 
turned  to  the  best  account,  as  the  vi.-itor  may  see  in  the  beautiful 
city,  on  comparatively  level  ground,  with  streets  broad  and  well 
graded  for  traffic  and  for  drainage,  adorned  with  rows  of  very  fine 
shade  trees,  and  completed  by  the  erection  of  substantial  business 
premuies,  and  very  attractive  residences.  The  city  is  illuminated 
with  gas,  and  the  facilities  offered  by  the  Ohio  river  have  been 
availed  to  procure  a  supply  of  water  for  domestic  and  general  con- 
sumption, whicli,  for  many  years  to  come  will  meet  all  require- 
ments. The  county  buildings  have  been  erected  at  very  consid- 
erable cost  in  this  city,  and  their  style  displays  sound  taste. 

Many  of  the  cities  in  the  old  world  were  built  without  any  re- 
gard to  the  natural  beauty  of  the  scene  which  becomes  in  modern 
days  almost  a  sine  qua  non.  Some  few  traders  having  won  the 
])romise  of  protection  from  the  superior  of  a  monastery,  or  from 
the  owner  of  a  castle,  to  whom  in  some  way  tribute  was  paid, 
commenced  to  work  at  their  several  trades,  and  to  bide  the  time 
when  their  skill  would  command  attention.  There  was  the  origin 
of  a  citv.  Accident  might  have  concentrated  upon  the  spot  all 
the  charms  of  natural  beauty,  and  just  as  possible  the  site  hap- 
pened upon  might  be  devoid  of  every  attraction,  but  the  semi- 
security  wliieh  its  [losition  ensured,  all  such  minor  considerations 
were  merely  accidental,  the  people  there  concentrating  their  in- 
dustries, sons  of  Franklins,  who  held  their  lands  in  fee,  sons  of 
serfs  who  held  their  lives  on  sufferance,  serfs  themselves  who 
might  be  taken  and  sold  as  slaves,  women  who  might  be  degraded 


1 


\ 

! 


'I 


:>'r 


■;^!S*-P(^ 


V. 


i(: 


IP 


4U 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Noutiiwest. 


by  the  mere  will  of  brutal  masters,  irrespective  of  their  aspira- 
tions, were  not  mindful  of  the  aesthetic  charms  of  a  situation,  the 
one  thought  being  security  to  earn  their  bread,  preserve  iheir  lib- 
ert}',  and  secure  for  their  offspring  better  conditions.     It  would 
have  been  wonderful  if  under  such  pressure  tliere  had  not  been 
cities  l)uilt  in  positions  which  would  now  be  condemned  as  sites 
for  the  erection  of  dog  kennels  and  stables.     The  one  purpose, 
security  against  marauders,  covered  every  other  consideration, 
and  some  of  the  more  vigorous  thinkers  looked  ahead  to  the  time 
when  it  might  be  possible  to  erect  walls  of  circumvallation,  be- 
hind which  the  sturdy  burghers  might  defend  themselves,  their 
families,  and  their  possessions,  against  the  baron  himself,  and  all 
his  retainers,  if  necessary,  with  the  weapons  then  used  in  war. 
Cities  on  hills  would  have  advantages  for  defense,  but  they  would 
be  comparatively  inaccessible  for  commerce,  and  in  any  case  the 
requirements  of  taste  and  love  of  beauty,  if  gratified  at  all,  would 
owe  the  fact  to  accident  lathcr  than  design.     In  this  country, 
speculators  in  search  of  investments  act  on  very  diflfercnt  bases. 
They  find  a  spot  which  unites  all  the  charms  of  an  unrivalled 
site,  as  in  New  Albany,  where  a  beautiful  plateau,  above  high 
water  mark,  dips  toward  the  Oh.io,  or  some  other  river  which 
promises  advantage,  and  where  the  present  beautj*  and  future  util- 
ity combine  to  assure  commercial,  agricultural,  and  manufactur- 
ing success;  they  plat  their  town,  sell  their  lot.s,  link,  if  possible, 
their  own  names  with  the  enterprise,  o\\  the  same  jirinciple  on 
■which  ubiquitous  John  Smith  penknifes  his  name  on  the  cliin  of 
the  Sphinx,  and  they  are  ready  for  some  new  venture  in  the  like 
direction.'     There  is  a  great  deal  of  business  tact  and  artistic  skill 
displayed  in  locating  cities,  that  they  may  bring  profit  to  their 
projectors.     New   Albany  was  specially  favored  in  the  type  of 
people  that  founded  and  sustained  the  settlement,  if  only  for  the 
schools,  churches,  park  and  public  buildings  which  were  provided 
for  in  the  original  allotment.     The  facts  thus  indicated  helped  to 
determine  the  character  of  the  population  now  in  the  city.     Tliere 
are  two  benches,  or  plains,  practically  the  first  and  second  bottoms 
of  the  once  mightier  stream,  which  now  sweeps  away  towards  the 
north,  affording  the  sites  on  ^vhich  New  Albany  was  platted,  and 
may  grow  almost  without  limit.     These  benches  slope  downwards 


Principal  Cities  of  Indiana. 


415 


towtard  the  river,  but  the  stream  lies  far  below  their  lowest  level, 
consequently  there  is  perfect  drainage,  and  no  danger  of  swamp 
or  submergence.  The  Silver  Hills  close  in  the  scene  to  the  west 
and  northwest,  rising  to  about  five  hundred  feet  in  their  greatest 
altitude,  and  winning  their  name  from  the  bright  mist  which 
seems  to  hamr  over  tlie  several  eminences  as  an  irradiating;  dorv. 
There  is  the  efl^cct  of  a  fine  amphitheatre,  thus  closing  in  the  pic- 
ture, and  the  spot  is  such  an  one  as  might  attract  the  poet  or  artist 
to  make  his  home,  where  the  swift  slave  of  commerce  can  bring 
tlic  latest  i.-sues  fi-om  the  press,  and  the  sympathetic  words  of 
.chosen  friends,  while  the  slumberous  woods  invite  the  soul  to  re- 
pose or  contemplation.  The  men  who  have  located  upon  these  hills 
are  not  poets  in  the  Longfellow  or  Whittier  sense  of  the  word,  but 
they  cannot  live  on  such  hallowed  ground,  without  becoming  pen- 
etrated by  that  sense  of  the  beautiful,  out  of  which  poesy  springs 
in  succeeding  generations.  Some  of  the  finest  farms  and  resi- 
dences in  Floyd  county  are  located  on  those  hills,  which  consti- 
tute part  of  what  are  known  as  "The  Knobs"  of  Floyd  county. 
Probably  they  are  remaneis  from  some  former  time,  when  the 
whole  country  was  of  a  much  higher  level,  and  the  work  of  de- 
nudation which  has  proceeded,  has  left  these  hills  protected,  by 
local  causes  now  unknown,  to  stand  out  in  an  eccentric  fashion 
entirely  their  own.  Freestone  underlies  the  soil  on  those  hills, 
and  the  remainder  of  those  knobs  are  made  up,  with  little  varia- 
tion, of  clay,  sandstone,  slate  and  iron  ore,  presenting  a  very  rug- 
ged surface,  but  on  the' whole  well  adapted  for  the  cultivation  of 
fruit,  for  grazing,  and  for  agricultural  purposes  generall}-.  The 
scenery  observable  from  the  hills  back  of  New  Albany  could 
hardly  be  surpas.sed,  even  in  the  dreams  of  the  poet,  and  im- 
mense variety  is  one  of  the  least  of  the  charms.  Louisville,  little 
more  that  five  miles  distant,  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  bridge 
crossing  the  river  at  that  point,  little  more  than  e([uidistant  from 
J!^!"ew  Albany  and  the  larger  city,  Jeffcrsonville  in  the  distance,  and 
away,  looming  up  into  the  sky  from  Kentucky,  the  hill  system  of 
that  state,  contrasting  remarkably  with  the  "Knobs"  of  this 
county,  make  a  panorama  once  seen  never  to  be  forgotten. 

The  meteorological  effects  of  these  wooded  hills  in  the  vicinity 
of  New  Albany,  are  said  to  be  very  marked.     Just  as  the  protect- 


'^1 


u 


!     : 


ff  m 


■ 


Mi 


416 


TvTTLE's  CsyTEKKlAL  NoRTHWEST. 


ing  wire  properly  insulated,  saves  the  building  to  which  it  is  at- 
tached, from  the  levin  bolt,  so  it  is  claimed  that  these  elevations 
protect  the  city  at  their  base,  from  violent  storms  and  hurricanes. 
Louisville  and  Jeffersonville,  neither  of  them  far  distant  from  New 
Albany,  have  been  repeatedly  visited  by  gales  of  wind,  and  de- 
vastating storms  of  rain,  accompanied  b}'  electric  disturbances, 
while  the  "Knob"  surrounded  community  have  slept  in  peace. 
We  know  so  little  of  the  causes,  which  combine  to  produce 
metoreological  eflects,  that  it  would  be  folly  to  speculate  upon  the 
facts  thus  stated,  or  to  do.iiore  than  merely  mention  the  circum- 
stance for  additional  verification,  preparatory  to  the  solution 
which  will  come  when  the  growth  of  intelligence,  and  the  perfec- 
tion of  our  observations  shall  fit  us  to  read  the  signalement  of 
nature.  The  residences  upon  those  hills  are  not  all  farm  houses, 
very  manj'-  of  the  merchants  and  manufacturers  of  New  Albany 
have  secured  sites  "  for  the  cottage  of  gentilit}'',"  about  which 
Coleridge  waxes  eloquent  in  "  The  Devil's  Walk,"  and  the  cottage 
orne^  whether  it  owes  its  origin  "  to  the  pride  which  apes  humilUy," 
or  not,  is  certainly  an  additional  charm  to  the  exquisite  amphi- 
theatre west  and  northwest  of  the  city.  New  Albany  is  a  beauti- 
ful city  in  which  to  make  a  home.  The  river  navigation  com- 
manded by  New  ^Mbany  is  said  to  afford  to  her  population  facil- 
it}*  for  commerce  with  more  than  nine  millions  of  people  distrib- 
uted over  fifteen  states  in  the  union,  and  possessing  property  in 
farms,  in  stock  and  farm  products  valued  at  $1,610,000,000.  Such 
advantaores  added  to  the  incidental  benefit  of  railroad  communi- 
cation,  which  brings  the  New  Albany  merchant  and  manufacturer 
en  raiiport  with  the  markets  and  the  bourse  oi  the  world  will  not 
fail  to  build  up  on  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  at  this  point,  a  still 
greater  entrepot.  We  have  seen  what  are  the  roads  already  oper- 
ating in  the  city,  but  it  may  be  as  well  to  glance  at  the  projected 
works,  some  of  them  already  well  nigh  completion,  vvhich  will 
make  this  exquisite  spot  a  plexus  of  commercial  nerves,  to  and 
from  which  will  flash  in  days  to  come,  the  words  of  fire  which 
make  and  expand  nations.  The  Louisville  and  Cincinnati  branch 
of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  railroad  has  sought  and  procured  a 
right  of  way  into  New  Alban}-,  to  make  a  terminus  here ;  the 
Louisville,  New  Albany  and  St.  Lom'"  now  being  constructed, 


riiii; 


Principal  Cities  of  Indiana. 


417 


will  have  a  tenninus  here,  and  among  other  roads  projected,  the 
Tcrrc  Iiautc  and  New  Albany  ;  and  the  New  Albany  and  Cin- 
cinnati railroads  liave  given  fair  evidence  of  their  buna  Jidcs  toward 
the  public.  Toledo,  Oliio,  has  given  an  earnest  of  its  intention  to 
sustain  I'aihvay  coininunieation  with  New  Albany,  and  the  inter- 
vening country  which  will  be  traversed  must  add  to  the  wealth  of 
the  cities  at  each  terminus.  The  rapid  transit  to  Lake  Erie,  thus 
secured,  will  prove  a  conquest  of  rare  value,  and  the  intertwin- 
ing of  roads,  which  already  unite  at  t.venty  diilerent  points  to 
afford  convenience  for  travel  and  traffic  from  and  to  the  city  on 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio  river,  must  go  on  increasing  without  present 
limit.  Manufacturers  have  come  to  assist  in  building  up  the  city  ; 
here  arc  located  some  of  the  most  extensive  <ji;lass  works  in  tho 
United  States,  if  not  in  the  world,  and  recent  experiments  in 
toughening  glass  will,  if  they  should  prove  successful,  still  further 
expand  this  branch  of  industry.  A  discovery  already  operated 
upon  elsewhere  has  given  to  vessels  of  glass  the  toughness  of 
metal,  and  in  consequence  the  delicate  Venetian  ware  which  was 
said  to  be  so  finely  tempered  that  it  would  break  in  the  hand  of 
its  owner  should  poison  be  offered  him  therein  will  become 
cater-cousin  to  substantial  cooking  utensils,  which  will  endure  the 
very  highest  temperature  and  the  hardest  blows  incidental  to 
"  high  life  below  stairs."  The  value  of  such  utensils,  the  cheap- 
ness with  which  they  can  be  produced,  the  quantities  that  will 
be  demanded,  and  the  hygienic  results  likely  to  be  secured  when 
copper,  brass  and  iron  will  no  longer  be  essential  to  the  cuisine  ; 
make  the  popularization  of  this  factor  of  health  and  comfort 
wortliy  of  the  solicitude  of  the  whole  community,  and  more 
especially  entitles  the  movement  to  the  prayers  and  best  efforts 
in  every  sense,  of  the  citizens  who  would  be  enriched,  i)y  the 
multiplication  of  their  glass  works,  into  ten  times  their  present 
magnitude,  with  still  greater  prospective  increase.  ^Mle  works  of 
the  company  cover  an  area  of  about  fifteen  acres,  and  the  best  kinds 
of  French  plate  are  made,  with  all  varieties  of  window  glass  and  the 
receptacles  for  household  preserves  which  have  largely  displaced 
the  old  earthen  jars.  Tlie  toughening  process  in  glass  is  now  the 
desideratum  of  the  economist,  and  we  desire  most  heartily  to  see 
that  operation  a  succpss.  In  every  other  respect  the  commercial 
27 


rt^w  ' '   *  i1 


I-!:., 


Bm 


i 


l; 


, 


III 


1 


11 


liiLi  I' 

III  I 

IIP  I' 


418 


Tuttle's  Centennial  XonruwEST. 


and  manufacturing  advancement  of  Xew  Albany  comes  up  to 
the  most  sanguine  anticipations  of  its  promoters,  with  an  unlim- 
ited perspective  of  growth  until  Louisville  and  New  Albany  be- 
come one,  with  only  one  difUculty  to  be  settled  by  circumstances, 
■which  one  the  remote  act  of  matrimony  will  give  to  the  world. 

New  Albany  has  eleven  school  houses,  all  commodious,  and 
most  of  them  elegant.  Ten  of  the  edifices  arc  of  brick  and  one  is 
a.  frame  building,  furnishing  accommodation  for  three  tiiousand 
pupils  ;  the  value  of  the  schools  and  their  fittings  and  furniture 
being  estimated  at  $150,000.  The  schools  are  graded  in  five  de- 
partments, and  the  system  works  most  admirably  throughout,  as 
the  pupils  who  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  conferred  by 
these  several  schools  come  out  completely  equipped,  to  the  fullest 
mcasuremc  t  of  their  powers,  for  any  business  or  profession. 
There  are  idlers  who  will  not  try  to  learn,  and,  for  vhese,  teachers 
can  do  nothing  until  some  circumstance  awakens  their  ambition, 
and  they  become  as  eager  for  tlie  fight  as  they  were  once  indolent. 
There  are  others  who  arc  denied  the  quality  of  brain  fibre  which 
would  permit  tlicni  to  advance;  the  fact  which  would  record  itself 
in  other  minds  passes  away  from  them  without  leaving  a  ripi)le 
more  tlian  if  words  had  been  written  in  water.  "  Y  ur  son  wants 
a  capacity,"  said  a  frank  tutor  confidentially  to  iNfrs.  Shoddy. 
"Nevermind,  his  father  can  alTord  to  buy  him  the  best  kind," 
was  the  very  intellectual  response ;  but  fortunately,  or  unfortun- 
atel}',  tliere  is  no  way  of  malciiig  money  do  the  work  which  race 
and  long  culture  alone  can  effect,  and  the  lady  was  wrong.  The 
"Great  Sir  Godfrey  Knellcr,"  a  painter  of  the  days  of  Charles  IT, 
who  was  by  no  means  slow  to  vaunt  himself  as  an  artist,  such  as 
the  world  had  never  seen  before,  and  might  never  see  again,  was 
on  one  occasion  asked  by  a  pompous  lad}'  of  the  court,  to  make 
her  son  "a  painter,  a  great  artist  like  yourself,  Sir  Godfrey." 
The  consequential  Fleming  came  near  bursting.  "Madame,"  said 
ho,  "I  cannot  make  j-our  son  a  great  artist,  such  as  I  am;  God 
alone  could  give  him  sucli  genius."  Conceit  is  not  always,  how- 
ever, a  proof  of  capacity,  as  SirEdwin  Landseer  di.scovercd  ;  when 
traveling  by  rail  he  found  a  patient  listener,  such  a  man  as  he 
that  deceived  Coleridge,  at  a  public  dinner,  into  believing  him  a 
philosopher  because  he  was  silent.     The  great  animal  painter  was 


'lA^ttoM 


\ 


Principal  Cities  of  Ixuiaxa. 


419 


■*   •  -~ 

on  his  favorite  hobby,  the  clifTiculty,  nay,  the  impossibility  under 
whicli  men  labor,  in  the  attempt  to  realize  their  ideal,  and  an  in- 
telligent glance  from  the  listener,  showed  that  he  could  sympa- 
thize with  his  more  eminent  brother  of  the  palette  and  pencil. 
"You,  sir,  doubtless  know,"  said  Landscer,   "that  our  ideal  is 
flways  somewhere  beyond  us,  eluding  our  grasp,  shaping  some 
form  of  beauty  which  the  trained  hand  and  cultured  eye  may 
aim  at,  but  can  never  reach."     "You  are  right,  .sir,"  .slowly  re- 
sponded the  humble  friend,  "I  have  often  found  it  so  in  painting 
a  sign  or  graining  a  door."     The  Germans  have  a  proverb  that: 
"Against  folly,  the  Gods  are  powerless,"  and  of  course  the  best 
teacher  "  works  by  wit,  and  not  by  witchcraft;"  where  there  is  no 
power  to  b(!  educed,  he  cannot  draw  it  forth  ;  only  a  necroman- 
cer, on  a  modern  stage,  can  find  a  feast  for  a  king  in  an  empty 
hat,  and  many  empty  hats  find  their  way  into  every  school.     The 
board  of  education  in  New  Albanj'  have  found  it  convenient  to 
erect  a  school  house  expressly  for  colored  children,  not  because 
they  wished  to  put  a  slight  upon  "God's  image  carved  in  ebony," 
but  because  it  was  found  by  exiierienee  that  the  two  races  worked 
better  in  that  wa}',  than  wdicn  more  intimately  associated  in  the 
same  building,  under  the  same  teachers.     The  white  girls  were 
not  all  Evas,  and  the  tutors  had  not  always  the  Christian  virtues 
2ylus,  as  was  exemplified  in  Uncle  Tom.     The  attendance  of  schol- 
ars docs  not  reach  the  proper  standard  in  New  Albany,  but  it  is 
up  to  the  average,  as  the  number  usually  present  aggregates  about 
two  thousand  five  hundred,  in  a  population  of  less  than  twenty 
thousand,  with  about  seven  thou.sand  five  hundred  boys  and  girls 
within  the  school  age  in  the  city.     There  are  about  fifty  teachers 
employed  in   the  schools,  and  of  that  number  two  are  colored. 
The  cost  of  maintaining  the  public  schools  is  about  $30,000  per 
annum,  but  that  outlay  docs  not  represent  all  the  expenditure  for 
education,  as  there  arc  many  private  and  semi-private  institutions 
in  which  the  work  of  instruction  is  carried  on  efficiently.     There 
is  a  college  for  young  ladies  in  this  cit\',  under  the  direction  of 
the  Indiana  conference  of  the  Methodist  Ei)iscopal  church,  and  it 
is  well  known  as  one  of  the  most  desirable  academics  ever  de- 
voted to  a  purpose  .so  beneficent.     Depauw  college  is  a  model  in 
a  class  much  too  small.     In  the  year  ISGG,  the  college  was  placed 


ill 


■  } 


420 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


under  a  new  organization,  which  it  was  believed  would  largely 
increase  its  usefulness,  and  since  that  date  the  institution  has  been 
marvellously  successful.     The  building  occupies  a  pleasant  and 
commanding  site,  and,  without  reference  to  its  purposes,  it  is  an 
ornament  to  tiie  city.     The  complete  renovation  of  the  building 
and  the  extensions  made  within  the  last  ten  years  have  cost  moro 
than  $25,000 ;  and  there  is  now  accommodation  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  students,  one-half  of  whom  live  within  the  establish- 
ment.    The  college  has  very  able  jirofossors,  and  those  \        carry 
through  the  course  of  study  provided  are  entitled,  upon  proof  of 
merit,  to  degrees  which  are  credited  cnndem  (jradon  in  every  simi- 
lar instiiuuon.     All  the  means  which  are  found  useful  in  devel- 
oping the  faculties  of  young  men  are  here  brought  into  operation 
to  build  up  the  brain  fibre  of  their  sisters  and  fiancc.s;  with  such 
dill'erenccs  and  additions  as  especially  fit  them  to  become  direct- 
resses of  households  in  the  future,  and  to  grace  their  homes  with 
the  charms  of  music,  and  the  elegances  of  polite  society.     Tlic 
Catholics  liavc  an  establishment  here  for  the  training  of  young 
ladies  under  semi-conventual  rule ;    but  the  course  of  teaching 
does  honor  to  the  direction,  and  about  eight  hundred  pupils  can 
be  taught  in  the  academy.     There  is  an  academy  of  very  high 
repute  in  this  city  in  which  young  men  and  young  women  are 
carried  through  the  high  school  curriculum  together ;    and  the 
vigor  with  which  the  institution  is  administered,  under  highly 
competent  supervision,  has  contributed  to  a  very  great  measure  of 
success.     The  apparatus  and  all  the  appliances  of  a  college  arc 
made  available  for  the  culture  of  both  sexes;    and  Indiana  is 
justly  proud  of  the  attainments  of  many  men  and  women  who 
have  graduated  here.     There  are  fourteen  parochial  and  private 
schools  of  various  kinds  in  the  city,  and  when  the  aggregate  of 
training  in  such  academies  is  added  to  the  gross  total  of  the  pub- 
lic schools  already  mentioned,  it  will  be  seen  that  New  Albany 
is  moderately  well  endowed  for  the  highest  functions  of  good  gov 
ernment. 

It  would  be  wrong  to  bid  adieu  to  New  Albany  without  advert- 
ing to  the  steamboat  works  which  have  been  established  to  sup. 
ply  vessels  for  the  commerce  of  the  river.  Tlierc  are  no  less  than 
six  steamboat  yards  devoted  to  that  branch  of  trade  ;  and  out  of 


PuiSCH'.iL   CjTIKS   or  IXDIAXA. 


421 


tliat  industry  others  arise  which  promise  to  incroaso  dailv.  En- 
gines are  made  here,  and  so  are  locomotives  of  tlic  best  kind,  as 
well  as  other  machinery;  there  are  manufactories  in  whicii  iron 
and  brass  are  made  up  into  every  available  form;  there  are 
woolen  mills,  flour  mills,  nail  factories,  and  a  hundred  companion 
works,  to  which,  when  v/e  add  three  newspapers,  it  must  be  seen 
that  New  Albany  is  well  equipped. 

^[adison.  — Tlic  city  of  Madison  is  not  large,  but  it  is  full  of 
enterprise,  and  its  position  upon  the  bank  of  the  Ohio  river, 
away  from  any  great  competing  center,  on  that  line  of  communi- 
cation, cannot  fail  to  give  increase  to  its  proportions.  Cincinnati 
is  ninety  miles  higher  up  the  river,  Louisville  is  about  forty-four 
miles  below,  and  Indianapolis,  the  capital  of  the  state,  is  distant 
about  eighty-six  miles.  Madison  is  the  scat  of  administration  in 
JcHerson  county,  and  it  was  first  settled  in  the  year  1S07,  but  its 
population  now  is  little,  if  at  all,  more  than  thirteen  thousand. 
In  the  year  18G0,  there  were  nearly  eight  thousand  residents,  and 
the  increase  during  the  decade  then  next  ensuing  was  barely 
throp  thousand,  so  that  it  will  be  seen  there  was  not  much  emi- 
gration. Tiie  site  of  the  city  is  very  charming,  as  it  stands  in 
the  foreground  of  a  beautiful  valley  of  great  extent,  fronting  tho 
hills  on  the  shore  of  Kentucky,  with  the  silvery  Ohio  for  its 
frontier,  sweeping  round  in  a  curve  of  singular  gracefulness,  and 
backed  by  hills  four  hundred  feet  high  at  their  greatest  altitude, 
shutting  in  a  region  about  three  miles  in  length.  There  is  no  dan- 
ger  of  Madison  suITeriiig  from  floods,  as  the  plateau  upon  which 
it  is  built  is  at  the  least  forty  feet  above  the  high  water  mark 
of  the  greatest  floods  recorded  since  the  first  settlement  began  in 
a  forest  of  walnut,  beech  and  poplar.  The  water's  edge  was  then 
fringed  with  willows,  which  drooped  their  pendant  branches  to  the 
tide,  but  wharves  and  landings  more  suggestive  of  commerce,  are 
now  the  rule.  The  city  is  well  built,  and  most  of  the  principal  streets 
have  been  well  paved  and  graded,  so  that  the  drainage  is  perfect. 
There  are  gus  works  here,  and  a  prosjierous  gas  company,  but  the 
residents  complain  of  the  cost  of  that  means  of  illumination,  and 
it  is  wonderful  that  prices  continue  to  range  so  high,  where  coal 
can  be  cheaply  procured,  and  where  there  are  no  diflculties  to  be 


!■! 


pv, 


u 


it 


422 


Tuttll's  Cksti:xsia i.  Xnu III \ri:sT. 


overcome  in  supplying  a  first  clnsa  article,  at  very  moderate  cost. 
The  cities  in  which  companies  have  the  field   to  themselves  pay 
very  dearly  for  the  absence  of  competition.     The  city  is  s>ii)j)licd 
with    water   from   the   Ohio   river,  and  the    rpiulity    as   well    as 
the  (piantity  available  for  use,  are  such  as  to  satisfy  the   most 
exigcant.     There  are  two  large  public  buildings,  the  court  house, 
a  county  institution,  and  the  United  States  Hospital,  a  building 
due  to  Washingtonian  provision.     There  are  three  public  schools, 
in  which  the  system  of  grading  is  good,  and  .several  })rivato  acad- 
emies, which  maintain  a  very  spirited  competition.     There  are 
two  public  libraries  here,  not  very  pretentious,  but  moderately 
well  stocked  with  standard  work.s,     'J'he  managers  have  the  same 
story  to  tell  here  as  hns  been  heard  by  every  inquirer  in  every 
city  cast  and  west,  that   there  are   three  competitors  for  Lady 
Audley'a  Secret,  and  for  such  works,  for  every  inquiry  as  to  an 
encyclopedia  or  scientific  resmne.     Still  the  libraries  arc  good  as 
they  cultivate  a  taste  for  reading   which   may  some  day  a.scend 
through   biographical  literature  to  higher  planes  of  tliought  and 
cultivatiDn.     There  are  thi'ce  ne\vsj)apcrs  published  in  the  city, 
and  they  deserve  perusal.     Churches  are  numerous,  and  they  are 
well  supported,  as  well  as  being  ornamental  to  the  city.     Madi.^on 
has  good  railroad  communications  with  every  part  of  the  state, 
and  with  the  country  at  large,  and  its  commerce  on  the  river  is 
very  much  a.ssisted  by  that  fact.     The  ^fadison  division  of  the 
Jeil'ersonville,  Madison  and  Indiana])olis  llailroad   has  its  termi- 
nus at  this  point,  and  a  very  large  shipping  business  is  eflected 
here,  from  which  results  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  a  consider- 
able accession  to  the  local  trade.     There  arc  several  foundries  and 
machine  shops  busily  employed  in  the  city,  and   flouring  mills 
prepare   immense   quantities  of  breadstuffs   for  exi)ortalion,   be- 
sides which  there    are  .several  pork  packing  houses,  which  con- 
tribute toward  the  nearly  $10,000,000,  at  which  the  annual  com- 
merce of  Aladison  is  estimated.     The  city  is  not  merely  the  ship- 
ping center  of  an  area  of  territory  in  its  own  county  and  state, 
but  by  the  river  it  pienetrates  into  other  states  and  makes  its  fit- 
ness to  aid  in  their  pursuits  subsidiary  to  the  building  up  of  its 
own  fair  proportions.     Madison  was  once  more  ambitious  than  it 
now  13,  but  it  has  never  been  more  substantially  prosperous. 


^^pnpp 


PmsciPAL  Cities  of  Indiana. 


423 


La  Fa^'KTI'H  is  a  growing  city  on  iho  Wabash  river,  and 
the  KOiit  of  justice  for  Tipj)uc'anoo  county,  in  tiic  state  of  Indiana, 
stnnJing  on  the  left  banic  of  the  river,  about  sixty-nix  miles  from 
the  capital  of  tlie  state,  and  about  one  hundnnl  and  twenty-three 
miles  from  Chicago.  Near  this  location,  some  of  tlie  best  fighting 
ever  attempted  b^'  the  Indians  in  their  desire  to  build  up  their 
nations  as  an  impassable  wall  against  civilization  was  made,  but 
the  well  known  battle  of  Ti])pecanoe,  near  where  that  river  joins 
the  Wabash,  ended  all  thoir  dreams  of  emj)ire.  La  Fayette  is 
several  miles  from  the  scene  of  that  decisive  defeat,  pleasantly  laid 
out  on  rising  ground,  which  naturally  carries  its  drainage  to  the 
river  AVabash.  There  arc  many  line  buildings  here,  without 
reckoning  the  private  residences  of  citizens  and  the  substantial 
edifices  devoted  to  commerce.  The  court  house  is  very  handsome 
and  commodious,  and  there  are  four  school  houses  public,  besides 
private  establishments  in  greater  number.  There  are  fourteen 
churches  and  seven  newspapers,  and  the  population  is  cstimatcMt 
at  twenty  thousand.  There  is  a  public  well  in  this  city  which 
might  make  the  fortune  of  a  do'/en  German  cities,  devoted  to  bath- 
ing, drinking  and  gaming.  The  boring  was  made  to  find  drink- 
ing watci',  and  at  a  depth  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet  a  stream 
of  mineral  water  was  found  which  is  said  to  I'esemble  the  cele- 
brated Blue  Lick  springs,  of  Kentuclv}^,  and  to  be  a  spccilic  for 
very  many  diseases.  The  stream  is  apparently  interminable,  and 
has  been  used  ever  since  the  first  discovery  for  bathing  as  well  as 
for  drinking,  being  ample  for  all  purposes.  Confirmed  dyspeptics 
say  that  they  find  relief  for  their  otherwise  incurable  malady  by 
the  use  oi!  La  Fayette  water.  Men  who  have  lived  in  warm 
climates,  using  stimulants  until  the  merest  vestige  of  serviceable 
liver  remains  in  their  organization,  claim  that  they  have  been  able 
to  galvanize  the  diseased  residuum  into  new  life  by  the  same 
means,  and  the  vast  luimbcr  of  people  who  cultivate  nervous  fan- 
cies, until  they  can  lit  themselves  with  every  disease  known  to 
the  faculty  by  merely  recapitulating  the  symptoms  pertaining 
thereto,  fmd  the  spring  all  but  infallible.  La  Fayette  does  quite 
a  large  grain  trade,  and  by  the  Wabash  canal  it  is  connected  with 
the  Ohio  river  and  LakcFrie,  whereby  it  can  procure  cheap  transit 
for  its  shipments.     When  speed  becomes  more  decidedly  an  object, 


i.'i! 


1 1  ill 


IMIWHII 


421 


Tri TLij's  Ci:xTi:xNiAL  XonrnwEsr. 


m\iU 


m 


ii  :f 


c^ 


1. 


im 


',;' 


i': 
is 


I'lic  railrcad  facilities  of  the  city  suHici'  for  bouu'lless  extension. 
'l.']\e  Toledo,  AVj'.basb  and  Western  railroad  intersects  the  Louis- 
ville, "N'ow  Alban}'  iind  Chicago  railroad  at  this  point,  and  the 
sliij)ping  business  Iransacted  by  those  lines  is  so  considerable  that 
it  is  anticipated  i'ani  thcr«  will  be  additional  lines  in  operation 
shortly.  The  wat;;i  powers  uvailab''c  at  La  Fayette  will  se-vo  for 
an  inimon.su  increase  of  the  manufacturing  enterprises  nrnv  being 
prosecute',!,  and  the  deposits  of  iron  and  coal  whicli  are  within 
easy  n.ach  seem  to  indicate  a  great  fviture  in  that  direction.  There 
are  -.cry  extensive  beds  of  clay  in  this  neighborhood  also.  There 
•"•o  seven  hew.spapcrs  published  in  La  Fayette,  and  the  1  juc  of  the 
press  generally  is  metropolitan,  such  as  becomes  a  place  whicli  is 
destined  by  the  forces  of  nature  to  become  the  home  of  a  great 
community.  F'or  many  of  the  facts  which  tend  to  illustrate  the 
peculiar  fe'iturcs  of  the  city  aud  county,  \ve  are  indebted  to  the 
'         joui'nals,  which  are  vjiy  well  conduclod. 

More  tliiin  a  century  a,L o  this  county  was  the  scene  of  many 
adventures,  in  -.vliich  whi:o  men  were  alternately  victorious  and 
defeated  in  ilicir  contact  with  the  savage.  Whenever  the  military 
powers  of  France  or  England  made  a  demonstration  in  force,  there 
was  little  siort  of  annihilation  for  the  red  men ;  but  after  famil- 
iarity hat  bred  contempt  for  the  savage,  und  the  forces  left  at 
the  outposts  had  been  reduced  to  the  lowest  point  of  tenuity,  the 
Indians  would  contvive  by  stratagem  to  become  masters  of  the  sit- 
uation. There  was  no  American  settlement  here  until  the  year 
1823,  but  the  defeat  of  Tocuniseh  by  Gen.  Harrison,  about  seven 
iniles  from  the  site  of  La  Fayette,  occurred  in  181L  The  popula- 
tion of  the  Indian  settlement  was  estimated  at  two  thou.sand,  of 
all  ages,  but  the  defeat  then  sufl'ercd  broke  the  force  of  flie  Miami 
confederacy,  and  the  fragments  scattered  in  all  diieetions.  The 
first  organization  for  county  purposes  dates  from  the  year  1826, 
tln-ee  years  fi'om  th';  date  of  settlement,  whcii  Crawfordsville  was 
the  seat  of  justice  for  Ti})i'eeanoe  county.  La  Fayette  was  first 
platted  in  the  year  1825,  with  the  expectation  that  it  would  be- 
come the  county  seat;  but  the  town  plat  was  little  other  than  a 
dense  forest,  and  there  were  rival  sites,  either  of  which  must  have 
appeared  at  that  time  more  eligible.  The  liberality  of  the  men 
who  had  laid  ofl  the  town,  or  purchased  the  rights  of  the  men  who 


PnixriPAT.  Crni:>!  of  Isdiaxa. 


A-2.0 


assunu'il   tlint  responsibility,   ilrtcrminod   the   location,   anil    llie 
county  generally  has  since  approved  the  choice.  Tlie  Wabash  valley 
was  at  that  time  a  spot  much  favored  by  settlers,  and  \nx.<j  villages 
wer(>  started  as  riv.-ds  to  the  present  couiity  seat;    but  wlicn  the 
"Wabash  and  Erie  canal  was  completed  to  this  point,  many  of  the 
rival  sites  were  abandoned  by  the  projectors  and   residents,  in  a 
very  natural  desire  to  partake  in  the  sunshine  of  prosperity  now 
pouring  in  upon  La  Fayette.     The  first  great  anxiety  of  the  people 
of  th'^  young  city  was  to  secure  educational  advantages  for  the 
young,  and  out  of  small  beginnings  valuable  results  have  been 
achieved.     The  first  school  house  was  a  log  cabin  of  the  rout^hest 
description  possible,  where  everything  must  be  accomplished  with- 
out help  from  the  more  settled  districts.     This  was  in  the  winter 
of  1827,  and  the  school  master  was  a  flautist  of  .some  merit,  as 
well  as  a  teacher  of  singing,  the  three  "  ll's,"  and  all  the  accona- 
plishmcnts.     Subscription  schools,  at  from  $0.00  to  ,$8.00  per  year, 
were  commenced  in  1829,  and  a  much   higher  instruction   was 
offered  to  the  pupils;   but  few  were  found  anxious  to  master  the 
dry  and  uninLercsting  prolixities  of  the  grammar  and  geography  of 
that  day.     There  are  not  many  who  ar  j  fascinated  by  such  pursuits 
now.     As  years  passed  on,  a  brick  church  was  erected,  with  a 
room  attached  for  school  jjurposes.     Then,  when  the  Presbyte- 
rians became  more  numerous,  the  school  house  was  absorbed  by 
the  church,  and  the  whole  edifice  was  used  for  lectures  as  well  at: 
for  worship,  whenever  the  kind  fates  brought  to  the  village  some 
one  or  other  of  the  co'jnoscenti  from  neighboring  or  distant  c"*'  ^s. 
After  this  a  regular  school  house  was  erected,  but  the  schoolmas- 
ters were  very  often  changed,  as  the  position,  unfortunately,  does 
not  command  large  emoluments  in  young  communities.     The  taste 
for  lyceunis  and  intellectual  pursuits  of  every  kind  was  manifested 
in  many  ways,  as  the  county  scat  grew  in  importance,  and  a  dis- 
cussion society  was  one  of  the  most  valuable  developments  in  the 
series,  from  which  it  is  claimed  that  many  of  the  ablest  men  in  the 
county   drew  their  inspiration.      Schools   multiplied  under  the 
auspices  of  diflerent  sections  of  the  (.;ommunity.     The  Catliolics 
had  their  institution,  the  Baptists  and  Presbyterians  each  had 
theirs,  and  several  private  acadcnnes  were  commenced  with  fair 
prospects,  laying  the  foundatiou  for  the  public  school  system, 


I 


:;^^ 


MM 


lip  if. 


\  1  f  1!' 


ii!' 


426 


TuTTLf's  Cente^'nial  Northwest. 


wliicli  is  now  brought  to  nio.st  unusiKil  perfection  in  La  Fa3-eLt'.'. 
Tiio  sclioci!  ])roperty  of  tlie  city  is  now  estimated  at  over  31''>0,0UU  ; 
there  arc  over  forty  teachers  engaged  in  the  work  of  tuition,  and 
the  average  attendance  is  nearly  two  thousand  five  hundred,  whicli, 
when  considered  in  addition  to  tlie  numbers  taught  in  the  several 
private  institutions,  leave  a  small  margin  for  the  entirely  untaught. 
The  Indiana  state  agricultural  college,  more  frequently  spoken  of 
as  "  the  Purdue  University,"  in  consequence  of  the  liberality  of  a 
citi;icn  wlio  gave  §200,000,  in  money  and  lands,  toward  the  endow- 
ment of  the  institution,  is  one  of  the  most  creditable  organizations 
in  the  state.  Tlie  county  is  one  of  the  best  agricultural  regions  in 
Indiana,  and  it  seems  peculiarly  appropriate  that  the  college 
which  is  destined  to  prepare  3'oung  men  for  the  pursuits  of  the 
farmer  should  be  here  located.  Full}'  half  a  million  dollars  and 
a  large  endowment  of  land,  besides  buildings,  form  the  basis  upon 
which  the  university  starts  into  usefulness,  and  the  outcome  of 
such  wise  expenditure  cau  hardly  be  doubtful,  as  long  as  seed 
time  supposes  harvest. 

Teuke  Haute  is  the  scat  of  justice  for  Vigo  county,  and  it 
stands  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Wabash  river,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  about  twenty-eight  thousand,  the  latest  census  bearing 
date  in  1870,  showing  a  total  of  more  than  sixteen  thousand. 
The  city  is  handsomely  laid  out  on  land  somewhat  higher  than 
the  surrounding  prairie  and  full}'  sixty  feet  above  the  low  water 
level  of  the  "Wabash.  The  prairie  which  adjoins  the  site  of  the 
city  is  very  beautiful  in  point  of  scenic  effect,  and  its  fertility  has 
passed  into  a  proverb.  The  city  was  first  laid  out  in  181G,  and 
settlement  commenced  immediately  afterwards.  The  county  seat 
was  located  here  in  1818,  a  large  donation  of  town  lots  having 
been  given  to  the  county  in  consideration  of  that  advantage,  and 
things  looked  well  for  the  young  settlement  until  tlie  river  sud- 
denly fell  in  1820,  the  wells  failed,  and  sickness  became  almost 
universal.  For  nearly  seventeen  years  the  hygienic  reputation  of 
Terrc  Haute  continued  at  a  very  low  ebb,  but  the  drainage  works 
carried  out  in  the  year  1837  gave  a  new  status  to  the  city.  The 
first  court  house,  erected  in  1821,  continued  in  use  until  1866, 
when  the  present  building  was  first  occupied  and  still  remains  an 


Piiixcii'AL  Cities  of  Isdiana. 


427 


ornament  to  the  count)-  .seat.  The  log  huts  wliich  were  the  only 
habitations  of  the  original  Terre  JIaute,  wouh!  be  a  very  mai'kcil 
contrast  with  the  elegant  buildings  now  standing  on  the  same  site, 
but  pioneers  learn  to  be  very  carele.'^s  about  appearances  when 
essentials  are  provided.  The  residences  of  the  men  who  are  now 
building  up  the  wealth  of  Terre  Haute  are  among  the  most  com- 
fortable looking  and  in  some  cases  handsom.c,  that  can  be  found 
in  any  town  of  its  si/ce  in  the  state.  Most  of  tho.-;c  luxurious 
homes  are  located  on  grounds  sufficiently  extensive  to  allow  of 
shrubbe"'  '.  and  ornamental  trees,  croquet  grounds  are  all  but  in- 
dispen.s '.  ;  .djuncts,  and  the  heroines  of  the  mallet  and  ball  iu 
the  suburbs  of  Terre  Haute  can  aiive  odds  to  most  male  players 
of  the  healthful  game.  The  munc  of  the  city,  Terre  Haute 
(High  Land),  would  carry  the  reader  back  to  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  some  doubtful  settlement  by  the  French,  but  the 
fact  is  unquestionable  that  there  was  no  settlement  here  until  long 
after  France,  in  the  days  of  the  first  Napoleon,  had  sold  its  last 
acre  of  American  possessions  to  the  United  States.  The  high 
land,  upon  which  the  city  is  built,  is  laid  out  in  rectangular  streets 
and  blocks,  and  along  the  principal  streets  wdiich  are  wide  and 
Well  graded,  there  are  umbrageous  lines  of  shade  trees  which  add 
greatly  to  the  summer  beauty  and  comfort  of  the  scene.  The 
town  hall  is  a  very  neat  structure,  and  it  is  used  for  city  busi- 
ness of  all  kinds,  more  especially  it  is  the  center  to  which  local 
politicians  crowd  when  the  mayor  and  council  have  to  be  re- 
elected, or  ]'eplaccd,  or  when  some  of  the  many  questions  which 
periodicall}''  arise  in  every  community,  just  as  whooping  cough, 
measles  and  croup  affect  children,  come  up  to  be  discu-ssed  with 
manifold  words,  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  the  wisdom  of  the  dispu- 
tants. There  is  a  fine  bridge  over  the  Wabash  at  this  point,  the 
traflTic  over  which  fully  justifies  the  expenditure  incurred  in  its 
erection,  and  as  the  city  grows  into  amj)lcr  proportions,  with  the 
fuller  development  of  the  contiguous  coal  mines,  and  the  manu- 
facture of  iron  from  the  abund;'it  ores  which  invite  hi. man  labor, 
the  bridge  will  be  an  always  improving  public  convenience. 
There  are  excellent  stone  quarries  near  at  hand,  where  building 
materials  of  the  best  kind  can  be  procured,  and  in  some  of  these 
exposures  the  manufacture  of  quick  lime  will   oecome  a  large 


;  I 


428 


Tl'TTLIj's   CkKTEXSIAL   XoitTIIWEST. 


1 


source  of  profit.     Tlic  AVabash  and  Erie  canal  gives  to  tlie  city 
nil  the  opportunities  desired   for  the  transport  of  heavy  freight, 
and  it  is  also  the  i^nnthcrn  terniiims  of  the  Evansville,  Terre 
Haute  and  Chicago  Kailroad,  tlic  nortlicrn  terminus  of  the  Evans- 
ville and  Crawfordsville  Euilruad,  having  stations  on  the  Indian- 
apolis and  St.'  Louis,  and  on  the  St.  Louis,  Yandalia,  Terre  ILiutc 
and   Indianapolis  Railroads,  b}'  virtue  of  which   it  enjoys  all  the 
shipping  facilities  tliat  a  growing  center  of  mining  and  manufac- 
tures, in  the  midst  of  a  rieli  and  p'>[)ulous  agricultural  communi- 
ty, can  de.^irc.     To  do  full  justice  ii  tlie  number  and  value  of  the 
manufacturing,  mining  and  farming  interests  in  and  around  the 
city  of  Terre  Uaute  would  convert  our  book  into  a  catalogue 
and  an  allliction  to  the  general  reader,  in  whose  interests  we  pause 
at  this  poini  with  a  merely  cursory  recognition  of  their  value  and 
importance.       There  are    nine   news})apers   i)ublished   in   Terre 
Haute,  three  of  which  are  dailies  and  weeklies,  and  all  the  papers 
are  woi-thy  of  support  from  tlie  parties  represented.     Tlie  growth 
of  the  city,  within  the  past  twelve  year.s,  has  been  stupendous. 
At  that  date  the  place  was  supposed  to  be  full  grown ;  it  had  at- 
tained and  it  held  the  distinction  of  representing  the  interests  of 
the  county  ;   it  was  a  shipping  point  much  favored  by  agricul'u- 
rists,  and  the  local  trade  transacted  was  large  and  profitable,  but 
the  advent  of  railroads,  the  opening  of  now  mines,  the  establish- 
ment of  blast  furnaces,  and  the  consequent  expansion  of  com- 
merce, so  completely  changed  the  aspect  of  alTairs  that  the  oldest 
inhabitant,  could  he  rise  from  his  long  sleep,  would  hardly  recog- 
nize his  old  homestead  or  tlic  place  on  whicli  it  was  originally 
built.     The  manufacturer  is  the  great  benefactor  to  Terre  Haute, 
because  he  gives  joy  to  every  household,  the  members  of  wh.ich 
arc  employed  in  fabricating  his  f-irtunc.     The  biast  furnaces,  with 
their  caiiacity  for  sixty  tons  of  iron   daily,  and  the  rolling  mills 
which  deal  with  the  same  iiiaterial,  increasing  the  valui'  of  the 
export  by  every  expenditure  in  skilled  labor,  arc  lighting  fires  by 
innumerable   hearths,   in  the    light  of    which   chil;l;-en   will  be 
taught  the  law  of  loving  obedience,  and  nicn  will  learn  that  the 
capitalist  and  the  workman  are  bound  tcgether  in   an  alliaT>ee 
which  is  essential  to  the  welfare  of  both  parties  and  to  that  of  so- 
ciety at  large.     The  greatest  trading  houses  in  the  union  have 


•^ser-rc 


r 


m 


PnixcTPiL  Cities  of  IxDiAy.i. 


429 


their  representatives  on  this  spot,  uiid  an  urncnint  of  wholesale 
business  is  effected  here  v/hieh  mui\es  Terre  If.;iuU5  metropolitan 
for  a  large  section  of  country,  and  gives  a  higl  tone  to  llie  coni- 
inunity  generally.  Tho  water  works,  which  have  been  constructed 
to  supply  the  city,  deliver  three  millions  of  gallons  daily.  That 
fact  alone,  without  refeicncc  to  any  other  item  in  the  record  of 
progress,  would  show  to  the  ea[)ablc  observer  that  a  great  and 
wise  community  is  here  located,  preparing  to  enjoy  life  and  to 
guard  its  privileges. 

The  State  Normal  School  is  located  at  Terrc  Haute,  and  the 
management  of  that  institution  is  an  earnest  that  the  educational 
interests  of  *he  rising  generation  will  be  in  good  hands  for  many 
years  to  come.  There  is  room  in  the  establishment  for  one  thou- 
sand pupils,  and  the  number  customarily  in  training  comes  very 
near  filling  the  bill  for  which  the  state  provides.  Tlic  shipping 
of  pork  and  grain,  and  iron  and  fiour,  and  the  manufacture  of 
nails  are  of  great  moment,  but  the  true  test  of  the  progress  made 
by  a  nation  is  the  care  bestowed  upon  the  liighest  form  of 
wealth — ^  humanity  itself  —  hence  the  school  is  the  proof  of  social 
advancement.  "The  Terre  Haute  School  of  Industrial  Sciences" 
is  a  new  form  of  intellectual  enterprise  to  which  a  citizen  of  no- 
ble aspirations  is  devoting  a  fortune  and  a  life.  The  sciences 
thus  to  be  applied  to  the  business  of  life  will  become  ten  times 
more  iiujiortant  'n  such  connec'  ion,  and  the  men  and  ^-omcn  who 
thus  procure  an  insight  into  the  arcana  of  nature  will  become 
better  and  more  profitable  nif^mbers  of  society  ever  aftei'.  The 
schools  and  churches  in  tins  'ity  are  well  ndniinistered  and  sup- 
ported, and  the  schools  are  excellently  graded  and  taught. 


'^m 


mml 


i!ll  J^IP' 


1^1  Hi ; 


ins  *!■; 


480 


TuTTLifs  Ci:sri:xsiAL  NourinvEST. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  ILLINOIS. 

Springfield  —  Chicago  —  Quiiify  —  Peoria —  Galena. 

Fl'KlXGi'MELD.  — Thi,^  city  is  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Illinois, 
and,  in  commercial  importance,  wealth  and  population,  it  stands 
fourth  in  its  list  of  cities.  Springfield  is  the  seat  of  administra- 
tion for  Sangamon  county,  and  it  stands  about  three  miles  .south 
of  Sangamon  river,  very  near  the  geographical  center  of  the  state, 
uitety-five  miles  from  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  one  hundred  and 
eighty-five  miles  from  Chicago,  tlic  metropolis,  not  only  of  lUi- 
noi.s,  but  of  the  great  Northwest.  Springfield  stands  in  the  cen- 
ter of  a  very  fertile  country,  largely  improved  and  very  product- 
ive, to  which  it  is  the  port  of  shipment  and  market,  and  from 
that  source  a  very  considerable  local  trade  arises  ;  but  there  arc 
other  circumstimces  which  still  more  eiFcctually  build  uj)  the 
greatness  of  the  state  capital.  Tlie  city  is  laid  out  rectangularly 
on  the  plain  of  a  vast  prairie,  which  extends  in  every  direction, 
and  tlie  buildings,  public  as  well  as  private,  are  of  a  very  high 
order.  The  streets  wide  and  straight,  adorned  with  shade  trees, 
and  lending  to  residences  which  stand  in  the  midst  of  .shubberics. 
with  the  bloom  of  the  choice,«l  plants,  in  their  respective  seasons, 
making  the  air  delicious,  have  procured  for  Springfield  the  title  of 
'•  The  City  of  Flower.'?.''  The  houses  in  which  the  principal  citi- 
zriis  reside  are  showy  and  substantial,  betokening  much  wealth 
and  a  generous*  desire  to  muke  the  whole  world  aware  of  that  fact. 
The  business  premises  are  of  a  character  indicating  much  profitable 
trade,  and  the  tone  of  the  cornmunity  is  unquestionably  high. 
Springfield  became  the  state  caj)ital  in  the  year  1840,  and  the 
capitol  building,  since  erected,  is  often  referred  to  as  a  model  of 
architectural  beauty.  The  edifice  stands  in  an  enclosure  of  about 
three  acres  in  the  center  of  the  city,  profusely  adorned  with  lree.«, 
which,  in  the  leafy  season,  partially  embower  the  su]icrb  outlines 
of  the  State  House  and  legislative  chambers.     h\   this   building 


mmimm 


Pjaxrii'AL  CiTiKS  OF  Tllixois, 


431 


I 


Abraliam  Lincoln,  then  a  young  lawyer,  first  met  Stephen  A. 
Donglas,  popularly-  known  as"M'hc  Little  Giant,"  long  before 
either  of  tlicni  thought  that  the  events  arising  out  of  the  "  Le- 
coin{)ton  corupromise"  would  concentrate  the  attention  of  the 
whole  union  upon  their  utterances.  At  that  time  the  slave  power 
was  unbroken  and  apparently  impregnable.  Tlie  Whig  party 
dared  not  approach  the  great  question,  which  more  or  less  agi- 
tated every  heart ;  the  Democrats  were  masters  of  the  situation ; 
the  right  of  j^etitic-n  was  denied,  so  far  as  the  peculiar  institution 
of  the  south  was  concerned,  and  it  was  even  forbidden  by  con- 
gress that  matter  I'eferring  to  the  abolition  of  slavery  should  be 
sent  through  the  post  ofTiec. 

The  young  giant,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  a  man  of  fir  '  -  ::'..ss 
talents  and  attainments,  speedily  became  the  idol  of  me  I' :'  ■ 
cratic  party  in  Illinois,  and  his  interests  were  safe  in  t.icii  .a  .  ' 
There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  was  not  thoroughly  conscien- 
tious and  in  earnest  in  the  course  which  he  pursued  in  identifying 
himself  with  that  body  of  politicians  ;  as  the  mass  of  men,  even 
the  mass  of  talented  men,  do  not  reason  from  first  principles  to 
their  convictions,  b.it  having  allowed  thenisolves  to  be  swayed  by 
feeling  and  sympathy  with  their  surroundings,  to  the  adoption 
and  declaration  of  certain  views,  they  are,  from  that  moment, 
bound,  with  very  rare  exceptions,  to  the  maintenance  of  the  .shib- 
holdh  of  their  party,  as  much  as  the  soldier  is  held  by  his  cspril  <k 
corps  to  the  defense  of  his  flag,  and  to  that  end  he  devotes  e\ery 
energy  of  body  and  mind,  dying  in  the  breach,  if  need  arises, 
rather  than  falt(M-  in  the  duty  once  assumed.  Ralph  Waldo  Em- 
erson say-  that  "  consistency  is  the  bugbear  of  weak  minds,"  and 
he  is  right  when  his  prineii*le  is  applied  to  the  speeulr.tio.^s  of 
the  scientist  and  philosopher.  The  di.scovery  of  the  circulation  of 
the  blood,  by  Harvey,  or,  rather,  ^he  rediscovery  by  hini  of  a  fact 
well  understood  two  thousanc  years  before,  rendered  it  impossible 
for  any  sane  man,  acquainted  with  his  deinon.-tnUion,  to  hold  to 
the  erronecKis  ideas  of  the  past.  In  preci.sely  the  same  way,  lacts 
and  opinions  must  continue  to  be  dealt  with,  as  long  as  this  green 
earth  fndures  ;  but  when  the  movements  of  political  life  are  ap- 
proached, in  a  country  where  party  government  prevails,  there 
must  be  greater  fixity  in  the  views  of  partisans  and  leaders,  every 


432 


Tittle's  Ce}!tksnhl  Nohtiiwest. 


I 


i 


Ml; 

1 ! 
I 


man  sacrificing  something  of  liis  })liilo.'<o{)liical  frccJom  in  order  to 
secure  unity,  without  which  power  is  inipossible.  Expediency 
becomes  tlie  recognized  rule  where  absolute  truth  is  impossible, 
and  where  material  advancement  can  be  secured  for  a  whole  peo- 
ple by  the  temporary  abnegation  of  a  course  assumed  to  be  theo- 
retically right.  The  two  men  meeting  in  the  legislature  at  Spring- 
field, one  of  them  so  poor  and  courageous  that  lie  walked  the  dis- 
tance from  his  home  to  the  capital  of  the  state,  represented  the 
two  principles  of  conservatism  and  ijrogress;  the  latter  being  the 
highest  conservatism  known  to  the  world.  Wealth,  almost  with- 
out an  effort,  came  to  the  one,  and  he  looked  the  embodiment  of 
intellectual  resources  and  intrepidity  ;  to  the  other  there  was 
alloted  a  life  of  such  cilort  as  the  world  has  seldoni  seen,  crowned 
',vitk  a  success  which  will  never  be  surpassed.  The  whig  party, 
unable  to  expand  sudieiently  to  embrace  the  views  of  the  most 
advanced  thinkers  in  its  own  ranks,  was  to  be  rent  into  fragments 
and  cast  aside  before  the  day  of  battle,  and  all  save  a  very  few  of 
the  old  organi;iation,  with  many  who  had  never  trained  in  any  po- 
litical party  before,  joined  to  make  up  the  republican  force,  which 
soon  won  to  its  support  the  j^trongth  of  the  whole  population. 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  one  of  the  new  birth  in  that  era  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  union,  but  so  doubtful  were  many  good  men  as  to 
the  outcome  of  his  candidature  for  the  presidency,  that  when  the 
vote  was  taken  whicli  transferred  the  gtvatesl  man  in  America 
from  his  comparatively  humble  resideiveand  the  cares  of  his  pro- 
fession to  the  White  House  at  Washington,  there  were  only  three 
ministers  of  the  gospel  in  the  city  where  Abraham  Lincoln  lived 
that  cast  their  votes  for  his  electron.  His  abilities  were  no  longer 
doubtful,  for  he  had  been  seen  and  heard,  not  onl}-  pleading  the 
causes  of  his  clients  in  the  courts,  -where  he  had  habitually  prac- 
ticed his  profession  ;  not  onl}-  in  the  legislature  of  his  adopted 
state,  where  he  had  served  during  many  sessions;  not  only  in  the 
capitol  at  Washington,  where  he  had  held  his  own  among  the 
foremost  in  the  land,  and  in  New  York,  where  an  oration  prepared 
by  him  had  won  the  plaudits  of  all  hearers,  but  he  had  stamped 
himself  as  a  man  of  supremo  intelloetual  force  by  his  debates  be- 
fore the  public  with  Mr.  Douglas.  Stephen  A.  Douglas  had  a 
noble  ambition,  and  he  was  playing  for  the  best  attainment  of  hia 


PiiisrwAL  Cities  of  Tllisois. 


433 


>g- 


cnrcor  witli  all  llie  powers  of  the  logician,  tlio  tmitorand  tlio  ilotn- 
iigogue.  His  manner  upon  the  ])latfurin  was  superb,  and  he  was 
Kuppcrtcd  by  the  most  efTective  organization  in  llie  country,  wit'.i 
a  wide  hiliUnle  in  tlic  statement  of  his  views,  proviiled  lie  couhl 
win  success  on  the  great  issue  to  whicli  the  party  of  the  slave 
owners  and  tlieir  friends  were  committed,  by  interest  as  well  as  by 
]>assi(jn.  Abraliiisn  Lincoln,  as  ambitious  as  his  opponent,  and,  as 
events  proved,  much  better  able  to  read  the  future,  had  none  of 
the  grace  which  adorned  his  rival.  AVhen  Mr.  Douglas  had  fin- 
ished his  oration,  covering  many  artfully  prepared  pitfalls  for 
the  advocate  of  the  other  side,  the  plain,  shrewd  face  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  his  somewhat  awkward  figure,  as  he  came  down  to 
the  front  of  the  platform,  suggested  many  doubts  to  the  friends  of 
the  republican  party,  whether  he  was  not  overweighted  in  the 
race.  The  ancients  valued  as  the  hii^hcst  art  that  which  concealed 
the  fact  of  art  having  been  emploj'cd,  when  they  said  :  "  Ars  est 
celare  artan.'^  There  was  no  appearance  of  art,  or  art  culture,  in 
the  man  about  to  speak.  Ilis  words  were  simple,  and  at  times 
almost  hesitating.  Men  wi.shed  to  sec  him  win,  but  they  could 
see  no  probability;  and  while  they  were  still  debating  the  possi- 
bilities in  their  minds,  they  were  aroused  from  doubting  to  dis- 
cover that  the  speaker  was  a  giant,  and  they  had  entertained  an 
angel  unawares.  Never  was  such  a  transformation  seen  as  that 
which  they  were  enabled  to  realize.  That  face  was  no  longer 
plain,  it  was  beautiful  with  the  light  of  intellect,  and  irradiated 
with  moral  force  until  tlie  man  was  irresistible.  Every  pitfall 
was  nvnided  with  unfailing  skill ;  every  question  was  handled 
as  by  a  man  who  had  been  nurtured  in  the  schools  and  then 
trained  by  contact  with  the  earth's  wi.'^cst  .sons,  in  the  great  arena 
of  societv,  and  the  same  spirit  which  said,  "  Is  not  this  the  carpen- 
ter's son  ?  "  made  it  difiicult  to  lieliove  that  the  orator  of  the  occa- 
sion had  Ppojit  but  one  year  in  a  poor  academy,  away  from  inter- 
Cditlsn  wllli  liniil^H  linlli  ho  wiifi  far  on  t  iwards  manhood.  The 
rnil^:|ilillci',  thi'  fiil'lM  hiborcr,  the  boatman  and  boat  builder,  the 
store  clei'k,  the  soldier  on  the  frontier,  the  student  using  his  every 
moment  of  leisure,  the  lawyer,  careful  to  discriminate  between, 
riidit  and  wrouLf  before  takincc  his  fee,  the  friend  who  never  failed 
in  an  emergency,  the  man  of  deep  religious  instincts,  who  sought, 
S8 


)f" 


434 


TvTTLi-fti  CESTEyyfM.  XunTinrh'sT. 


h  .1 


r 


•r 


boyoiul  all  else,  to  be  on  the  sido  of  God  and  of  justice,  stood 
tlioro  pleading  for  the  right  can.se,  and  it  was  natural  that  lii.s 
face  and  figure  should  be  transformed  "into  something  new 
and  strange,"  such  as  could  not  fail  to  caiitivate  !;is  hearers. 
Long  after  this,  when  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  broken  by  the  de- 
fection of  the  men  and  the  party  lor  which  he  had  ftpont  bis 
time  and  talents,  was  drawing  near  bis  end,  when  the  inevita- 
ble rebellion  was  far  on  toward  its  terrible  outburst,  the  two  law- 
yers met  again,  this  time  in  the  White  House,  where  one  sat  as 
president  of  the  imperiled  union,  and  the  other  came  as  a  friendly 
counselor,  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  the  land.  They  were  able 
to  do  justice  to  each  other,  for  they  were  great  men,  and  the  state 
and  the  city  in  which  they  were  mainly  developed  may  well  take 
pride  in  their  talents  and  their  strength.  Springfield  is  very  j)roud 
of  having  been  the  residence  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  until  his  official 
duties  called  him  to  a  more  troubled  career  and  a  martyr's  death 
elsewhere,  and  when  visitors  desire  to  see  "the  lions  "of  that  city 
they  arc  certain  to  include  in  their  round  of  visits  the  picturesque 
cemetery  of  Oak  Ridge,  where  the  dust  of  the  patriot  statesman 
lies  bui'ied,  about  two  miles  from  the  capitol,  in  which  he  served 
his  first  legislative  session. 

On  the  streets  facing  and  surrounding  the  capitol,  the  various 
public  buildings  of  the  city,  county  and  state,  have  been  erected. 
The  court  house  is  very  handsome,  but,  as  "Mvs.  Afnlaprop  sa3's, 
"  comparishmcnts  are  odorous,"  and  the  beauty  of  the  smaller 
structure  suffers  from  its  nearness  to  the  more  splendid  neighbor. 
The  state  arsenal  is  in  the  same  localit\-,  and  there  arc  many 
other  buildings  which  would  well  rcpa}'  deserijition,  but  we  have 
given  so  much  attention  to  men  that  their  buildings  can  have  lit- 
tle other  than  cursory  mention.  The  L^nited  States  custom  house 
and  the  court  house  are  together.  The  high  school  is  a  com- 
manding structure.  There  arc  numerous  cluirches  and  several 
•ward  schools,  besides  many  private  academies,  and  most  of  the 
churches  arc  beautiful  edifices  in  their  several  order.s.  The  Illi- 
nois vStatc  University  is  located  here,  and  tha  reputation  of  that 
home  of  learning  has  already  extended  far  beyond  the  state  in 
which  it  stand.s.  The  building  is  commodious  and  elegant,  with 
every  convenience  for  the  wide  range  of  studies  proper  to  an  in- 


I' in  sew. II.  CiTii:s  or  li.i.isois. 


435 


stitution  of  its  class.  Tlic  city  is  well  lit  with  gas;  tlic  liotola 
arc  largo  ami  most  of  tliein  very  well  coiuluctcd  ;  the  supply  of 
water  is  ample,  and  the  railroad  cominuiiicatioiiH  arc  cxeelleiit. 
Tlie  Cliieagt)  and  Alton  Railroad  is  liorc  crossed  by  tlio  Toledo, 
Wabash  and  Westei'n,  and  the  Spriiigdeld  and  Illinois  South- 
eastern Hailioad.  The  terminus  of  the  Springfield  and  North- 
western Railroad  is  located  here,  and  so  is  the  Southwestern  ter- 
rninns  of  the  Gilinan  and  Clinton  Railroad.  The  Toledo,  AVa- 
bash  and  Western  Ilailroad  Company  has  here  very  extensive 
workshops,  employing  i\  largo  number  of  hands,  and  tlic  Spring- 
field watch  man u fact ui'ing  company  in  the  same  locality  have 
extensive  busines.s  premises.  Woolen  mills,  flouring  mills,  the 
manufacture  of  iron  ware,  and  the  possibilities  arising  out  of  ex- 
tensive coal  beds,  will  give  to  the  city  a  great  futare  as  an  indus- 
trial center.  The  population  of  Springfield  is  now  variously  es- 
timated, but  it  seems  probable  that  ic  does  not  exceed  tv.'enty- 
two  thousand.  The  first  settlement  dates  from  the  year  1819,  but 
the  city  was  not  laid  out  until  three  years  later,  and  when  the  .set- 
tlement had  attained  its  majority  in  the  year  1810,  at  the  time 
when  the  capitol  was  located  here,  the  population  was  only  about 
two  thousand,  six  hundred.  In  the  year  1850,  the  number  had 
increased  to  four  thousand,  five  hundred,  the  succeeding  decade 
bringing  the  population  up  to  nine  thou.'^and  and  three  hundred, 
the  latest  census  in  the  year  1870  showing  about  seventeen  thou- 
.sand  and  four  hundred.  There  arc  ten  ncvvspai")ers  published  in 
the  cit}',  two  of  them  dailies,  and  during  the  sessions  of  the  legis- 
lature the  skill  and  energy  witli  wliich  they  arc  conducted  augur 
well  for  the  intellectual  statu.'-  of  ;'-.)"inff field. 


Chicago.  —  More  than  two  hmi  !red  years  ago,  James  Mar- 
quette, a  Jesuit  missionary,  bettci'  known  as  Father  Marquette, 
landed  on  the  site  of  Chicago,  the  city  now  known  as  the  metrop- 
olis of  the  northwest  and  fifth  in  rank  in  the  union.  Chicago  is 
the  seat  of  justice  for  Cook  county,  Illinois,  and  it  stands  on  the 
western  side  of  Lake  Michigan;  where  the  Chicago  river  used 
sluggishly  to  find  its  way  to  the  lake,  between  low  banks  of 
black  mud.  There  is  no  beauty  in  the  Chicago  river,  but  its 
utility  may  be  allowed  to  have  made  ample  amends  in  that  re- 


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WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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436 


TuTTLhfs  Centennial  XoirmwEST. 


spect.     Of  that  feature,  wc  shall  have  occasion  Id  speak  hereafter. 
The  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan  is  about  thirty  miles  from 
Chicago,  and  for  many  miles  tliere  is  no  harbor  to  be  found  ex- 
cept the  shelter  which  is  afordcd  by  the  mouth  of  the  river.     In 
the  year  1G72,  there  was  a  map  published  in  I'ari.s,  which  gives  a 
tolerably  accurate  description  of    Lake  Superior,  ai  d  the   sui'- 
rounding  country,  the  knowledge  so  embodied  being  supplied  by 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  many  members  of  which ,  body  were   long 
before  that  time  engaged  on  missions  in  that  region.     Tlie  upper 
part  of  Lake  Michigan  had  been  explored  by  them,  but  it  re- 
mained for  ]'\uher  Marfjucttc  to  prosecute  the  further  researches, 
which  resulted  in  his  being  probably  the  first  white  man  to  land 
on  the  site  of  Chicago.     Father  Marquette  was  connected  witli 
the  Jesuit  mission  at  St.  Tgnace,  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan, near  its  outlet,  very  nearly  opjiosite  Mackinac.     There  were 
three  other  principal   missions,  besides  several  minor  posts  and 
the  worthy  brethren  had   many  ojiportunities  to  procure  informa- 
tion from  the  better  informed  Indians,  as  to  the  country  bounding 
the  lakes.     In  the  month  of  May,  1673,  the   worthy  Padre  com- 
menced a  voyage,  his  command  consisting  of  two  canoes  and  live 
Frcncli  boatmen,  roi/dijcnrs,  and  his  course   lying  llrst  along  the 
margin  of  Green  Bay,  then  up  the  Fox  river,  and  after  a  portage 
of  about  one  mile,  descending  the  AVisconsin   to  the  Missi.ssi]>|)i 
the  great  Father  of  Waters.     The  man  that  swallowed  the   first 
oyster  is  commonly  reputed  to  have   been  very  brave,   but  the 
priest  that  dared  venture  with   an  expedition   so  small  over  un- 
known waters  in  an  unknown  land   at  the  ri.sk  of  losing  tonsure 
and  scalp,  mu.st  have  been   at  least  as  brave.     Along  the  Missis- 
sij)pi,  Father  Manpiettc  went  as  far  south  as  Arkansas,  and  re- 
turning, he  ascended  tliC  river  Illinois,  taking  the  Pes  I'laines 
branch,  from  whence,  b}-  a  second  portage,  his  flotilla   passed  to 
tlic  Chicago  river,  rcacliing  Lake  ^Michigan  once   more,  after  a 
voyage  inconvenient  in   many  respects,  if  not  perilous,  in  canoes, 
over  a  distance  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  miles.     The  priest 
had  been  in  communication  with   many  tribes  of  Indians  during 
his  excursion,  and  generally  they  hail  imprcs.sed  him  so  favorably 
that  late  in  the  autumn  of  the  following  year,  he  started  ujMm  a 
missionary  enterprise  which  ended  with  his  life  in  May,  1075, 


^^segjipan  I'-Jiiw 


PiiixciPAL  CiTiicn  OP'  Illinois. 


437 


The  Chicago  river,  by  which  the  good  man  returned  to  Lake 
Micliigitii,  in  lG7u,  was  now  his  point  of  departure,  and  having 
with  liis  canoe  and  two  boatmen,  or  voj/ufjcurii,  proceeded  about 
six  miles  up  the  stream,  a  halt  was  made  for  the  winter,  a  hut 
liaving  been  erected  for  his  use.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  pro- 
curing game  at  that  time  anywliere  near  the  "  Chekagou,"  as  the 
river  was  then  named  and  .spelled  ;  turkeys,  deer  and  buffalo,  with 
endless  varieties  of  riinaller  animahs,  could  be  shot  without  the 
trouble  of  going  further  than  the  door  of  the  primitive  dwelling. 
Thus  Father  ^farquctte  was  the  first  white  settler  in  Chicago,  and 
his  stay  lasted  through  the  winter  of  1674-5,  more  than  two  hun- 
dred years  ago.  Kej>eutedly  after  that  the  Chic.igo  river  was 
used  by  La  Salle  and  his  followers,  i)assing  by  the  portage  before 
mentiiincd  to  the  Mississippi  river,  but  no  one  was  tempted  to 
land  on  the  black  ooze  which  forms  the  basis  of  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago. Notably  there  was  an  expedition  in  1G70,  and  in  1(381, 
Baron  La  Salle  again  passed  from  Lake  Michigan  up  the  Chicago 
to  the  Iilin(jis  river,  descending  thence  to  the  river  Mi.ssissippi, 
but  La  Salle's  colony  on  the  Illinois  contained  no  man  possessed 
of  the  idea  that  Chicago  would  be  a  good  place  to  build  up  a  set- 
tlement and  a  fortune. 

In  the  year  17G2,  under  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  Fon- 
tainbleau,  between  England  and  France,  the  territory  became  an 
English  possession,  and  under  the  declaration  of  independence, 
July  -1,  1770,  the  ITnited  States  of  America  became  the  sovereign 
power.  The  importance  of  this  point  as  a  trading  post,  induced 
the  government  to  establish  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago 
river  in  the  year  1804,  but  in  the  hostilities  fomented  among  the 
Indians  by  the  British  government  iu  1812,  Fort  Dearborn  was 
surrendered,  and  the  brave  com[)any  of  defenders  were  nearly  all 
murdered  in  an  Indian  ambuscade  about  two  miles  from  the 
abandoned  post.  Three  men  escaped  through  terrible  hardships 
t.)  tell  the  story  of  their  comrades'  fate.  The  fort  was  rebuilt  in 
1810,  and  strongly  garrisoned ;  but  sixteen  years  elapsed  after 
tliat  time  before  the  termination  of  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and 
the  purchase  treaty  innnediately  ensuing,  threw  the  country  open 
to  .settlement.  Northern  Illinois  and  .southern  Wisconsin  did  not 
attract  a  great  tide  of  settlement  for  many  years.      There  was  a 


i     It  („!« 


\im 


438 


Tuttle's  CexteniVial  Northwest. 


small  village  clustering  around  Fort,  Dearborn,  and  that  com- 
munity was  known  as  Chicago,  but  so  small  was  tlic  producing 
power  of  the  settlers,  that  until  the  year  1837,  and  in  that  year, 
the  supj)lies  of  flour  came  from  the  state  of  Ohio.  In  the  year 
1839,  the  juvenile  city  had  got  beyond  the  point  of  being  self- 
supporti'ng  in  the  matter  of  grain,  as  we  find  a  record  of  a  ship- 
ment of  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-eight  bushels  of 
W'lieat.  The  population  of  the  place  commenced  now  to  increase 
rapidly.  In  the  year  following  tlie  first  shipment  of  grain,  there 
Aveie  four  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy  souls  in  Chicago  ; 
in  ten  years  that  number  had  become  twenty-eight  thousand,  the 
next  decade  saw  an  increase  to  one  hundred  and  six  thousand, 
in  1870,  there  were  nearly  three  hundred  thousand,  and  when  the 
lire  came,  wdiich  might  have  extinguished  a  community  less 
eniiowed  with  vital  energy,  there  were  in  all,  probably,  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  souls  in  the  busy  hive  of  industry, 
which  the  devouring  element,  aided  by  strong  winds,  sought  to 
destroy.  Neither  poet  nor  engineer  would  have  been  attracted  to 
this  spot  by  any  charms  which  could  be  seen  by  the  eye  of  sen.sc, 
but  commerce  came,  saw  and  conquered,  because  the  position 
more  than  atoned  for  every  drawback.  Looking  from  the  lake 
upon  the  site  of  the  present  city,  there  were  first  visible,  ridges 
of  shifting  sand  and  bej'ond  that,  in  an  apparently  endless  range, 
a  kind  of  morass,  supporting  bluejoint  grass,  and  at  rare  inter- 
vals, a  clump  of  oaks  of  the  kind  commonly  known  as  Jack  oaks. 
The  river  i)artly  flowed  into  the  morass,  supplying  pools  oi. 
which  wildfowl  found  \\\q\\:  hahitat^  and  when  the  swamps  could 
hold  no  more  water,  the  remainder  passed  over  the  sandbar  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  into  lake  Michigan.  Within  the  shifting 
sandbar  there  was  deep  water,  but  the  passage  was  seldom  found 
twice  in  the  same  place,  and  outside  there  was  no  shelter  for 
shipping.  Out  of  such  unpromising  materials,  the  city,  harbor 
and  wealth  of  Chicago,  have  been  built  up  by  a  courage  and  an 
enterprise  absolutely  invincible.  When  the  city  was  begun 
upon  the  surface  available  for  building,  it  was  found  impossible 
to  procure  basements  and  cellars,  as  the  water  came  into  every 
cavity  just  as  rapidly  as  it  could  be  made,  and  in  some  places, 
so  unreliable  was  the  land  witluu  the  settled  district,  that  it  was 


PnixciPAL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


439 


3om- 

cing 

year, 

year 

^clf- 

liij)- 

sof 

•ease 

lere 


igo; 


an 


found  neccfsary  to  mark  such  spots  with  a  danger  signal  —  a 
pLacard  on  a  post,  sunk  in  the  ground,  with  the  information,  •'  no 
bottom."  Doubtless,  the  statement  was  an  exaggeration;  there 
must  have  been  bottom  somewhere,  as  there  can  be  no  water  in 
a  bottomless  pit,  but  no  man  at  that  time  hud  ever  found  the 
bottom,  altliough  many  had  floundered  to  considerable  depths.  To 
build  upon  such  land  and  to  reside  there  afterwards  demanded 
some  pluck.  "When  channels  were  cut  by  the  roadside  for 
drainage  purposes,  the  gutters  fdled  at  once,  and  the  surface 
became  coated  with  that  vegetation  which  is  customarily  found 
on  stagnant  pools.  There  was  no  fall  for  the  water  tliat  oozed 
through  the  soil,  and  no  outlet.  Cholera  of  a  terrible  description 
became  rife  in  the  settlement.  Men  were  struck  down  in  a 
moment,  and  there  was  no  help  for  them ;  they  died  by  the  road- 
side, and  strangers  feared  to  approach  them  to  administer  the 
rites  of  burial.  In  the  year  1825,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  state 
legislature  providing  f-^n*  the  formation  of  the  Illinois  and  Mich- 
igan canal  ;  but  eleven  years  elapsed  before  the  work  was  com- 
menced, and  it  was  not  until  1848,  that  it  was  completed.  That 
undertaking  drained  the  pest  house,  and  the  surface  of  the  whole 
region  was  rai.scd  to  the  extent  of  many  feet,  but  even  now,  when 
very  heavy  buildings  are  erected  in  the  metropolis  of  this  state, 
it  is  found  neccs.^ary  to  distribute  the  weight  of  the  superincum- 
bent building  over  as  large  an  area  as  possible.  A  large  public 
building  has  recently  been  arrested  in  the  course  of  erection  in 
consequence  of  alarming  subsidences,  and  the  completion  of  that 
edifice,  which  will  be  proceeded  with  in  the  coming  spring,  will 
be  little  better  than  a  tentrttivc  experiment.  In  Euro[:'i  great 
cities  have  been  drowned  and  preserved  for  more  than  a  tiiOt^jand 
years  in  mud,  while  in  this  country,  mud  is  made  the  foundation 
for  a  n.iglity  emporium  of  commerce. 

Cook  county  was  organized  in  the  year  1831,  and  two  years 
later  there  was  a  congressional  appropriation  of  §30,000  to  im- 
prove the  harbor  by  removing  the  bar,  deepening  the  outlet  and 
generally  affording  protection  to  siiipping.  The  determination  to 
make  Chicago  an  incorporated  town  was  arrived  at  by  a  vote  of 
twelve  persons,  only  one  man  dissenting  from  that  resolution,  and 
in  183-1,  it  was  furth,er  resolved  to  supplement  the  income  of  the  city 


;i;i; 


I  *i 


i 


i  ■  '  t  i 


4-10 


Tuttlk's  C£ntex.\ial  Northwest. 


l)y  a  loan  of  sixty  dollars,  to  be  c  <pcinloi.l  in  iniprovcinciits.  The 
whole  iiiooriic  from  taxation  that  year  was  under  forty-nine  dol- 
lars. The  following  j-car  saw  more  spirited  management  and 
better  prospects,  as  it  was  then  determined  to  procure  a  loan  of 
$2,000  for  improvcnionts.  Chicago  became  a  city  in  1837,  one 
year  after  the  canal  work  was  begun,  and  from  that  day  to  the 
present,  improvements  in  drainage  the  most  stupendous  ever  exe- 
cuted by  any  city  in  the  northwest,  have  been  prosecuted  with 
zeal  and  success,  until  Chicago  can  compare  with  almost  any  city 
of  its  size  in  any  part  of  the  world,  for  the  health  rate  of  its  pop- 
ulation. Tlio  surface  of  the  site  was  raised  eight  feet  in  many 
places,  and  .several  blocks  of  buildings  were  lifted  to  the  new 
level  with  hardly  any  interruption  to  traflic ;  underground  drain- 
age was  carried  out  in  a  complete  form,  cellars  and  basements  be- 
came po.ssible,  and  the  streets,  dry  and  solid,  had  no  longer  sucli 
swamps  and  bogs  as  were  for  a  long  time  dangerous  to  projjcrty 
and  life  in  earlier  Cliicago.  Tiie  site  was  well  worth  the  money 
and  labor  lavishly  expended  on  such  worK''',  as  events  have  proved. 
In  the  year  1810,  a  topograj)hical  survey  was  made  by  Col.  Long, 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  the  river's  mouth  was 
then  at  ^Madison  street  in  the  site  of  the  great  city,  flowing  over 
the  sand  bar  in  a  small  stream  about  forty  feet  wide  and  only  a 
few  inches  deep,  the  bulk  of  the  water  which  now  floats  one  of 
the  largest  mercantile  navies  in  the  world,  being  held  back  by 
that  impediment,  until  the  land  reminded  one  of  the  •'  slough  of 
despond"  in  "Pilgrim's  Progress."  The  pioi  -extends  three  thou- 
sand feet  from  that  point  now,  and  every  northeaster  that  blows 
makes  the  problem  more  complex  as  to  the  distance  that  must  be 
traversed,  and  the  works  that  must  be  accomjjlished,  to  preserve 
an  open  ship  channel  for  the  accommodation  of  lake  oommerce. 
Without  estimating  the  additions  made  by  the  dock  company  on 
the  north  side  along  the  lake  shore,  the  river  and  its  branches 
afford  rather  more  than  fifteen  miles  of  wharfage,  with  a  dock  line 
nearly  eight  feet  above  low  water  mark,  along  the  whole  range  of 
that  business  center  which  was  once  little  better  than  a  morass. 
The  tideless  river  has  become  a  flowing  stream,  and  upon  its 
banks  are  hourly  accumulating  the  best  means  known  to  the 
world  for  receiving  and  dispatching  freights,  which  grgw  with 


^WM 


Prixcipal  Cities  of  Illixois. 


441 


The 

ic  clol- 

t  and 

an  of 

,  ono 

to  tho 


every  added  acre  in  the  settled  and  eultivated  region  of  the  north- 
west. To  [)roeuro  an  immense  supply  of  water,  fitte<l  for  every 
purpose,  sullieiont  to  give  water  power  to  manufactories,  as  well 
as  to  alTord  baths  and  drinking  water,  and  the  stream  for  ouisinc 
operations  to  the  "  upper  ten,'"  without  depriving  the  laundress  of 
lier  means  of  livcliliood,  was  the  next  great  necessity,  and  it 
was  accom[)lished  in  a  masterly  way.  Lake  Michigan  was  the 
base  of  supply,  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  were  almost  as 
badly  off  as  the  "  Ancient  Mariner  "  of  Coleridge  : 

"  Wiiter,  water,  everywhere ! 
And  not  a  drop  to  drink." 

The  old  works  established  on  the  north  side  drew  the  stream  on 
which  the  city  dejiended  from  very  near  the  shore,  and  when  the 
winds  and  currents  chanced  to  be  unfriendly,  sewage,  offal,  and 
filthy  recking  drainage  from  abattoirs  and  distilleries,  with  fish 
living  and  dead,  found  ingress  to  the  pipes,  and  were  just  as  like- 
ly as  not  to  supply  stench  and  death,  instead  of  living  water,  to 
the  consumer.  When  the  strong  northeasterly  breezes  came,  as 
very  frequently  they  did,  the  sands  were  so  violently  churned  by 
"loud  boreas,"  that  the  stream  resembled  a  kind  of  mineral  por- 
ridge, which  would  have  defeated  the  digesting  powers  of  an 
ostrich..  The  idea  which  has  been  carried  into  opera- lon  in  lieu 
of  all  these  disagreeable  contingencies,  draws  the  water  for  the 
supply  of  the  city  from  the  lake,  two  miles  from  the  shore,  and 
the  stream  flows  as  an  underground  river,  through  a  tunnel  five 
feet  two  inches  higl),  by  five  feet  wide.  The  crib  which  supplies 
the  pressure  and  directs  the  stream  into  the  tunnel  is  capable  of 
sending  fifty-seven  millions  of  gallons  daily  to  the  populous  citj', 
where  it  is  conducted  and  forced  by  powerful  macliincry  into  a 
tower  one  hundreil  and  fifty  feet  high,  with  a  cylinder  three  feet 
in  diameter,  after  ascending  and  descending  which  it  is  capable, 
by  its  own  force,  of  supplying  the  highest  building  in  Chicago. 
The  proposition  was  novel,  and  its  execution  has  fully  warranted 
the  promises  of  the  projectors,  and  the  expense  was  only  about 
$2,500,000,  a  mere  bagatelle  to  the  city,  which,  in  1834,  deliber- 
ated long  and  painfully  before  resolving  to  procure  a  loan  of  $60, 
to  expend  in  improvements.  In  the  3'ear  I860,  an  improvement 
was  efTocted  in  the  canal,  which,    at  a  cost  of  $3,000,000,  lowered 


Hi'i    '■       1  ■ 

PI  i      :    \ 

''    ■!.  :i 

■,'  u, 


i  II 


442 


Tuttle's  Ckxtennial  XoRTinVEST. 


the  bed  for  twenty-six  miles,  to  six  feet  below  the  low  water  level 
of  lake  Michigan,  seeuring  ti  stream  of  lake  water  at  all  seasons, 
instead  of  the  ehocolate  colored  abcmination  wliich  had  stagnated 
in  the  channel  for  many  years,  reminding  every  literate  passer  by 
of  the  stench  plagued  city  of  Cologne.  The  canal  now  empties 
itself  into  the  rivers  Dcs  Plaincs  and  Illinois,  and  the  stream  which 
lias  served  its  apprenticeship  to  commerce  in  Chicago  Ihuls  its  way 
to  the  Mississippi,  where  a  still  greater  tide,  serving  the  sumo 
master,  carries  the  argosies  of  a  nation  upon  its  bosom.  The  ca- 
nal bisected  the  city,  and  at  every  second  block,  tlie  stream  nearly 
two  hundred  foet  wide  on  an  average,  is  cro.ssed  by  swing  bridges 
which  alternately  carried  the  traflic  of  the  streets,  and  then  uj)on 
due  warning  turn  round  into  a  line  with  the  canal,  to  permit 
vessels  to  pass  upon  their  way.  The  .sound  of  the  challenging 
steam  whistle,  and  the  warning  bell,  which  caused  pedestrians  and 
equestrians  to  pause  by  the  canal  banks  for  an  indclinite  ])eriod, 
became  so  great  a  nuisance  to  the  harrying  crowd,  that'two  tun- 
nels were  constructed  under  the  canal,  the  first  connecting  the 
west  and  south  portions  of  the  city  at  Washington  street,  the  sec- 
ond connecting  the  north  with  the  south  at  La  Salle  street,  so 
that  the  three  divisions  of  the  vast  city  can  now  remain  in  com- 
munication all  hours  of  the  day  and  night,  irrespective  of  the 
stream  of  commerce  which  flows  above  the  heads  of  the  bustling 
metropolis. 

The  main  streets  were  laid  out  in  the  original  platting  of  Chi- 
cago very  wide  indeed,  vast  boulevards  rather  than  streets.  A 
visitor  from  London,  knowing  something  of  the  "  blocks  "  which 
occur  in  the  streets  of  that  mctropoli-s,  when  traffic  is  arrested  by 
some  accident  in  Fleet  street,  or  near  Temple  Bar,  or  who  re- 
members the  naiTow  rues,  which  used  to  invite  insurrectionary 
gatherings  and  barricades  in  Paris,  before  the  line  Jiiuoli  and 
otiicr  like  improvements  destroyed  such  dangerous  facilities, 
found  in  Cliicago  a  wonderful  extension  upon  old  world  ideas,  in 
such  respects,  and  the  advantage  is  found  now,  when  street  rail- 
ways traverse  the  main  thoroughfares,  and  still  leave  room  for 
four  teams  to  pass,  two  on  cither  side  without  dangerous  crowd- 
ing. Had  the  streets  been  as  narrow  in  Chicago,  when  the  great 
fire  occurred,  as  they  are  now  in  some  of  the  cities  on  the  couti- 


;*.m  i 


i/iryiMiii". 


^m 


PiiixciPAL  Cities  of  Illixois. 


443 


niatcJ 


nent  of  Europe,  where  the  upper  stories  in  the  poorer  quarters 
are  so  close  as  that  men  shake  hands  from  opposite  windows,  tho 
loss  of  life  must  have  been  as  terrific  as  tlie  loss  of  property  in 
that  conflagration  was  stujiendous.  !Nruny  attempts  were  made 
in  the  way  of  street  improvement,  before  the  Nicholson  pave- 
ment was  adopted,  in  and  after  the  year  1856,  aflfording  tho 
cleanest  and  least  noisy  of  all  methods  for  the  transport  of  traffic 
and  travel  through  the  streets  of  a  great  city.  The  device  is  so 
well  understood,  now,  that  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  wooden 
blocks  laid  side  by  side  constitute  the  roadway,  were  it  not  for 
the  desire  to  rescue  from  oblivion,  and  to  hand  down  to  a  remote 
posterity,  the  joke  of  a  profane  newspaper  man,  who  said  on  lhav> 
occasion,  tliat:  "  The  city  fathers  laid  their  heads  together,  and 
made  wooden  pavement  for  Cliicago." 

Up  to  the  year  1870,  the  city  had  extended  until  it  was  six 
miles  long,  and  rather  more  than  three  miles  broad,  but  along  the 
lake  shore  it  was  still  more  rapidly  pushing  its  lines,  and  fully 
ten  miles  of  fi'ontage  were  more  or  loss  populated  from  Hyde 
Park  to  Lake  View.  All  the  spaces  named  had  been  filled  up 
by  gradual  and  rapid  accretions  of  dwellings  and  business  houses. 
Many  cities  live  on  paper  for  years,  before  the  promising  squares 
and  parks  become  more  than  promises,  but  Chicago  could  have  said 
with  "Tojisy  "  that  "she  sposed  shegrowed,"  and  it  was  not  until 
her  gigantic  dimensions  compelled  attention  to  health  and  recre- 
ation, that  parks  and  public  reserves  for  the  several  quartcre  of 
the  city  were  provided  connected  by  avenues  and  boulevards,  such 
as  are  now  found  intersecting  the  thronged  streets  of  the  ever 
widening  city.  The  parks  vvdre  late  in  realization,  but  they  are 
immensely  valuable  to  Chicago  and  it"',  environs. 

Chicago  in  its  earlier  days  was  almost  entirely  built  of  wood. 
There  were  no  quarries  in  the  muddy  banks  of  its  almost  stagnant 
river,  from  which  building  materials  could  be  obtained,  and  con- 
sequently when  the  population  multiplied  itself  by  six  in  every 
ten  years  of  its  early  growth,  and  almost  up  to  the  year  1870, 
still  mnlti])lied  its  total  by  three,  in  every  decade,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  recourse  to  the  j)ineries  of  the  north,  for  lumber, 
with  which  to  house  the  people.  Most  of  the  houses  were  of  a 
very  fragile  structure,  adapted  to  give  the  largest  appearance  with 


,     !.nii,| 


m^^ 

^^^K^ 
■^h;- 

W:M-f 

,  I 


44-1 


TvTTLK's   CkXTKSXIAL  NoitTinfEST. 


the  Icnst  possible  strength  and  capacity  for  comfort.  These  "  bal- 
h)ou  houses  "  were  so  liiiht  tliat  when  better  buildings  \v<>re  de- 
sired, on  the  sites  wliieh  they  occupied,  they  could  be  and  were 
removed  further  afield,  to  give  place  to  other  premises,  a  trillc 
more  substantial,  still  of  wood,  and  considered  as  only  temporary. 
The  city  was  known  as  "shanty  town'' for  many  year.'!.  Per- 
sons were  allowed  to  build  their  valueless  houses  on  the  school 
section  in  the  heart  of  the  city  for  the  consideration  of  a  small 
rental,  tlieir  rooms  were  divided  by  such  partitions  as  would  as- 
sist the  spread  of  a  fire,  the  public  buildings  were  roofed  with 
shingles,  and  even  where  premises  of  a  better  class  had  been 
erected,  they  were  connected  with  other  edifices  of  an  inferior  con- 
struction, without  the  least  regard  to  safety,  and  the  number  and 
extent  of  wooden  coiniees  which  were  everywhere  ai)parent,  in- 
vited the  destroying  element.  It  would  be  difiicult  to  find  any- 
where an  assemblage  of  corporate  officials,  more  entirely  obtuse 
than  tliose  who  made  ready  the  course  for  the  flames  wliich  came 
to  sweep  away  the  good  and  the  bad  together.  Still  it  is  wonder- 
ful, that  such  rapid  growth  should  have  been  so  long  preserved 
from  dire  calamity,  considering  the  .soil  on  which  Chicago  rose, 
the  temptation  to  use  cheap  and  inflammable  materials,  and  the 
recklessness  which  very  generally  manifests  itself  in  young  com- 
munities, brought  together  from  every  point  of  the  compass?. 
While  the  cholera  was  prevalent,  men  had  no  time  to  stop  to  con- 
sider what  kind  of  residences  they  would  occu{)y,  thei'c  was  a 
race  to  escape  immediate  prostration,  and  any  shelter  was  better 
than  none,  in  the  presence  of  death.  Then  came  the  struggle  for 
wealth  wiiicli  for  a  time  kept  men  just  as  oblivious  of  the  value 
of  home  comfort.  Except  in  California,  there  had  been  no  city  so 
rapid  in  its  development,  and  that  speed  rendered  due  care  for 
health  and  safety  almost  an  impossibility. 

In  the  year  1830,  there  was  nothing  on  the  site  of  Chicago  ex- 
cept an  Indian  agenc\',  directed  and  controlled  from  Wa.shington, 
if  directed  and  controlled  at  all,  and  connected  with  that  estab- 
lishment, more  or  less  directly,  there  were  just  seventy  persons 
forming  a  nucleus  out  of  and  around  which  the  city  grew. 
Before  the  fire,  that  number  had  increased  to  more  than  three 
hundred  and  thirty-four  thousand,  within  the  lifetime  of  one  gen- 


uauj-miuiuBjii 


PiiisciPAL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


445 


'se  "  bal- 


erntion,  from  tlic  day  that  settlement  actually  commenced.    There 
had  been  an  uhsurpassable  basis  on  which  to  build  a  city,  refer- 
ring now,  not  to  the  soil  on  which  buildings  were  erected,  but 
having  reference  to  the  position,  as  commanding  shipments  from 
a  broad  area  of  agricultural  lands,  doited  with  farms,  villages,  and 
cities,  stretching  south  and  west  from  Chicago,  and  in  the  main, 
depending  upon  the  city  for  supplies  of  all  kinds,  as  well  as  ex- 
pecting to  find  here  a  market  for  its  variety  and  wealth  of  pro- 
duce.    Froni  this  point  speedy  transportation  was  possible  to  all 
I)arts  of  this  continent  and  to  the  ports  of  Europe,  even  before 
railroads  were  multiplied  as  wo  now  .see  them,  hence  the  proverb, 
"all  roads  lead  to  Home,"  which  dealt  with  a  time  of  universal 
conquest,  during  the  centuries  when   the  Roman  legions  were 
roadmakcrs  as  well  as  soldier.-:,  came  in  the  northwest  to  be  ap- 
plied to  the  rapidly  expanding  metropolis;  and  all  roads  really 
led  to  Chicago.     The  prairies  were  laughing  with  harvests  in 
every  section  of  the  country,  and  all  the  produce,  beyond  what 
was  demanded  for  home  consumption,  found  its  way  to  the  city. 
Byron  said  :    ''  One  morning  I  awoke  and  found  myself  famou.s." 
That  was  the  case  many  years  ago  with  Chicago,  but  its  fame  will 
endure  longer  than  that  of  the  hero  of  !Missolonghi,  and  the  demon 
of  Mrs.  Stowe.     The  canal  from  Chicago  to  La  Salle,  the  head  of 
steamboat  navigation  on  the  Illinois  river,  which  was  opened  for 
traffic  in  18i8,  made  the  city  the  best  outlet  of  the  Missldsippi 
valley ;  and  the  little  bayou  of  Lake  Michigan,  on  which  Chicago 
was  located,  combined  all  the  advantages  that  could  be  desired, 
for  the  site,  upon  which  was  to  be  transacted  the  transfer  and  ex- 
change of  commodities  from  all  parts  of  the  northwest,  conveyed 
over  the  waters  of  the  lake,  or  to  be  so  conveyed,  to  distant  ports 
in  all  parts  of  the  world.     Railroads  came  in  due  course  to  sup- 
plement the  lake  in  building  iip  the  greatness  of  Chicago.     The 
Chicago  and  Northwestern  railroad  came  first,  but  then  known  as 
the  Galena  and  Chicago  Union,  which  was  opened  to  the  Fox 
river,  a  distance  of  forty  miles,  in  1850.     The  result  of  that  trial 
announced  that  the  multiplication  of  railroads  would  convert  the 
whole  of  Illinois  into  a  vast  garden,  sustaining  an  immense  pop- 
ulation,  dependent   upon   the   produce  of   her   fruitful   valleys. 
From  that  date,  numerous  competing  companies  have  striven  with 


)  :'t 


'!  1 


440 


Ti'TTi.hfs  Cexticsslil  North h'kst. 


I    :'i 


I  1 


cacli  other  for  tlio  supjiort  wliioli  tlic  morcliMiits  of  Cliica.L'o  can 
f?ivo  or  withhold,  until  it  is  hfinlly  possible  for  nica  going  from 
New  York,  riiiliulelphia,  Boston,  Baltimore,  or  clscwliere  on  this 
continent,  to  India,  China,  Japan,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  and 
the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  to  avoid  a  visit  to  the  metropolis  of  the 
northwest  oi  route ;  and  every  man  visiting  tliis  country  from  afar 
looks  upon  Chicago  as  one  of  the  points  of  interest  which  must 
not  bu  avoided  ;  one  of  those  places 

"Which  not  to  know,  nrjjuos  onr's  self  unknown." 

B}'  and  b}',  in  a  not  very  distant  future,  the  whole  passenger 
trafiic,  and  very  nearly  all  the  more  valuable  merchandise,  from 
Europe,  intended  for  the  other  hemisphere,  will  be  sent  across  this 
continent,  coming  by  fast  steamers  over  the  Atlantic,  traversing  this 
vast  area  by  the  iron  road,  with  a  few  days  break  of  journey,  to 
rest  and  see  Chicago,  then  onward  through  Omaha  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, to  cross  the  Pacific,  by  boats  equal  to  the  Cunard  line,  land- 
ing the  passenger  and  his  valuable  effects  in  "Far  Cathay,"  or 
upon  the  gold  fields  of  Australia,  with  a  saving  of  time  equal  to 
at  least  one  month  on  every  journey,  and  a  gjiln  of  comfort,  as 
•well  as  of  time,  which  cannot  be  assessed  in  coin.  The  future  of 
Chicago  will  see  wonders  in  this  respect,  and  hundreds  of  thous- 
ands of  emigrants  of  the  better  class,  making  their  way  to  the  ex- 
pensive lands  of  Australia,  where  one  acre  costs  more  than  five  in 
this  conntry,  and  does  not  give  better  results,  will  conclude  to 
rest  here  for  the  business  of  life,  investing  their  capital  in  prose- 
cuting our  enterprises,  and  assisting  to  build  up  the  greatest  na- 
tion that  has  ever  existed  on  this  globe. 

The  lake  navigation  which  is  available  for  Chicago  and  for  the 
cities  and  districts  that  find  here  their  port  of  shipment,  may  be 
said  to  regulate  railroad  freights  and  travel  over  all  parts  of  the 
continent,  although  such  companies  as  the  ^Michigan  Central ;  the 
Chicago  and  Michigan  Lake  Shore ;  the  Indianapolis,  Peru  and 
Chicago  ;  the  Lake  Shore  and  Southern  Michigan  ;  the  Pittsburgh, 
Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago;  the  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati  and  St. 
Louis;  the  Louisville.  New  Albany  ami  '''  .go;  the  Chicago, 
Danville  and  Vincennes ;  the  Illinois  Ceniuil  •  'he  Chicago  and 
Alton;    the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  :   the  Chicago  and 


PinxciPAL  Cirir:s  OF  Illinois. 


44i 


'"'i.t-'o  can 

ii>,'  from 

on  tliis 

uid,  and 

is  of  tlio 

<nn  afar 

Ii  nuist 


Iowa;  tlie  Cliicago,  Kock  Island  and  Pacific,  and  tho  Chicago 
and  Northwestern,  with  their  eight  lines  umler  ono  .supreme 
direction,  make  their  termini  and  stations  at  tliis  point,  eon- 
liecting  the  cit}-,  by  their  several  routes,  with  I'ittsburgh,  4(58 
miles  away;  with  Indianapui'  at  a  distance  of  IGl  miles;  with 
New  York,  058  inilcs  away  on  i  lo  Atlantic;  with  San  Francisco, 
2, 1(»7  miles  away  on  the  Paciiic,  and  with  Omaha,  oi  route,  at  493 
miles  ilistanee.  Tlic  h  "vi  and  eanal  trallic  of  Chicago  connects 
the  city  with  every  port  on  lak-  Mieliigan,  and  through  the  Wel- 
land  canal,  with  all  the  world.  With  the  Eric  Canal  and  Iludson 
river  at  her  service,  she  unn  icnd  her  produce  and  her  people  to 
New  York,  over  a  route  which  cvory  traveler  should  desire  to  sec. 
By  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  she  Ims  easy  access  to  the 
Mississippi  valley  and  along  that  course  to  the  gulf  of  ^lexico. 
Iler  steamboats  and  other  vessels  connect  her  with  Canada  in  a 
commerce  so  large,  that  in  the  year  1873,  there  were  QQij  vessels, 
with  a  tonnage  of  93,019  tons,  constantly  engaged  in  the  traHlc. 
The  immense  trade  thus  indicated,  by  quotations  from  her  busi- 
ness intercourse  with  the  Dominion  of  Canada  alone,  has  been  the 
growth  of  a  very  few  years,  as  we  have  seen.  In  the  year  1838, 
seventy-eight  bushels  of  wheat  were  sent  east  from  this  city;  in 
the  year  1845,  wheat  and  flour,  equivalent  to  one  million  bushels 
.of  wheat,  were  shipped  ;  and  in  the  year  when  the  canal  before 
mentioned  was  opened,  in  1848,  three  millions  were  sent.  Hail- 
roads  were  advancing  this  way  in  1852,  and  the  results  of  such 
stimulation  were  seen  in  si.\  millions  of  bushels  of  grain  being 
exported,  which  had  increased  to  twenty-one  millions  in  185(5; 
and  four  years  later,  in  1860,  the  year  preceding  the  outbreak  of 
the  great  rebellion  her  shipments  reached  thirty-one  millions. 
During  the  succeeding  live  3'ear.s,  the  results  in  bushels  annually 
shipped,  increased  fiopi  lorty-si.x;  millions  to  fifty-six  niilliuns, 
reaching  in  180G,  the  enormous  aggregate  of  nearly  sixty-five 
million  live  hundred  thousand  bushels.  To  continue  the  quota- 
tion of  figures  could  .serve  no  useful  purpose ;  such  growth  .as  is 
here  typified  must  be  seen  to  be  understood.  In  every  branch 
of  business  the  like  evidence  of  expansion  was  visible.  The 
trade  in  live  stock  increased  in  like  proportion  daily,  and  hsid 
done  so  ever  since  the  year  1848.     The  receipts  of  cattle,  which 


•  II 


Ml 


448 


TUTTLJj's   ClJSTEXXIAL  XOIITIIU'EST. 


Hvi 


m 


bad  sliowcJ  a  gross  total  of  48,524  head  in  the  year  1857,  had,  in 
the  year  1870,  increased  to  532,904  head  ;  and  live  hogs,  which 
had  been  received  in  1857,  to  the  number  of  200,000,  had,  in 
the  year  1870,  increased  '3  1,003,158,  besides  200,000  or  more 
slaughtered  carcasses  sent  from  the  interior.  The  packing  of  hogs 
in  Chicago,  for  the  winter  [1870-71,  showed  a  total  of  919,197 
liead  against  500,060  head  packed  in  Cincinnati.  Other  items 
of  trade  and  commerce  go  on  in  the  same  gigantic  proportion. 
In  1848,  the  lumber  trade  in  this  city  showed  a  total  of  00,000,000 
feet;  in  1870,  the  trade  had  increased  to  1,000,000,000  feet,  and 
since  that  date  the  increment  has  been  enormous.  The  manu- 
facturing interests  in  the  city,  in  the  year  1871,  showed  a  capital 
invested  of  about  $40,000,000,  producing  annually  about  $70,- 
000,000,  and  supporting  from  its  wages  fund  about  sixt)-  thous- 
and souls  ;  and  since  that  date  the  vast  rush  of  capital  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  to  rebuild  and  to  renew  the  life  of  Chicago 
has  extended  all  such  industries  to  an  extent  which  forbids  all 
attempts  to  estimate  results.  There  was  and  there  still  is  in  this 
expantling  city,  an  amount  of  intellectual  development  and  art 
culture,  which  might  hardly  have  been  expected  to  coexist  with 
so  much  attention  to  the  "  main  chance,"  commercially  and  other- 
wise. Chicago  has  seen  reduced  to  cinders,  what  might  have 
been  a  mine  of  wealth,  artistically  considered,  in  many  cities, 
but  she  is  rebuilding  her  museums,  extending  her  art  galleries, 
and  her  annual  exposition  of  industry  shows  her  activity  and 
her  resources  greater  than  at  any  former  period  ii\  her  history. 
The  relics  of  her  lire,  which  are  now  distributed  over  the  world 
in  almost  ever}-  museum  of  curiosities,  would,  if  they  were  col- 
lected in  one  s[)ot,  with  brief  addenda,  showing  from  what  cities, 
what  kingdoms  and  what  persons  the}-  had  been  brought  together, 
supply  the  most  singular  and  suggestive  memoranda  of  the  civi- 
lized and  semicivilizcd  world  ever  collected  in  one  spot;  and 
prove  beyond  question,  that  the  fame  of  Chicago,  even  in  her 
misfortune,  is  more  e.Ktensively  dilTused  than  that  of  any  otiier 
city,  ancient  or  modern,  on  this  globe.  There  was  a  time  when 
it  was  truthfully  said  that  Chicago  was  a  good  place  in  which 
to  make  money  but  not  a  good  place  in  which  to  spend  it;  not 
because  it  resembled  the  nioderu  representative  of  the  ancient 


iJoMBS^i^^ 


wm 


had,  ill 


of  llO<'S 


1 


li,;   .. 


iU^> 


I'm] 


sHi, 


I 


.■I 


[1)111    I       •!■     Il  I'HIT" 


PiiixciPAL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


449 


i 


I 


city  of  Jcriclio,  where  the  most  oxtravagant  man  could  only 
squander  §200  j^er  year,  but  because,  with  all  the  opportunities 
for  extravagance  which  could  be  indulged  ml  Ubilmn,  there  was 
not  the  tone  of  good  society,  nor  the  openings  for  true  culture 
within  the  limits  of  the  great  city.  Thf.t  statement  is  true  no 
lon2;cr.  Artists  of  the  hin;hest  merit  make  their  home  in  Chicago, 
and  the  fruits  of  their  labors  command  the  highest  rewards-  not 
merely  because  ihcy  arc  reputed  to  be  great  painters  or  sculptors, 
and  have  become  the  fashion,  but  because  there  is  a  fair  average 
of  cultivated  men  and  women  in  the  city  whose  judgments  have 
won  sway  in  the  community,  and  have  procured  for  true  art  in  its 
highest  developments  an  appreciative  audi(  ncc.  The  press  of 
Chicago  has,  at  this  time,  engaged  upon  its  several  departments, 
men  who  could  command  positions  on  any  of  the  leading  papers 
in  Europe,  or  in  any  of  the  foremost  journals  in  America.  That 
fact  speaks  volumes  for  the  newspaper  press  which  can  reward 
such  talent,  and  secure  the  ear  of  an  extended  and  intelligent 
constituency,  which  will  repay  an  outlay  so  praiseworthy.  Then, 
again,  the  pulpits  of  Chicago  arc  filled  by  men,  many  of  whom 
are  worthy  of  the  car  of  the  whole  world,  so  commanding  are 
their  talents,  so  wide  is  their  philanthropy,  so  broad  are  their  views 
on  all  the  great  questions  which  agitate  the  foremost  minds  of  this 
peculiarly  intellectual  age.  The  character  of  the  pulpits  in  any 
community  tells  the  story  of  mental  culture  in  the  people.  The 
mere  dullard  and  the  formalist  who  will  thoughtlessly,  or  with  a 
bigot's  zeal,  repeat  the  creed  of  a  sect,  will  serve  in  many  com- 
munities, winning  the  praise  of  "groundlings,"  as  Shakspere 
terms  them,  by  such  antics  as  cannot  fail  to  ''make  the  judicious 
grieve;"  but  in  a  city  like  Chicago,  where  the  great  unchu.-ched 
crowd  must  needs  be  reached,  if  ministrations  are  to  be  made  use- 
ful, another  type  of  man  is  demanded;  one  who  can  read  the  fore- 
most thought  of  the  age  with  a  glance  of  the  brightest  intelli- 
gence, and  find  the  better  than  golden  key  which  unites  science 
with  religion.  There  arc  many  such  men  in  the  v;,  ious  churches 
in  Chicago,  where  preachings  are  not  the  dry  and  tasteless  matter 
under  which  congregations  sleep,  but  such  living  utterances  as 
were  addressed  by  St.  Paul  to  the  thinking  crowd  in  Athens,  in 
that  day  wKen  he  won  their  attention  to  Christ  as  to  a  newer  and 
29 


if,.* 


'il 


-:  it  * 


M 


!'H 


<    I. 


a 


Ik 

ft*- 


^ 


-«* 


!l!h! 


i 


■:1: 


I 


SWay'i'iHt'i 


450 


Tuttle's  Centexxfal,  Nobtiiwest. 


higher  philosophy  than  ever  tlicretoforc  had  hccn  licard  by  the 
Areopagitcs.  When  men  speak  to  men  from  pulpit  or  platform 
the  language  of  common  sense,  they  are  tolerably  sure  to  be  re- 
ceived among  the  best  of  their  hearers  at  their  full  value;  hence 
the  efTectiveness  of  the  church  of  Chicago,  and  the  high  tone, 
ever  progressing  which  may  be  heard  in  the  pulpit  In  that  fact 
the  oastlictical  development  of  the  metropolitan  city  appears  more 
than  in  any  other  single  feature  that  can  be  named.  Most  of  the 
churches  in  Chicago  are  fine,  many  of  them  are  very  beautiful 
specimens  of  architecture,  but  after  the  manner  of  modern  times; 
the  chief  excellence  is  looked  for,  not  in  the  lesson  of  beauty  and 
magnificence  conveyed  by  stone  and  cement,  but  in  the  teachings 
oL  the  great  exponent  of  the  truth.  There  are  not  now  such  en- 
thusiastic followers  of  any  man  as  were  they  who  followed  Peter 
Abelard  to  the  banks  of  the  Arduze,  when  he  established  "The 
Paraclete  ;"  bat  the  modern  preacher  is  aided  in  his  work  by  more 
intellecual  appreciation,  wdiich  demands  and  procures  a  better 
general  tone  in  the  mind  of  the  well  defended  and  well  cared  for 
minister.  Abelard  was  compelled  by  his  enemies  to  wander  from 
place  to  place,  pleading  even  for  life  itself,  because  he  had  dared 
to  utter  his  thoughts  concerning  the  highest  interests  of  mankind  ; 
but  no  St.  Bernard  can  endanger  the  life  of  the  modern  thinker, 
about  whom  the  masses  have  encamped  and  set  up  their  taber- 
nacle;  nor  is  it  necessary  that  any  Abbot  of  Cluny  should  ^d 
between  the  genuine  soul  and  his  antagonists.  The  spirit  of  the 
age  suffices. 

The  schools  established  by  a  community  bespeak  the  tone  of 
its  best  men  and  women,  the  ruling  sentiment.  In  the  year  1871, 
there  were  80,280  oaildren  of  school  age  in  Chicago,  of  whom 
only  a  little  more  than  one-third,  or  28,174:,  were  in  average  at- 
tendance, although  one-half,  or  rather  more,  40,832,  were  enrolled 
as  scholars ;  out  the  tone  of  society  which  provided  the  available 
facilities,  and  which  governs  Chicago  in  that  respect,  will  never 
rest  content  until  the  entire  population  avails  itself  of  the  advan- 
tages which  are  offered  free  of  special  and  individual  cost  to  every 
child.  Besides  the  public  schools  proper,  there  were  at  that  time 
numerous  other  establishments  devoted  to  tuition  in  various 
grades;  the  army  of  public  instruction  being  apportioned  in  one 


Principal  Cities  of  Illinois. 


451 


\  ' 


l»y  tliG 
atform 
)  be  rc- 

hcnce 
1  tone, 
i.'it  fact 
s  more 
of  the 
autiful 
times; 
\ty  and 


normal  school  containing  587  pupils,  presided  over  in  their  several 
departments  by  twenty-three  teachers ;  six  evening  schools,  ac- 
commodating 1,232  scholars  with  forty-eight  teachers;  twenty- 
three  grammar  schools,  containing  21,581  students,  with  a  direct- 
ing force  of  four  hundred  and  twenty  eight  teachers;  and  fifteen 
primary  schools  with  6.593  boys  and  girls  in  attendance,  under 
the  care  oj.  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  teachers.  The  uni- 
versity of  Cliicago  was  first  opened  to  the  public  in  the  year  1858, 
and,  in  the  year  1871,  there  were  fourteen  professors  and  277  stu- 
dents occupying  one  of  the  most  elegant  and  commodious  build- 
ings devoted  to  such  purposes  in  the  whole  northwest.  Connected 
with  that  establishment,  the  Dearborn  observatory  contains  one 
of  the  largest  and  best  constructed  telescopes  possessed  by  any 
institution  in  this  section  of  the  country.  The  academy  of  sci- 
ences, which  suffered  severely  in  the  great  conflagration,  but  is 
now  once  more  in  good  working  order,  was  organized  in  1856,  and 
incorporated  nine  years  later;  and  its  collection,  taken  altogether, 
is  found  immensely  valuable  by  the  student  of  nature  who  is  de- 
sirous to  apply  his  book  knowledge  to  the  animals,  minerals,  and 
botanical  specimens,  upon  which  the  best  thinkers  base  their 
speculations. 

The  historical  society,  organized  in  1856,  contains  a  library  of 
over  100,000  volumes,  well  catalogued  and  arranged  for  reference, 
and  in  addition  thereto,  valuable  documents  which  will  prove  very 
serviceable  to  the  historian  in  future  times.  Tiie  law  institute 
contains  seven  thousand  volumes,  mostly  legal  and  technical,  but 
in  all  cases  just  such  works  us  may,  if  well  used,  constitute  our 
young  men  jurists  of  civil  and  common  law  in  any  community  in 
the  world.  The  library  of  the  Y.  M.  A.  suffered  terribly  in  the 
fire,  but  the  perseverance  of  its  officers  and  members  has  not  only 
reinstated  the  society  in  its  old  usefulness,  but  many  offshoots 
have  since  been  established,  and  are  now  in  good  working  order, 
giving  reading  rooms,  well  warmed  and  comfortably  provided  in 
every  way,  for  the  use  of  any  persons  desirous  of  such  accommo- 
dation, from  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  until  late  at  night 
Only  those  who  have  realized  the  solitude  which  is  possible  for 
the  friendless  in  great  cities  can  appreciate  such  provision. 

There  are  three  medical  colleges  in  Chicago,  the  "  Rush  Medi- 


IM 


1f 


452 


Tuttle's  Ckxtexnial  Northwest. 


cal  College,"  the  "  Chicago  Medical  College,"  and  the"IIahno- 
inann  Medical  College,"  the  last  named  being  devoted  to  the  study 
and  practice  of  Ilomeopathy,  upon  the  principle  that  "  like  cures 
like,"  stilted  in  the  maxim,  ^' simiUu  siiniliba-^  cumntur,''  an  idea 
which  must  have  procured  ingress,  ages  ago,  into  the  brain  pan  of 
the  toper,  who  fast  prescribed  for  himself  ''  a  hair  of  the  dog  that 
bit  him,"  as  ihe  cure  for  a  drunken  fit.  The  advantages  which 
arise  from  such  institutions  need  not  be  enforced.  The  man  who 
is  least  inclined  to  indorse  dogmatic  allopalthy  is  well  aware  that 
to  allopathic  practitioners,  he  is  indebted  for  the  discoveries  of 
Harvey  and  Jenncr,  and  for  the  medical  jurisprudence  of  Hunter, 
with  many  other  steps  slowly  won  in  the  art  of  alleviating  human 
suffering,  since  the  days  when  the  stump  of  the  amputated  limb 
was  thrust  into  boiling  pitch,  as  a  terrible  expedient  to  prevent 
the  patient  bleeding  to  death,  and  when  the  ailments  incidental  to 
some  petty  derangement  of  the  digestive  ajiparatus  were  looked 
upon  as  proofs  of  diablerie  and  witchcraft.  The  disciples  of  the 
globule  may  have  more  faith  than  is  warranted  by  hard  fact  and 
practical  experience  in  their  infinitesimal  medicaments,  but  their 
system  of  study  is  certainly  revealing,  more  fully  than  ever  before 
has  fallen  within  our  range  of  notice,  the  power  which  little  causes 
may  exert  in  changing  tlic  tone  ami  current  of  a  life,  and  in  the 
same  ratio,  the  likelihood  that  simple  alteratives,  wisely  used,  may 
assist  the  forces  of  nature  to  throw  off  the  pressure  of  impending 
disease.  Very  clearly  the  homeopathist  is  Ic^s  likely  to  injure 
his  patient  by  the  presence  of  drugs  in  his  system,  than  his  allo- 
pathic brother,  and  in  the  end,  when  every  student  shall  liave  done 
his  best,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  happy  mean  will  be  reached 
by  a  class  of  eclectics,  who  will  take  for  the  benefit  of  their  cUnntelle, 
the  advantages  revealed  by  every  system,  combining  the  whole  into 
an  enlightened  i)ractice,  which  will  bo  to  the  old  pharmacopoeia 
what  the  polished  marble  is  to  the  quarry  from  which  it  has  been 
hewed. 

Theology,  which  used,  in  the  era  of  Duns  Scotus,  to  be  almost 
the  whole  learning  of  the  world,  is  now  narrowed  down  very  con- 
siderably ;  bnt  its  professors  are  wiser  than  of  yore,  and  witli 
their  abated  pretensions,  have  come  also  to  greater  usefulness. 
This  branch  of  study  is  well  supported  by  the  many  sided  hu- 


':^■>'mm0mmm>p»^ 


PuiscH'AL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


453 


manity  of  Cbicago.  The  Theological  Scmii-ary  is  an  institution 
of  groat  promise,  and  it  flourishes  beyond  the  modest  expectations 
of  its  projectors.  There  is  a  fine  chapel,  a  good  library  and  ap- 
pro])riate  lecture  rooms,  which,  at  their  proper  times,  arc  occupied 
by  the  })rofessors  in  charge  of  the  several  departments.  Tlio 
Baptists  and  Presbyterians  have  similar  institutions,  which  serve 
the  purposes  of  their  founders  admirably,  and  are  building  up 
liabits  of  thought  among  the  students,  which  must  eventually 
prove  of  vast  service  to  the  world. 

Turning  now  from  the  several  churches,  colleges  and  semina- 
ries, tlic  museums  of  art  and  science,  the  libraries  of  the  several 
associations,  and  all  the  machinery  of  arduous  schooling,  wecome 
to  the  best  form  in  which  instruction  can  be  given  to  society. 
When  the  Greeks  were  laboring  upward  toward  the  higiiest  art 
culture  the  world  had  ever  dreamt  of,  they  made  the  theatres 
and  the  sports  of  all  classes,  conducive  to  the  ends  in  view. 
Aristophanes  may  have  mainly  aimed  at  causing  laughter,  but 
the  stage  on  which  his  writings  were  presented  had  previously 
been  enriched  by  the  works  of  the  great  masters  of  tragedy,  and 
it  was  })art  of  tlic  same  .system  of  education,  that  the  Olympian 
and  Isthmian  games  should  be  interspersed  with  the  competition 
bctv.'ccn  poets  and  prose  writers,  such  as  find  favor  to  this  day  in 
AVales,  and  wherever  the  Welsh  are  sufTiciently  numerous  lo  estab- 
lish their  national  cisteddfodd.  Tlie  young  men  who  contended  for 
the  prizes  which  were  given  for  physical  beauty  and  agility  in  the 
country  of  whicli  Byron  sadly  wrote  : 

"  'Tis  Greece,  but  living  Greece  no  more  "  — 
were  witncs.ses  of  such  trials  of  skill  as  have  resulted  in  giving 
Homer  to  the  world,  whether  from  one  brain  and  stylus,  or  from 
many.  The  sports  in  their  proper  relation,  were  of  as  much  im- 
jiortance  as  the  intellectual  demand  for  "  some  new  thing,"  which 
we,  in  our  sadder  and  more  sombre  civilization,  have  toned  down 
into  a  perpetual  commentary  on  the  weather,  and  an  unwise  ab- 
negation of  enjoyment,  among  classes  of  men  who  aim  to  be  the 
teachers  of  the  generation.  The  player  was  for  many  years 
among  our  ancestors,  a  vagabond,  and  the  laws  tended  to  make 
him  conform  to  the  description.  When  brave  Oliver  Cromwell 
ruled  the  destinies  of  England,  it  was  dangerous  for  a  theatrical 


,h;!. 


4oi 


TuTTLE's  CeNTENXIAL  NOUTIIWEST. 


manager  to  attempt  a  show  ;  partly  of  course  the  rigor  of  that  time 
was  due  to  the  general  disloyalty  of  actors,  to  the  Puritan  regime, 
but  the  disloyaltj'  was  also  in  part  a  consequence  of  such  rigor, 
and  in  any  case  the  men  who  played,  and  the  audience  that  at- 
tended, were  in  danger  of  being  raided  by  troops  and  officials, 
and  carried  off  to  sit  in  the  stocks,  to  stand  in  the  pillory,  and  to 
endure  such  other  punishments  as  the  harsh  goodness  of  the  time 
could  suggest.  When  John  Philip  Kemble,  one  of  the  founders 
of  an  illustrious  family  of  players,  walked  the  streets  of  London 
in  the  last  century,  he  was  occasionally  howled  at  by  children, 
who  uttered  in  their  sim])le  way  the  blame  and  derision,  with 
which  their  parents  and  older  associates  talked,  of  the  "  diverting 
vagabonds,"  among  whom  Shakspere,  Ben.  Jonson,  and  ^il 
lip  Messingcr,  with  many  other  illustrious  presonagea,  stana  re- 
corded. "  lie's  only  a  player,"'  pleaded  a  young  sweep  when  his 
master  in  the  soot  bag  profession  blamed  him  for  throwing  stones 
at  Kemble,  "  lie's  only  a  player."  lint  the  gentleman  in  black 
was  shocked  at  the  want  of  charity  in  his  disciple,  and  he  chided 
him  thus;  "Never  mind,  if  he  is  only  a  player.  You  let  him 
alone.  We  are  all  born,  but  we're  not  buried,  and  you  don't 
know  what  you  may  be  before  you  die."  There  is  a  change  in 
the  status  of  phn-ers  now,  as  we  discover  when  men  like  Vandcn- 
hofl,  Forrest,  Macready,  Sothern,  and  women  like  Mi.  ;  Cushmau, 
come  before  the  footlights.  But  there  are  yet  man}  who  are  so 
unwise  as  to  disparage  their  eflforts,  or  if  that  be  not  the  fact,  still 
to  fear  to  be  seen  in  attendance  at  theatres,  where  the  best  lessons  of 
the  day  are  given,  in  the  language  suited  to  the  hour,  and  gener- 
ally with  a  grace  and  perspicuity  of  word  and  action,  from  which 
the  wisest  might  learn.  The  great  English  orator,  the  Earl  of 
Chatham,  and  liis  son,  the  equally  famous  "William  Pitt,  studied 
elocution  under  Garrick.  The  Emperor  Napoleon  was  the  pupil 
of  the  great  tragedian  Talma.  The  Scotch  church  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century,  when  the  annual  assembly  convened  in 
Edinburgh,  or  Glasgow,  used  always  to  adjourn  early  in  the  after- 
noon, to  afford  members  an  opportunity  to  attend  the  theaters  at 
night ;  and  in  France,  although  the  church,  with  a  persistent  big- 
otry, refused  to  allow  actors  and  play  writers  to  be  buried  in  con- 
secrated ground,  yet  such  men  as  Bossuet,  Bourdaloue,  Massillon 


Fuis'cii'AL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


-155 


time 
\jlmc, 
|-igor, 
lit  iit- 

•ial.s, 
[h1  to 
Itiino 
(iilors 

|l(ioil 

ircn, 
with 


and  La  Rue  were  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  the  lessons  which 
the  hcst  pla3'ers  could  give,  to  make  their  sermons  more  effective. 
Apropos  to  the  intolerance  which  denied  to  Voltaire  and  others, 
whose  sin  was  play  writing,  the  rite  of  burial  in  consecrated 
ground,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  digress,  for  just  one  moment,  to 
mention  tluit,  when  !N[olicrc  died,  the  king  was  anxious  to  over- 
come the  scruples  of  the  Archbishop  of  Paris,  but  even  to  the 
monarch  the  priest  was  hard  as  j^lmant,  and  Louis  scarcely 
wished  to  provoke  a  quarrel.  Mi  nst  his  majesty  enquired : 
"IIow  deep  does  your  consecration  "^Wt  the  land?"  '-About 
six  feet,"  was  the  answer.  "  Then  bui^j^Ioliere  eight  feet  deep," 
replied  the  wise  occupant  of  the  throne,  "and  nobody  will  be  dis- 
turbed." There  was  a  player  refused  proper  rites  of  burial  some 
years  ago  in  this  country,  but  the  whole  public  responded  to  the 
indignant  protest  of  the  celebrated  Rip  Van  Winkle,  Joseph  Jeff- 
erson, and  "  The  Little  Church  Eound  the  Corner,"  stands 
"  damned  to  immortal  fame."  Men  are  becoming  more  catholic 
in  their  apitrecialion  of  .service,  and  in  Chicago,  as  well  as  else- 
where, theaters  are  accepted  as  means  of  education  as  well  as  of 
amusement.  We  can  realize  the  age  in  which  Henri  of  Navarre, 
the  hero  of  a  hundred  fights,  fell  under  the  dagger  of  the  assassin, 
Eavaillac,  all  the  better  for  having  seen  liichelieu  well  presented 
as  written  by  Buhver,  and  we  remember  for  all  time  the  worthy 

lesson  : 

"  III  the  hands  of  men  entirely  great, 
The  pen  is  mightier  tlian  the  sword." 

In  the  same  way  Evclijn  in  "  Money,"  by  the  same  writer,  is  as 
good  as  a  sermon  for  millions  of  men  and  women,  and  "  Caste," 
or  "Ours,"  and  the  society  pieces  of  today,  as  well  as  Hamlet, 
Othello,  Macbeth,  and  the  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  will  con- 
tinue to  keep  the  stage  in  their  several  ways,  doing  more  than  the 
work  of  the  schoolmaster,  for  "children  of  a  larger  growth," 
throuffh  inanv  generations.  The  theatrical  accommodation  en- 
joyed  by  Chicago  is  second  only  to  that  alTordcd  in  New  York 
city.  Mc dicker's  will  comfortably  seat  about  two  thousand  five 
hundred  persons,  and  the  pieces  produced  answer  to  the  demands 
of  the  populace.  If  sometimes  it  might  be  desired  that  some 
plays  of  a  higher  type  should  hold  the  boards,  the  blame  belongs 


til 


fS^' 


456 


TuTTLifs  Ckstknsial  Noutiiwest. 


largely  to  the  directors  of  public  opinion,  who  by  tlieir  influence 
restrain  tlio  b(\st  iind  wisest  from  attending  such  performances, 
and  thus  deiirivc  the  actor  of  the  intellectual  ar,(l  a])preciativo 
public,  before  which  he  would  always  desire  to  exercise  his  pro- 
fession. The  player  docs  not  merely  live  to  act,  he  must  act  to 
live,  and  the  best  interests  of  society  demand  that  the  theatre 
should  be  used  to  convey  the  highest  lessons,  in  the  most  cfTicicnt 
way,  promoting  morality  and  religion,  as  well  as  advancing  art, 
and  literary  culture.  Ifooley's  Opera  House  is  not  so  large  as 
McVicker's  theatre,  but  it  draws  the  most  select  audiences  in  the 
city,  and  there  are  other  houses  of  less  rejiute,  all  well  conducted, 
contributing  theirshare  toward  recrcatingand  improvinghunianity. 
Lectures  are  very  well  attended  in  Cliicago,  and  many  of  the 
best  names  in  American  literature  are  customarily  heralded  co 
the  public  as  participants  in  that  kind  of  winter  teaching  for  the 
masses.  Parton,  Bret  Ilarte,  and  Beecher  are  among  the  men  so 
distinguished,  and  almost  every  eminent  person  in  war,  letters,  or 
state  craft,  is  expected  to  lecture  on  .some  congenial,  or  unconge- 
nial topic.  Tlie  existence  of  such  a  taste  is  a  matter  for  congratu- 
lation, and  the  outcome  of  its  indulgcp.cc  will  not  fail  to  be  found 
in  improved  intellectuality,  and  better  views  of  life,  tlian  are 
likely  to  be  enjoyed  by  men,  who  find  their  amusements  in  the 
area  of  the  saloon,  or  in  the  disgraceful  exhibitions  of  the  prize 


ring. 


There  are  considerably  more  than  one  hundred  nev/spapers  and 
periodicals  published  in  Chicago,  representing  every  shade  of 
religious  thought,  fr^m  I'resbyterianism  and  Episcopacy,  down  to 
the  Kcligio-Philosophical  journal  of  the  Spiritualists,  and  every 
tongue  from  the  Scandinavian  to  tl>e  politest  Anglo-Saxon.  Many 
of  the  dailies  are  known  all  over  the  Union,  and  their  talents  in 
various  directions  are  such  as  to  merit  })raise,  but  it  is  o{)en  to  the 
readers  of  a,t  least  one  of  tlic  dailies,  to  wish  tliat  a  little  moral 
power  should  be  occasionally  infused  into  its  columns. 

Upon  this  city  of  Cliicago  thus  developed,  and  growing,  with 
all  the  best  features  of  human  freedom  and  vigor,  there  fell  in 
October,  1S71,  a  fate  almost  as  terrible  as  that  wliicli  destroyed 
Gomorrah  so  many  years  ago,  that  the  pillar  of  salt  which  stood 
to  witness  that  conflagration  has  long  since  melted  away.     It  was 


U 


?! 


PnixciPAL  Cities  of  Ilusois. 


467 


Sunday  cvoiiing,  October  8tli,  when  one  Mrs.  Lcary,  living  near 
the  jnnetion  of  Jeirensoa  street  and  De  Koven,  ventured  with  her 
lamp  into  the  shed,  where  a  caprieious  cow  was  ailing,  and  before 
anybody  knew  anything  beyond  that  faet,  a  jtortion  of  tlio  city 
was  lajiped  in  (lame.  The  wind  was  almost  a  hurricane  when  tho 
accident  octMunnl :  hay,  roof  and  walls  of  the  barn  were  one 
bright  (lame  in  a  moment,  and  ere  many  minutes  had  [)aHsed,  tho 
devouring  element  was  taking  hold  on  more  substantial  struc- 
tures. The  people  were  hurrying  from  their  churches,  and  tho 
clangor  of  the  bell  did  not  disturb  their  devotional  tendencies, 
save  in  the  case  of  a  few  who  became  unpleasantly  conscious  that 
the  glare  shone  out  in  the  inmiediato  neighborhood  of  their  own 
dwellings.  It  was  a  time  when  minutes  would  ciTeet  the  ruin  which 
customarily  might  occupy  hours,  as  the  fierce  wind  hurried  along, 
scattering  glowing  embers  among  sun  dried  buildings  as  in(himma- 
blc  as  touchwood.  'J'he  sound  of  the  fire  bell  was  no  uncommon 
affair  in  Chicago,  but  this  time  the  conflagration  had  commenced 
at  a  point  where ^ — -and  in  a  manner  which  —  if  an  enemy  had 
plamied  the  assault  upon  the  greatness  of  the  city,  he  could  not 
more  artfully  and  maliciously  have  combined  his  forces,  "  to  make 
assurance  doubly  sure."  Tlio.se  "  Jen  houses  had  been  stand- 
ing many  years,  a  disgrace  even  to  "  Shantytown,"  and  still  there 
were  no  ofTicers  empowered  to  compel  their  removal,  until  pande- 
monium set  its  fierce  power  to  compel  attention.  The  fire  bell 
had  rung  out  just  twenty-four  hours  earlier,  and  for  many  hours 
the  fire  department  had  been  employed  combating  flames,  which 
then  had  hardly  a  breath  to  fan  the  embers,  when  the  wind  of  Sat- 
urday came  to  be  compared  with  that  which  raged  on  Sunday. 
People  had  stayed  in  doors  all  the  day  long  because  of  the  gale, 
but  they  had  concluded  to  visit  church  in  the  evening,  and  there 
was  no  inducement  to  stand  around  in  the  cold  night  air,  looking 
at  the  blaze  of  a  cowshed. 

The  fire  departi'.ent  came  upon  the  first  alarm,  but  the  men 
were  tired  and  sleepy,  as  since  the  conflagration  of  the  previous 
nirrht,  they  had  been  occupied  much  of  the  time  in  re})airing 
damages  and  restoring  their  apparatus  to  its  accustomed  trim, 
appearance.  The  men  were  roused  to  do  their  utmost,  for  it 
soon  became  evident,  even  to  the  least  skillful  observers,  that 


!■   \'^m 


468 


TUTTLlfs  CeSTEMMAL   NoitTIUVEST. 


Si' 


i  ■ 


tliere  wns  going  to  be  n  gront  dcsti'Lictioii  of  liuiiinn  luibitationx. 
Among  the  earliest  of  those  upon  tlie  spot,  tlial  Siiinl;i\  evenit)g, 
stood  the  writer  of  tliis  Miciiioir.  Mr.s.  Leary's  laiiiou.s  barn  and 
the  residence  attached  were  already  beyond  lielp,  and  nobody 
mourned  tliat  result,  but  it  soon  appeared  that  an  inuiierisc 
gap  would  be  made  in  the  western  division  of  the  city  before  the 
flames  could  be  mastered.  Three  alarms  rang  out  upon  the 
raging  wind  spreading  the  news  wherever  the  current  of  air 
would  carry  it,  that  something  more  than  "  only  a  fire  "  had  to  be 
subdued.  Houses  were  grasped  by  hooks  and  ropes,  and  willing 
hands  by  tlie  hundred  walked  away  with  the  liauling  apparatus 
to  make  a  gaj)  over  which  the  flames  could  not  reach  ;  but  almost 
before  one  such  mi.s;,rable  lire  trap  had  been  rc(Uiced  to  ruin,  the 
•wind  carried  a  flaming  ember  across  the  chasm,  and  there  was 
anotl^  starting  point  for  the  destroyer.  With  something  like 
the  sfirtie  spirit  as  that  which  possc.«sed  the  French  soldiery  in 
Moscow,  when  they  saw  the  Kremlin  on  fire,  and  their  own 
quarters  bursting  into  flame  at  fifty  })oints  at  once,  the  wretched 
inhabitants  came  pouring  out  from  the  fetid  courts  and  rurrow 
alleys  in  which  they  had  vegetated,  some  haggard  and  careworn, 
but  too  much  scared  to  cry,  some  loaded  with  worthless  items 
■which  would  not  have  })aid  for  finding  in  the  streets,  some  frenz- 
iedly  breaking  windows,  under  the  impression  that  they  were 
heljjing  to  abate  the  destruction,  when  they  were  establishing  a 
drauglit  of  air  through  the  blazing  structure,  which  would  laugh 
to  scorn  the  best  directed  efforts  of  the  firemen.  The  fireficnd 
was  master  of  the  situation,  and  it  was  evident  that  nothing 
effectual  could  be  done  to  stay  the  flames  until  the  river  was 
reached  on  (jnc  side,  and  on  the  ether,  the  scene  of  the  Saturday- 
night's  conflagration,  ofl'ercd  a  gap,  in  the  face  of  which,  the 
blaze  of  ruin  could  burn  itself  out,  ])owerless  for  further  damage. 
Several  blocks  had  been  completely  destroyed  the  jireccding 
night,  making  a  broad  margin  near  the  river,  that  would  be  the 
end  of  the  march  of  devastation.  Many  went  home  out  of  the 
wind  and  the  smoke,  when  that  conclusion  had  been  reached,  but 
the  scene  was  too  full  of  excitement  and  interest  to  permit  an 
active  minded  man  to  retire  from  that  terrible  array  of  flame 
until  the  last  ember  bad  been  quenched.    "  Good  night  my  l>oy," 


ewB''ff^^SffBSs 


Pitis'cwAL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


459 


litations. 
pvonit)g, 
fiirri  and 
iiuhody 
I'mneriHo 
If'Tc  the 
||'<'ii   tlic 
|t  of  air 
|a(l  to  1)0 
willii)<'' 

O 

ijiaratiia 
t  altiiost 
iiiii,  the 
''1(3  was 
iig  like 
lieiy  in 
ii'  own 
re  celled 
i:  arrow 

c  worn, 

•"^  items 

e  frenz- 

y  were 

•liing  a 
laugh 

rc/icnd 

olliiiic 

31'  was 

■urday 

1,  the 

mage. 

oding 

)e  the 

f  the 

,  but 

it  an 

lame 

oy," 


said  an  Kiigli.sli  friend  of  the  writer,  wlio  tlioiighl  lie  could  sco 
where   the  end   would   be,  ami   would   no  longer  deny  himself 
siec]).     When  the  lire  died  out  at  last,  a  few  calcined  bones  and 
some  molten  metal  were  all  that  remained  of  tlie  poor  fellow,  and 
his  valuable  watch,  jewelry  and  coin,  to  tell  the  story  of  the  long, 
long  .sleep  to  which  he  had  hurried.     Througii  block  after  block, 
of  the  western  division  of  ilie  eit}',  the  flames  rushed  ;  one  man, 
hurrying  home  from  church,  would  rush  into  his  dwelling,  from 
which   his  family  had  already  removed,  in  terror.     His  frantic 
impulse  bore  down  all  opposition,  and  he  was  gone  into  a  house 
already  burning,  from  which  he  never  returned  alive,     'i'ho  stair- 
way was  one  blaze  almost  immediately  after  he  hud  ascended  ; 
he  was  .seen  at  a  window  and  his  seared  a.sj)ect  told  of  the  reali- 
zation of  his  peril ;  he  looked  down  to  the  street  below  as  if  con- 
templating a  mad  leaj);  some  idea  of  help  or  escape  in  another 
direction,  called  him  from  the  aperture,  and  within  what  .seemed, 
in  that  fearfraught  time,  a  few  seconds,  the  walls  were  all  ablaze, 
the  roof  had  fallen  in,  and  there  was  no  longer  a  man  in  danger, 
only  the  charred  remains  of  something  that  was  hardly  human  to 
the  sight.     Within  an  hour  from  tlie  first  outbreak,  planing  milb 
and  furniture   factories  had  carried  on  the  work  of  the  demon 
until  it  seemed  as  though  hell  itself  hud  been  loosed  upon  the 
city. .   Large  elevators  with  all  their  contents  were  gone  ;  thousands 
were  homeless.     One  man  looking  for  one  of  his  children,  whom 
he  remembered  bringing  out  from  his  burning  home,  made  no 
account  of  all   his  other  losses,  in  his  anxiety  to  discover  that 
child.     An  hour  before,  he  owned  the  house  he  lived  in,  with 
one  on  either  side,   and  in  the  rear,  an  immense  workshop,  in 
which  he  emi)loycd  ten  men  and  some  ap})rentl(;es,  building  up  a 
com})etence  already  large,  and  now  he  stood  there  without  coat  or 
hat,  no  longer  the  possessor  of  a  dwelling  or  a  dollar,  but  his  only 
are  was  for  his  boy  who  had  thoughtle.«sly  wandered  from  his 
ide.     The  boy  was  found  again,  safe  and  unhurt,  and  his  father 
lived  to  rebuild  his  fortune  when  the  city  rose  from  her  ashes. 
The  scene  of  the  former  night's  ruin  was  already  reached,  but  it 
seemed  as  if  tb^re  were  a  .series  of  whirlwinds  circling  in  the 
centers  of  fire.     The  terrible  heat  produced  a  kind  of  vacuum, 
the  vortices  of  the  old  philosophers  were  being  realized,  the 


:  I  :il 


I    ■  ■  '  i 

!     ,'i     ' 


.  >■;  I'rttdM 


ii  \m 


.1 


460 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


heated  atmosphere  ascended  straight  from  the  middle  of  t^c  tor- 
nado of  flame,  and  from  every  side  the  fierce  and  hungry  air 
swept  in  to  take  part  in  the  dance  of  death.  It  was  a  sight  never 
to  be  forgoLtcn.  Through  every  street  that  opened  upon  tlie 
scene  of  disaster  came  a  rush  of  air  to  burst  through  tlio  portals 
of  flame,  and  supply  the  vacuum.  The  whole  city  was  a  furnace, 
and  the  gods  had  set  themselves  to  make  Vulcan's  stithy  too  h<^t 
to  hold  him.  The  burnt  district  had  no  power  to  arrest  the 
flame,  the  cinders  of  last  night  burned  over  agaiii  fiercely  as  ever, 
the  air  had  become  inilammablc.  Blazing  timbers  careered  tliroui^h 
upper  air,  as  if  aimed  from  a  catapult,  to  carry  the  baleful  visi- 
tant over  the  river.  The  shipping  was  on  fire  at  Van  Buren,  Polk 
street  and  Adams,  the  bridges  were  ablaze,  the  south  side  was  a 
new  area  open  to  destruction,  and  despair  usurped  the  place 
■which  had  been  filled  by  hope,  until  the  river  had  been  carried 
by  the  grand  omp^  which  seemed  fated  to  destroy  every  vestige  of 
habitation  and  wealth. 

It  was  now  one  on  ilonday  morning;  tlie  fire  had  been  burning' 
about  four  hours,  and  the  south  side  was  on  fire  at  two  jwints, 
and  in  the  seething  crowd  which  rushed  from  place  to  ]ilace,  the 
writer  heard  a  hundred  statements  hazarded  within  ten  minutes, 
which  magnified  the  real  danger  into  still  more  terrible  propor- 
tions ;  but  unhappily,  before  the  next  twcntj'-four  hours  had  gone 
b}'',  the  wildest  exaggerations  had  been  more  than  verified  by  the 
fact.  The  tar  works  were  one  mass  of  flame,  near  the  gas  house 
of  the  south  division,  and  there  was  Greek  fire  spreading  dismay 
on  every  hand.  The  better  materials  among  which  the  work  of 
ruin  was  now  proceeding,  seemed  to  have  no  capacity  to  stay  the 
devastation ;  a  whole  block  was  being  consumed,  before  the  be- 
wildered department  could  imagine  what  should  next  be  done. 
The  gas  works,  the  armory,  and  the  buildings  adjoining  on  either 
side,  were  only  heaps  of  ruins,  and  there  were  two  bodies  of  lire 
in  several  ranks  marching  rapidly  as  the  wind  itself,  east  and 
north,  across  Fifth  avenue  to  La  Salle  street,  on  the  one  hand, 
along  Monroe,  Madison  and  Washington  streets  on  :he  other. 
The  handsomest  buildings  in  Chicago  were  as  tin.sel  when  the 
flames  came  licking  rourd  them.  The  Pacific  hotel,  si.x  stories 
high,  and  every  story  lofty  as  art  could  imagine,  or  convenience 


PiiixciPAL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


461 


'f  t'lc  tor- 
iiiigiy  air 
ylit  never 
"I'on   tlie 
1^'  portals 
[•■I  furnace, 
Vy  too  hot 
in-cst   the 
\y  as  evei-, 
'\  through 
It-'ful  visi- 
'cn,  PoIIc 
i(Jc  was  a 
'<-'  jthice 
'1  eari-io(l 
vestige  of 

1  buiwiinL' 
'0  points, 
Jiace,  the 
minutes, 
I  ]:)ropor- 
lacl  gone 
"'  by  tlie 
IS  house 
'  tlismav 
woi-k  of 
=tay  the 
tijc  be- 
3  (lone. 
I  eitlier 
of  ilre 
St  and 
hand, 
otiier. 
Ill  the 
itories 
lieucc 


desire,  was  but  a  morsel  when  the  jaws  of  flame  were   opened. 
The  vast  building  was  gone,  and  at  the  same  moment  the  word 
was  passed  thiough  tlie  erowd,  as  if  by  spirit  telegraphy,  that  the 
depot  of  the  Mieliigan  Southern  Kailroad,  tlie  finest  in  Chicago, 
had  gone  up  in  the  smoke,     It  seemed  useless  to  fight  with  such 
monsters  bent  on  destruction,  as  the  two  bodies  of  fire  which  were 
assailing  the  city  in  two  points  so  wide  apart  frona  each  other,  yet 
continuing  the  cordon  of  communication  so  completely  that  hardly 
a  block  escaped  untouched.     From  La  Salle  to  Clark  street  was 
but  a  step,  and.  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Farwell  Uall,  and  the 
buildings  intervneing  were  blackened  and  charred  embers,  noth- 
ing more.      From  some  source  now  new  energy  had  come  to  the 
councils  of  the  firemen.     When  the  fire  was  first  reached,   one 
block  of  the  worthless  structures,  tliat  only  fed  the  flame,  might 
have  been  destroved  and  the  whole  city  saved;  but  there  was  no 
great  man  to  see  the  emergency  and  to  compel  obedience  to  his 
will,  in  grappling  with  a  foe  so  deadly,  by  the  only  means  that 
could  succeed.     Now  tiiat  the  palaces  of  banking  ami  commerce 
had  been   reached,   there  was  the  energy  of  desperation,   but  it 
came  too  late.     The  crash  of  gunpowder  was  heard,  and  as  the 
report  came  with  deafening  force  upon  the  ears  of  those  who  were 
near  at  hand,  for  at  a  distance  nothing  could  be  heard  save  the 
dullroar  of  the  enemy,  pile  after  pile  of  buildings  toppled  and  fell 
over,  but  nothing  availed  to  stay  the  destroyer  now.     The  chasm 
\i'as  as  nothing,  the  tongues  of  flame  darted  over  the  cavity  made  by 
the  fall  of  half  a  block,  and  before  one  could  think  of  such  a  thing 
as  possible,  the  next  block  was  illuminated  by  the  nimbus  of  de- 
struction.    Afterwards,  when  the  fire  had  died  out  in  its  own 
despite,  because  the  wind  had  carried  it  where  there  were  no  build- 
ings to  be  consumed,  it  was  found  that  the  blazing  embers  had 
reached  out  two  miles  across  the  lake,  and  had  fallen  hot  and  smok- 
ing upon  the  crib  of  the  wa^^erworks,  as  though  striving  to  find  a 
way  over  the  lake  itself  to  some  new  fields  of  industry  wliich 
might  be  wrecked.     With  an  enemy  so  masterful,   aided  by  a 
wind  so  strong,  what  mattered  half  a  block  or  a  block  of  build- 
ings, where  every  house  was  blistered  and  smoke  dried,  waiting 
for  the  first  tongue  of  flame  only  to  surrender  itself  to  the  de- 
stroyer.    The  tv/o  lines  of  flame  which  branched  from  the  tar 


'['ill 


IN 


'«i;i. 


Vi 


i^x- 


4G3 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


"works,  burning  with  the  avidity  of  Greek  fire,  had  flung  out  lines 
without  nuniber  at  every  new  street,  running  down  the  row  of 
baildings  on  cither  side  with  frightful  regularity,  without  abating 
one  stride  in  the  onward  march.  Market,  street,  Wells,  Franklin, 
La  Salle,  were  gone ;  Jackson,  Quincy  and  Adams  had  been  as- 
sailed at  their  river  ends,  and  were  looked  upon  as  past  hope. 
Hundreds  who  had  looked  on  for  hours  with  an  impassive  cool- 
ness, were  now  homeless  and  beggars,  their  roofs,  their  employ- 
ment, their  clothing,  almost  their  last  coin,  all  gone  together,  uiid 
there  seemed  no  pros^^cctof  even  a  supply  of  food,  when  the  night 
of  horror  should  be  spent.  The  grotto  like  coolness  of  Washing- 
ton street  tunnel  was  no  protection  from  the  blast  of  hot  air  and 
flame  wbinh  was  borne  upon  the  gale,  the  roadway  was  burned 
and  the  blaze  was  drawn  as  itito  a  flue,  far  beyond  the  opening  of 
the  underground  pa  age.  The  coal  yards  had  become  one  vast 
furnace,  in  which  the  masses  of  antliracite  gave  forth  their  gases 
to  be  carried  in  expanding  masses  of  fire,  as  it  seemed,  more  than 
two  blocks  away,  where  the  destruction  seized  hold  upon  crisped 
buildings,  which  until  now  had  defied  the  efforts  of  the  foe.  Men 
who  had  aggregated  upon  roofs,  from  wlience  they  had  been  able 
in  perfect  safety  to  contemplate  the  diorama  of  disaster,  against 
which  it  had  long  since  ajipcared  that  heroic  energy  was  as  noth- 
ing, found  themselves  suddenly  in  the  ver}'  center  of  the  fight, 
and  before  long  that  struggle,  like  every  other  on  that  night  of 
horror,  ended  in  a  stampede  before  the  onrush  of  death.  One 
aftei  another,  the  great  hotels  were  reached,  and  hundreds  of 
guests  and  e»?^>Zcvf?s  of  every  grade  wci'e  without  shelter,  out  in 
the  fire-laden  night  air,  fleeing  for  life.  Some  few  edifices  which 
had  been  abandoned  early  in  the  night  as  bL'yond  rescue,  were 
spared  by  the  advancing  lines  of  destruction,  because,  just  as  the 
jaws  of  Eblis  were  yawning  to  engulf  them,  the  pitying  winds 
blew  aside  the  current  of  annihilation  to  suj)  on  daintier  food. 
The  south  division  had  one  such  structure  north  of  the  Handolph 
street  bridge,  and  the  two  bridges  on  Kandolph  and  Madison 
streets  were  left  passable,  if  not  entirely  unscathed.  South  Water 
street  went  up  in  flame,  a  terrible  holocausc.  Klevators  teeming 
with  golden  grain,  warehouses  which  contained  the  wealth  of  an 
empire,  and  the  treasures  of  two  hemispheres,  were  heaps  of  ■  in- 


t*y^;i 


PnixciPAL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


463 


out  lines 
J  "J  row  of 
ft  abutiiif 
|l'Vaiikliii^ 

been  as- 
last  liope. 
^ive  cool- 
einploj- 
[tlier,  and 
lie  night 
A  a.sliin;r. 
t  air  and 
5  burned 
)ening  of 
*"ie  vast 
c if  gases 
ore  than 
I  cri.-^ped 

een  able 

against 

as  noth- 

e  Jig  lit, 
^"'gbt  of 
I-  One 
i-ed.s  of 

out  in 

wliieli 
',  were 
as  tbe 
winds 

food, 
Uolph 
idison 
Vater 
iiiiiig 
)f  an 

■  ia- 


ders,  notliing  better.  The  lumber  exchange  disappeared  like  "an 
unsubstantial  pageant  faded."  Lake  street,  more  eplcndid  to  the 
sight  but  not  more  rijli,  followed  in  the  same  traek  of  ruin.  The 
stone  walls  almost  glowed  with  red  heat,  the  basements  were  filled 
with  red  cinders,  made  up  of  I'afters,  roof-tree,  stairs  and  floors, 
and  in  the  terrible  illumination,  unnumbered  niillioPT  of  dollars 
had  sailed  away  upon  the  cyclone,  whic'.i  added  flame  to  whirl- 
wind. 

The  Afassasoit,  the  Richmond,  the  i\'Tr.ins,  and  the  Tremont 
houses  had  mmc,  and  the  Illinois  Central  denot  was  a  ruin.  Then 
the  Briggs,  the  Metropolitan,  the  Matteson  and  the  Sherman 
swelled  the  tide  of  the  shelterless.  The  flames  stretched  across 
to  the  court  house  almost  without  an  effort,  not  destroying  the 
structure  entirely,  but  burning  up  the  woodwork,  until  it  became 
necessary  to  choose  between  allowing  crime  to  roast  in  the  prison 
cells,  at  the  base  of  the  building,  and  —  the  other  alternative — • 
turning  adrift  upon  society  such  horrible  wretches,  as  might  in- 
tensify the  apjialling  visitation,  under  which  Chicago  reeled  to 
destruction.  Some  of  these  creatures  fled  as  soon  as  their  doors 
were  opened,  and  were  heard  of  no  more,  perhaps  lured  to  de- 
struction by  the  possibility  of  drunkenness  without  cost,  and  then 
lying  down  regardless  of  danger  to  be  trampled  upon  by  men  and 
horses,  in  some  frightful  rush  before  the  fierco  Moloch,  which 
came  on  to  uni.sh  the  work  of  obliteration.  Some  were  seen  later 
in  the  day  armed  to  the  teeth,  defying  owners  of  property  to 
move  theii-  own  wealth,  or  compelling  them  by  frightful  threats, 
to  open  safes  which  had  resisted  their  ingenuity.  Scenes  were 
enacted  which  recalled  in  a  thousand  difl!crent  ways  the  words  of 

Robert  Burns: 

"  Man's  inhumanity  to  man, 
]Miikcs  countless  ungels  niouin." 

Theaters,  newspa])er  ofliccs,  churches,  the  opera  house,  went 
down,  until  only  McYicker's  establishment  and  the  Tribune 
ofBce  seemed  likely  to  remain  when  the  black  wing  of  desolation 
should  have  folded  itself  down  upon  the  rest  of  the  locality  in 
which  they  stood,  biit  it  was  "  hoping  against  hope."  About  four 
in  the  morning  the  news  came  that  the  north  side  was  falling  into 
the  lap  of  lire  which  had  swallowed  the  rest  of  the  city,  and  the 


m\\\ 


464 


Tvttle's  Centennial  Nohtiiwest. 


'It' 


Vlf 


yet  more  dreadfal  tidings  followed  that  the  water  Nvorks  had  gone 
witli  the  rest,  so  that  there  was  no  longer  a  stream,  however  pow- 
erless, with  which  to  eontinuo  the  battle.  Four  hours  later  the 
last  theater  and  the  lust  newspaper  oflicc  followed  each  otlier 
down  the  red  road  of  incineration,  and  the  great  avenues  of  Wa- 
bash.and  Micliigan,  cm})tied  of  their  contents,  were  waiting  to  be 
possessed  by  the  spoiler.  Daylight  was  upon  Chicago,  but  such 
(hu'light  as  had  never  slionc  over  a  city  in  the  vv(jrld'ri  history  be- 
fore. When  ^foscow  burned,  a  disciplined  mass  of  men  retired 
with  fc'ome  show  of  order,  before  an  cuemy  whose  range  of  terror 
could  be  calculated  at  the  worst.  AVhen  London  was  burned,  the 
crazy  buildings  in  narrow  streets  were  but  so  many  nuisances  re- 
moved out  of  ilio  way  of  the  often  I'ccunlng  plague,  and  a  moder- 
ate show  of  courage  in  the  directing  minds  of  the  government 
might  have  staN'cd  the  ravages  at  almost  any  moment,  but  under 
a  wortlile.ss  king,  as  cold  and  callous  as  Xero,  there  were  none  to 
stamp  out  the  conflagration.  Here  was  a  force  superior  to  man's 
energies.  The  winds,  neutralized  in  their  general  tenor,  were  all 
turned  toward  this  livid  vortex  and  palaces  of  commerce  or  of 
rest,  which  only  a  few  hours  before  seemed  fire  proof,  wore  now 
burning  like  pitch  pine.  Daylight  was  upon  Chicago,  but  it  came 
down  tlirough  an  overarching  canopy  of  smoke,  fretted  with  fire, 
in  which  it  jcemed  as  if  the  air  held  carbon  in  mechanical 
equipoise,  as  a  medium  along  which  flame  might  traverse  to  the 
remotest  point,  fed  by  the  stream  of  oxygen,  in  the  hot  atmos- 
phere. Xever  such  a  da)'  had  the  world  seen,  when  con(|uering 
armies  carrying  cities  by  assault,  api)lied  the  torch  of  war  to  tlie 
best  evidences  of  civilization,  and  made  rapine  more  terrible  by 
savage  brutality,  within  tlic  roar  of  their  hellisli  tempest.  It  was 
a  sight  before  wliich  the  worst;,  pictures  on  the  page  of  Dante 
paled  aud  went  out,  as  poetry  always  must  when  it  collides  with 
actual  existence.  Drunkenness,  and  greed,  and  robber}-,  perhaps 
murder,  were  in  tlie  streets,  but  none  could  pause  to  interfere  with 
their  course,  in  the  terrible  fiight  for  life,  on  which  men  and 
women  had  long  since  entered.  Onward  went  tlie  crowd.  One 
man  with  a  child  seated  on  iiis  shoulders,  tugged  one  more  with 
either  hand,  and  anxious.y  implored  their  mother  to  keep  abreast 
of  him,  in  the  torrent,  which  was  rushing  toward  the  lake  shore. 


r  xronc 


1 

1 

['■ 

j. 

.!(■ 

i  '• 

y\'l 


f  ;,  I 


ih  '  i 


lip 


li 


ill 


i* 


PnixciPAL  Cities  of  Illixois. 


465 


God  only  knovs  the  outcome  of  tlicir  struggle.  Here  were  men 
loaded  with  articles  of  furniture,  for  which  they  seemed  to  be  more 
solicitous  than  for  their  own  safety.  One  j)crson  carried  a  statuette 
of  Parian  marble  representing  "  Una  and  the  Lion,"  whom  her 
innocence  and  trust  liad  tamed,  and  all  his  sorrow  in  the  mad 
rush  of  events  seemed  to  have  concentrated  itself  npon  the  fact, 
that  the  glass  shade  had  been  broken  by  some  heedless  passer-by. 
There  is  a  ^Yondrou3  comfort  for  us  all,  in  the  freaks  of  insanity 
which  sanctifies  to  every  man  some  hobb}' behind  which  he  is  en- 
trenched against  the  world's  worst  calamities.  There  were  plenti- 
ful signs  visible  now,  for  men  had  abandoned  their  masks,  and  faces 
could  be  seen  every  where.  The  ruffian  was  ai;  no  i)ains  to  wear  the 
seeming  of  politeness,  which  at  other  hours  he  had  worn,  to  some  de 
gree,  even  in  his  worst  haunts;  and  the  hidden  features  of  every 
character,  such  as  Nathaniel  Hawthorne  said  were  only  visible  to 
the  student,  in  the  sun  painted  pictures  of  human  kind,  were  here 
drawn  \\\^  to  the  surface,  and  made  prominent,  before  every  eye, 
by  the  glare  of  tliis  awful  scene.  If  the  eternal  fire  can  thus 
brutalize  the  race,  who  would  dare  the  risk  of  hell,  for  all  the 
kingdoms  of  this  earth,  or  the  whole  universe? 

"  Booksellers  How  "  went  down  under  the  flood  of  fire,  about 
the  same  time  as  the  Tribune  building  was  destroyed,  and  powder 
was  applied  more  freely  than  ever,  to  countermine  the  cnem}', 
using  one  ruin  to  hem  in  another,  but  nothing  could  arrest  the 
advance.  The  knes  which  had  diverged  from  the  gas  works 
came  here  once  more  within  ran2;e  of  each  other,  having  com- 
pleted  their  ghastly  circuit,  and  from  the  vast  \n\es  of  palaces 
aflame  the  heat  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  thousands,  who 
had  accumulated  their  more  precious  articles  of  furniture  b}'  the 
lake  .shore,  and  in  the  base  ball  grounds,  in  the  assurance  that 
nothing  could  harm  them  at  that  distance  from  any  habitation. 
The  Britons  prayed  to  Koine  for  help,  because  they  stood  defense- 
less between  the  barbarians  and  the  sea ;  here  was  a  foe  worse, 
incomparably,  than  Pict  or  Scot,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  the  waters  of  the  storm-tost  lake,  w  ith  no  Pome  from  which 
available  succor  could  be  hoped.  The  multitude  broke  and  fled 
when  the  hot  emissaries  of  ruin  came  hurtling  down  upon  their 
household  gods;  it  was  useless  to  continue  the  battle,  save  for  the 
30 


il  I 


.1)  ,\  ' 


1)1 


!»; . 


j  =  ('J 


I 

I 


?^. 


:,i  ■! 


!j!j  'i 


hi 


i  I 


'III'  ii 


.  If 


ip'  ^ 


466 


Tuttle's  Cextexmal  XoiiTinvr.sT, 


rescue  of  life  itself,  ;uul  there  was  joj  unspeakable  in  many 
breasts,  when  in  the  midst  uf  that  hail  of  devastation,  they  had 
passed  through  the  park  southward  beyond  tlie  end  of  Washing- 
ton street,  and  could  count  their  little  ones  alive  in  the  groups  by 
which  they  were  surrounded,  athirst,  starving  and  liel])less, 
AVabash  and  Michigan  Avenues,  Terrace  Row,  and  tlie  l)eantiful 
churches  which  had  adorned  the  city  in  this  neighborhood  had 
been  resplendent  with  flanie  for  an  hour  or  more,  and  they  were 
now  lying  there  black  and  smoking  in  irredeemable  defeat. 
Some  walls  tottered  in  the  wind,  but  men  feared  the  swift  de- 
struction in  which  their  fall  might  at  any  moment  involve  the 
passcr-b}',  and  it  was  a  relief  when  the  vast  edilices  crumbled  to 
their  base.  The  water  works  were  among  the  earliest  buildings 
to  succumb  in  the  North  Division,  and  after  that  event  there  was 
no  lew  nor  hindrance  to  the  onrush  of  tiiat  awful  lire,  until  the 
North  Division  was  erased.  The  flames  had  entered  the  Wash- 
ington street  tuimel,  but  when  the  body  of  fire  advanced  upon 
the  tunnel  in  La  Salle  street,  the  tongues  of  llamc  came  through 
and  danced  with  glee  in  the  further  extremity,  reducing  the  wood- 
work to  charcoal,  burning  the  stonework  into  quick  lime  or  pow- 
der. When  such  distances  could  be  bridged  by  flame,  under  tho 
river,  where  was  escape  possible  ?  Swift  flight,  never  pausing  to 
look  behind,  was  the  only  chance  of  .safety  on  tho  north  side, 
onee  the  fire  made  headway  among  the  fragile  edilices  in  that 
quarter.  The  Roman  phalanx  linked  their  shields  together  and 
moved  on  to  victory,  a  wall  of  bra.ss,  backed  up  by  liercc  and 
disciplined  humanity.  The  fire  phalanx  on  the  north  side  linked 
together  tongues  of  flanie,  and  marched  onward  an  irresistible 
body,  such  as  no  human  power  could  confront  and  live.  The 
conflagration,  in  the  quarter  last  attacked,  was  more  unrelenting 
than  elsewhere.  The  other  quarters  had  been  eviscerated,  but 
something  remained  entire ;  a  head  here,  limbs  there,  the  case, 
from  which  the  living  interior  had  been  consumed  ;  but  in  the 
North  Division,  there  was  absolute  destruction,  and  the  people 
could  only  fly  to  the  open  country.  The  abating  storm  at  one 
point,  and  the  untiring  work  of  a  few  friends  in  another,  saved  a 
residence  in  tho  midst  of  a  burning  block,  and  a  block  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  North  Division,  close  to  the  river  but  in 


PiusciVAL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


m 


tlie  panic  of  tlie  day  men  hardly  dared  to  attempt  salvage,  in  the 
face  of  that  relentless  carnival  of  ruin.  The  work  of  destruction 
went  on  until  Fullcrt(jn  Avenue,  in  the  extreme  north,  was 
reached,  and  the  fire  died  out  for  lack  of  fuel.  The  cemetery, 
near  Lincoln  Park  was  made  a  temporary  bivouac  on  Monday 
night,  but  the  enemy  raided  in  upon  living  and  dead,  and  the 
sleepers  on  the  surface  were  forced  to  fly  once  more.  There  was 
no  safety  for  the  stricken  crowd  except  on  the  open  prairie  to  the 
north,  far  beyond  where  Fiither  ^rarquettc  once  made  his  home, 
or  out  upon  the  bosom  of  Lake  Michigan.  When  at  last  there 
was  breathing  time  for  the  fugitives,  they  looked  back  upon  tlio 
spot  where  so  many  millions  of  millions  of  dollars  had  been  real- 
ized and  expended,  and  they  saw  through  the  falling  rain  of  Mon- 
day night,  a  huge,  black,  smoking  wreck,  which  seemed  more  dis- 
mal than  the  "  slough  of  despond,"  of  which  John  Bunyan  had 
told  them,  or  the  counterpart  thereof,  which  many  in  those  con- 
courses had  seen,  on  which  the  pioneers  of  the  once  thriving  city 
had  commenced  its  era  of  unrivalled  growth.  In  that  wide  area 
of  overthrow,  in  which  the  elements  had  rioted  in  a  desperate  at- 
tempt to  carry  the  earth  back  to  its  p)rimeval  chaos,  during  the 
thirty  hours  that  the  fire  raged  and  the  wind  howled  until  the 
heavens  dropped  tears  of  sympathy  like  a  pattering  rain,  there 
appear  to  have  been  less  than  two  hundred  deaths,  but  how  many 
were  actually  destroyed  will  never  be  known  until  the  last  dread- 
ful day  of  account  reveals  all  m^-steries. 

The  lire  was  stayed  at  last,  and  if  the  smoking  embers  were  not 
quenched,  there  was  a  cessation  of  danger,  and  time  for  men  to 
look  about  them,  The  homeless  must  be  sheltered,  the  hungry 
must  be  fed,  the  naked  must  be  clothed,  however  terrible  the 
calamity  from  which  the  peo[ile  had  escaped  ;  and  every  church 
and  public  building  of  whatever  kind,  in  which  walls  and  a  roof 
remained  untouched  by  the  destroyer,  must  now  afford  a  home  to 
the  precious  waifs  and  strays,  which,  within  the  last  few  hours, 
had  been  flotsam  and  jetsam  on  the  tide  of  fire.  The  flood  gates 
of  pity  were  opened  in  almost  every  breast,  in  the  depths  of  the 
terrible  affliction  which  had  overwhelmed  the  community.  "The 
poor  ye  have  with  you  always."  and  the  poorest  are  oftentimes 
the  best  sympathizers,  even  within  their  powers,  the  best  helpers 


I; 


)  *  I 


'V-:i: 


^'f-  'Hi 


m\.- 


111 
;    ia|i!i 


1 
■\  I 


1    "ir 


I 


4G8 


TuTTLE's  CKNTKySIAL  NoRTllWKST. 


ciLso.  Now  all  tlie  city  was  poor,  and  in  the  common  sorrow  tliei'o 
\vas  common  pity.  Once  more,  for  a  little  time,  nu'n"lia(I  all 
tilings  in  common,"  as  tliev  liave  when  a  crew  from  some  sliii)- 
wreck  e^rcape  upon  a  raft,  or  when  a  beleaguered  city  must  bus- 
Land  its  resources,  by  giving  to  every  defender  bis  ration  of  diet, 
and  sending  the  noncombatants  awa}'.  ^Flic  city  ft'd  its  poor  and 
cared  for  the  fatberloss  and  molberless  in  their  aflliction  until  the 
news  of  the  direful  calannty  had  circled  the  earth,  and  answers 
came  from  every  civilized  land  with  iiromises  of  succor.  The 
agony  of  those  nights  and  that  lurid,  awful  day  were  compensated 
for  the  liviii;^  by  an  outburst  of  practical  commiseration,  such  as 
no  former  time  had  known.  .The  merchant  whose  means  had  been 
consumed,  learned  now  the  value  of  his  credit,  which  could  not 
be  destroyed  by  fire,  when  biscreditors  sent  along  the  wires  in- 
spiring words,  which  told  him  that  he  might  rebuild  his  ware- 
houses, and  procure  such  aid  as  he  required  to  resume  his  avoca- 
tion. There  were  many  such  incidents  in  the  history  of  Chicago, 
within  the  week  that  followed  its  destruction,  and  before  the  stone- 
work was  yet  cold,  men  were  employed  preparing  the  way  for  new 
liremi.ses,  in  which  business  could  be  temporarily  resumed,  pend- 
ing the  erection  of  more  spacious  edifices,  such  as  never  until  thcu 
had  been  erected  in  such  haste,  at  such  cost,  for  the  purposes  of 
commerce.  The  painful  uncertainty  of  the  first  twenty-four  hours 
after  tlie  rain  commenced,  came  to  an  end  when  it  became  appar- 
ent that  every  laborer  who  would  use  his  strength  under  direc- 
tion, could  earn  better  wages  in  the  blackened  dchris  than  the 
average  miner  in  Ca  Cornia,  and  that  every  man  that  could  build 
with  brick  or  stone  could  command  enough  remuneration  to  re- 
kindle his  own  hearth  fires.  Lawlessness  was  repressed  with  very 
little  dela}'  as  the  streets  were  once  more  opened  for  traffic,  and 
scoundrelism  shrank  back  to  its  hideous  lairs.  Proclamations 
were  distributed  through  the  yet  burning  city  on  Monday  after- 
noon, rallying  all  lovers  of  order  to  assist  the  authorities  in  pre- 
serving peace  and  protecting  property,  and  on  Thursday,  Lieut. 
Gen.  Sheridan  was  temporarily  made  director  of  the  efforts  of  the 
citizens  for  the  better  realization  of  such  objects.  The  city  stood 
pledged  to  feed  the  hungry,  and  to  protect  the  honest  citizen  in 
his  vocation.     Therein  were  the  elements  of  final  settlement,  and 


PnisciPAL  Cities  of  Illisois, 


469 


Uv  tliero 
had  all 
lie  ship- 
fist  liiis- 
lof  diet, 
|tH)r  and 
iiitil  the 
laiiswcrs 
Jr.     Tlie 
|)cnsatcd 
sueh  as 


the  end  was  near  at  hand.  Ten  days  from  the  firo  the  city  water 
works  were  in  sunicicnt  order  to  allow  of  a  resumption  of  supply. 
Then  within  five  days  of  that  tinie  the  gas  works  could  once  more 
light  the  city  in  sueh  parts  as  had  been  rescued  from  destruction. 
Speedily  the  newspapers  of  Chicago  came  out  again,  not  precisely 
in  their  old  forms,  but  under  provisional  arrangements  which 
bridged  the  time  of  sorrow  until  tlie  bright  days  came  again,  and 
every  issue  told  of  the  noble  deeds  which,  better  than  words,  illus- 
trated the  generous  spirit  of  all  nations.  The  banks  reopened  ten 
days  after  the  fire,  and  there  was  no  run  upon  their  resources, 
Business  fiowed  once  more  in  the  old  channels,  builders  were 
ready  to  employ  every  cajiable  workman,  and  when  the  wintry 
frosts  set  in,  which,  under  other  circumstances,  would  have  arrested 
building  oj)eratioiis,  immense  fires  were  kept  up  to  preserve  the 
mortar  and  cement  from  freezing,  so  that  the  walls  might  be 
erected  without  delay,  for  a  business  la''ger  and  more  prosperous 
than  even  Chicago  had  known.  No  yEtna,  nor  Vesuvius,  nor 
llecla,  throwing  out  pumice  and  vomiting  lava,  ever  revealed  the 
power  of  fire  so  stnaigcly  as  it  was  seen  in  the  dchrlf;  of  Chicago ; 
but  men  could  not  pcusc  to  consider  those  items  of  distortion  and 
agglomeration.  The  army  of  industry  was  in  possession  of  the 
works  temporarily  held  by  the  enemy,  and  every  minute  was 
worth  gold  in  preparing  a  fortification  against  winter.  On  Tues- 
day there  was  a  load  of  lumber  hauled  into  the  south  division,  to 
commence  the  work  of  rebuilding,  and  before  twenty-four  hours 
had  elapsed  a  merchant  had  opened  the  store  for  which  that  tim- 
ber was  designed.  The  abodes  of  wealth  and  fashion  in  Wabasli 
and  Michigan  avenues,  in  West  Washington  street.  West  Lake, 
Eandolph,  Madison,  ^Nfonroe,  where,  until  then,  trade  had  been 
"  tabooed,"  were  temporarily  taken  hold  upon  for  business,  and  the 
rest  of  the  city  was  given  over  to  artificers  in  wood  and  metals,  to 
be  made  once  more  the  favored  abode  of  commerce.  The  horse 
barn  of  the  Southside  railroad  became  a  fashionable  emporium, 
occupied  by  one  of  the  largest  dry  goods  houses  in  the  northwest, 
and  within  a  few  hours  it  appeared  to  have  been  used  for  just  sueh. 
purposes  all  its  days.  Before  the  end  of  December  there  were 
more  than  two  hundred  buildings  of  brick  and  stone  being  erected 
by  the  aid  of  innumerable  fires  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  the 


'•■'  I 


! ;  r 


:H'ill 


masBSSiSKB- 


? 


'!.' 


F  ■!<■,' '' 


\'M  ! 


I  l^isj 


! 


!       i 


470 


TuTTLt^S  CLWTKyNIAL  XoiiTllirt'ST. 


number  of  wooden  erections  cannot  1)0  nanietl.  Tlic  courage  of 
a  people  bad  been  terribly  tried,  but  it  was  equal  to  the  emer- 
gency, and  very  soon  the  capital  of  all  the  world  sought  Chicago 
as  an  area  for  investments,  where  profits  all  but  fabulous  might 
be  secured  in  rebuilding  a  fommerct!  which,  more  surely  than  in 
any'formcr  time,  mu.st  now  command  the  resources  of  the  vast, 
fertile  valley  of  the  ^Mississippi.  The  districts  ravaged  by  the  firo 
amounted  in  the  aggregate  to  two  thousand  and  twenty-four  acres, 
and  seventeen  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty  buildings  had  been 
destroyed,  many  of  them  of  vast  extent  —  hotels,  stores,  depots, 
elevators,  manufactories,  including  the  homes  of  ninety-eight 
thousand  live  hundred  people,  the  total  loss  in  property  being 
very  nearly  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 

The  men  who  have  seen  Chicago  since  that  fire,  as  it  has,  willi 
unparalleled  rapidity,  risen  from  its  ashes,  can  but  wonder  that 
such  devastation  should  be  so  speedily  ellaced  ;  but  there  is  yet  an- 
other lesson  which  writes  itself  upon  tiie  minds  of  men,  as  they  look 
upon  the  vast  expanse  of  parks  and  palaces  which  stretches  from  the 
rivers'  banks  and  from  the  lake  shore  far  out  upon  the  prairie,  and 
that  is  the  wonder  that  such  a  monition  as  the  finger  of  fire  has  writ- 
ten upon  the  walls  has  not  taught  the  government  of  that  city  to 
compel  the  removal  of  wooden  buildings  where  they  have  so  fearful 
a  menace  foi  the  whole  community.  The  city  is  not  even  now  be- 
yond .l;',:i,'jOr  in  that  respect,  and  the  men  who  administer  its  affairs 
have  not  the  courage,  or  they  lack  the  energy,  to  insist  u})on  the 
observance  of  proper  and  safe  rules  for  building  within  the  limits 
where  special  dangers  must  arise  .from  the  erection  of  wooden 
dwellings  and  places  of  business.  Fires,  not  to  be  compared  ic 
devastation  and  extent  with  that  of  October  8  and  9,  1871,  but 
yet  tremendous,  have  since  that  time  arisen  among  the  wooden 
rookeries  which  di.sgrace  that  vast  beehive,  and  it  behooves  the 
citizens  some  day  .soon  to  rise  in  their  might  to  a  full  recognition 
of  their  responsibilities,  and  taking  the  election  of  their  olHcials 
out  of  the  hands  of  wire-pullers  and  ward  bummers,  to  secure,  in 
the  interests  of  property,  life,  andiosthetic  development,  a  govern- 
ment in  the  city  such  as  they  would  demand  if  they  were  legis- 
lating only  for  the  welfare  of  their  own  private  business.  A  city 
so  great  and  prosperous,  with  a  vitality  so  invincible  and  a  future 


r- 


h 


y«jM«^tete{^' 


[iimm  m;n>atBXt.9t9T 


BWWgWBWWgBWMBWa 


PnixciPAL  Cities  of  Ilusois. 


471 


so  grand,  deserves  that  its  beat  men  sliould  watch  over  its  interests 
and  preserve  it  from  tlie  disgrace  of  bad  and  inefTicient  govern- 
ment. 

'J'he  cliaritablo   itistitulions  located  in  Chicago  deserve  more 
lengthened  notice  than  our  space  will  j)ormit,  and  many  of  the 
minor  benevolent  societies,  witli  their  machinery  of  mercy,  must 
be  omitted  entirely,  but  enough  can  be  said  here  to  prove  that 
the  maxim,  ''Charity  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins,"  is  not  over- 
looked in  the  metropolitan  city,     Abou  Ben  Adhem  was  content 
at  last,  when  the  vision  had  humbled  and  gladdened  his  heart,  to 
be  enrolled  in  the  list  of  those  who  "loved  their  fellow  men,"  and 
in  that  category  the  citizens  of  Chicago  have  vindicated  their 
right  to  be   numbered,  wherever  the  cry  of  sorrow  has  gone  up, 
from  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  from  districts  overwhelmed  by  floods, 
from  transatlantic  Ireland,  or  wherever  the  sanctification  of  deep 
agony  has  called   for  assuagement.     The  United  States  Marine 
Hospital  is  a  noble  institution,  well  located  and  supported  by  the 
general  government.     The  Cook  County  Hospital  is  sustained  by 
contributions  from  a  wide  area  as  well  as  by  occasional  grants, 
and  the  city  is  not  behind  hand  with  her  quota.     The  Magdalen 
Asylum  says,  by  its  action,  to  a  wide  class  of  offenders — to  whom 
society  should  show  its  countenance  of  reproof,  "  more  in  sorrow 
than  in  anger" —  what  Christ  said  to  the  woman  who  was  brought 
before  him  by  the  crowd  of  undetected  sinners :  "  Go  thou,  and 
sin  no  more ;"' and  although  tlie  operations  of  the  managers  are 
cloaked,  in  mystery,  enough  is  known  to  assure  contributors  that 
the  money  expended  in  this  benevolent  manner  is  a  vast  gain  to 
society  at  largo,  in  the  fact  tlu.L  it  saves  hundreds  aiuuially  from 
the  suffering  and  degradation  of  street  life,  to  become  useful  and 
industriou.5  women.     The  Protestant  Orphan  Asylum   indicates 
by  its  name  the  emulation  which  stirs  the  younger  branches  of 
the  Cliristian  community  to  uphold  their  claims  to  be  recognized 
as  practical  religionists,  by  the  care  which  the^    'xtcnd  "  to  these 
my  little  ones"    who  have   lost  their   natural  defenders.      St. 
Joseph's  and  St.  Mary's  are  the  corresponding  institutions  sup- 
ported by  the  "  elder  church,"  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  know  that 
whenever  extraordinary  appeals  are  made  to  the  public  on  behalf 
of  the  Catholic  charities,  there  is  always  a  liberal  spirit  manifested 


wi 


.M::  ;i 


j 

wMiM^m 

M 


'<  :'i 


1^  ii  ']j 


W  ^ 


§  i 


1 1 


472 


TuTTLi/s  Cextennial  NORTinVEST. 


hy  i)rotestant  mercliants  and  traders  in  the  community.  Male 
children  only  arc  received  at  St.  Joscph'.s,  and  females  at  St. 
Mary's.  Tlie  Home  for  the  Friendless  is  devoted  to  the  a.ssi.stance, 
temporalily,  of  deserving  men  and  women  who  niiglit  otherwise 
fall  into  evil  company,  and  endure  many  discomforts,  pending  the 
timo  will  h  comes  with  care  m  the  career  of  every  individual, 
when  the  desired  opportunity  can  be  secured  to  exchange  labor 
for  broad  and  shelter.  One-half  of  all  the  discomforts  endured  by 
humanity  arise  from  "square  pegs  being  crowded  into  round 
holes,"  in  the  huny  and  bustle  of  life,  and  they  must  remain  there, 
being  once  placed,  as  the  rush  of  the  rearmost  ranks  over  their 
heads  is  an  almost  irresistible  force  crushing  :heir  ans^les  out  of 
form.  This  institution  aims  in  ])art  to  distribute  labor  into  its 
proper  places,  whei'c  the  best  results  can  be  attained.  The  S(j1- 
diers'  Uome  tells  its  own  story  '■'■  suns  jihr use  ^'  as  the  French  sa}'. 
It  is  to  the  disabled  m.en  of  this  state,  who  fought  and  bled  for  the 
Union,  what  tlic  Hold  des  Invalides  was  to  the  veterans  who  had 
outlived  aciive  service,  under  the  empire  of  the  CJreat  Napoleon, 
and  the  e.xist,  nee  of  sucli  a  liome  tells  the  patriot  who  may  at  any 
moment  be  called  to  risk  life  and  limb  in  defense  of  altar  and 
iiearth,  that  his  exertions  will  not  be  considered  as  full}'  paid  by 
the  stipend  accorded  to  military  duty.  The  Soldiers'  ]Iome  is 
well  conducted,  and  the  edifice  is  an  ornameni  to  Chicago.  When 
the  fire  panic  in  Chicago  was  being  subdued  by  various  organiza- 
tions for  charity,  as  well  as  by  the  vigorous  and  extraordinary 
efforts  of  the  constituted  authorities,  there  came  to  the  city  long 
lines  of  cars  and  freight  trains,  bri-.ging  men  and  women,  clothes 
and  provisions  beyond  enumeration,  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
hour.  Besides  all  these  contributions  towa.  relieving  the  needy, 
immense  sums  of  monev,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  many 
millions  of  dollars,  were  forwarded  for  distribution.  Sums  came 
from  France  at  the  moment  when  that  gallant  nation  was  obliged 
to  buy  off  the  invading  host.  From  Prussia  and  Germany  at 
large,  just  flushed  with  conqaest  From  the  Emperor  Frederick 
William,  immediately  after  he  had  dictated  his  dispatch,  thanking 
God  for  the  slaughter  of  men.  From  Austria,  from  Ireland,  from 
Italy,  from  Scotland,  Wales,  au'i  i'higland,  from  the  gold  fields  of 
Australia  and  New  Zealand,  fronj  China  and  Japan,  and  from  the 


PitixciPAL  Cities  of  Illinois. 


473 


British  possessicjns  in  India.  Such  arrivals  rendered  an  organiza- 
tion ncccssar}^  to  aid  in  the  wise  distribution,  as  it  very  often 
occurs,  not  only  at  such  times,  that  the  greatest  sufferers  are  the 
least  demonstrative,  and  in  many  instances  loans  were  accepted 
by  deserving  men  and  women,  who  even  in  such  an  emergencj', 
had  too  much  honest  pritle  to  accept  charity.  Such  loans  were 
repaid  by  the  beitcr  class  at  a  later  date,  and  many  of  the  remit- 
tances from  distant  points  came  too  late  to  be  used  in  immediate 
acts  of  charity,  consequently  the  Eelief  and  Aid  Society  became 
a  permanent  organization,  occupying  valuable  premises,  drawing 
rents,  and  permanently  endowed  for  the  distribution  of  the  unein- 
plo3'cd  into  j'^ch  districts  as  v;ill  gladly  repay  their  labor  with  ihe 
current  wages  of  the  day.  The  society  is  one  of  tl;e  most  useful 
in  the  city  of  Chicago.  The  books  of  the  institution  lie  open  at 
all  hours  to  I'egister  the  names  of  men  wanting  employment,  with 
a  columnar  description  of  their  trades  and  callings,  and  on  corres- 
})onding  pages  the  names  in  cxtenso  of  employers  wanting  help, 
with  their  "ddrosses,  and  the  purposes,  or  avocations  in  which 
they  are  engaged.  The  value  of  such  records  which  could  be 
consulted  by  both  classes  at  ail  hours  —  without  fee  —  will  readily 
be  perceived.  Sometimes  the  society  helps  deserving  persons 
who  are  in  sore  need,  by  procuring  ihcm  tools,  or  a  passage  by 
the  railroads  to  distant  points  where  their  labor  is  demanded,  and 
so  well  are  the  alTairs  of  the  organization  carried  on,  that  cases  of 
imposition  upon  the  funds  are  comparatively  rare.  The  second 
floor  of  the  society's  building  is  devoted  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  wtnncn,  not  asking  charity,  but  wanting  direction,  without  cost, 
to  the  points  where  their  services  arc  in  demand.  Illustrating  tiie 
prevision  exercised  by  the  society,  one  case  may  be  mentioned 
with  advantage.  A  young  Norwegian  woman,  singularly  prepos- 
sessing in  appearance,  had  come  from  Norway  to  be  married  to  a 
countryman  of  her.=;  who  had  been  some  few  years  in  America. 
Unfortunately  he  had  died  just  before  her  arrival,  without  making 
due  provision  for  his  betrothed  wife,  and  she  a)'rivcd  in  Cticago 
with  just  enough  money  to  keep  her  at  a  first  class  hotel  until  she 
had  learned  the  story  of  her  bereavement.  She  was  without 
money,  among  strangers,  in  a  city  where  every  man  a'ld  woman 
pursued  some  personal  aim  with  n.etropolltan  cager.iess,  hardly 


i\ 


I 


474 


Tuttle's  Cextexxial  Northwest. 


pausing  to  notbe  the  signs  of  sorrow  which  were  not  obtruded 
with  professional  skill.  A  face  so  beautiful,  coupled  with  igno- 
rance of  the  language  of  the  country,  and  unacquaintance  with 
the  tricks  resorted  to  in  great  cities  by  procuresses  and  their  abet- 
tors, might  have  led  to  the  ruin  of  the  young  woman,  but  for- 
tunatel}'  she  found  her  way  to  the  ofhces  of  the  society,  and  the 
lady  superintendent,  a  practitioner  of  meJ'fi.ie,  whose  acquaint- 
ance ^Yith  society  gave  her  many  oppi/r  'i.:  r  ■>  serve  the  cause 
of  mercy,  found  means  to  place  the  Ni  rwc  uiu  in  a  good  home, 
where  her  amiable  demeanor  and  her  talents  make  her  invaluable, 
and  there  are  few  jiersons  in  Chicago,  not  n:Uive  born,  who  speak 
the  Anglo-Saxon  tongue  more  attractively  t';an  the  fair  stranger 
does  at  this  time.  As  a  teacher  of  singing  and  music,  she  will 
amass  a  competency  if  she  does  not  allow  herself  to  be  persuaded 
to  grace  a  home  which  now  "waits  her  acceptance.  One  instance 
is  worth  a  hundred  aphorisms,  and  the  course  of  usefulness  indi- 
cated in  the  ease  described,  illustrates  the  means  which  are  daily 
in  operation,  to  help  deserving  women  in  this  city.  If  our  large 
cities  were  better  supplied  with  such  organizations,  there  would 
be  less  need  for  the  Magdalen  asylums,  for  in  the  w-  ■!:'  of  Torn. 
Hood : 

"Evil  is  wrought,  by  want  of  thought, 
As  well  as  wiml  of  licart." 

The  city  has  twelve  cemeteries  beyond  the  city  limits,  .i.aong 
which  Graceland,  Rose  Hill,  Calvary,  rnd  Oakwoods,  are  the 
chief;  all  of  them  arc  more  or  less  adorned  with  shrubs  and 
mausoleums,  and  some  bid  fair  to  rival  the  luxuriance  of  Pere  la 
Chaise.  Tlie  city  has  a  police  force  more  extensive  and  costly 
than  efficient,  because  political  ir^  T'^nces  are  more  potent  than 
the}'  sliould  be  in  manning  and  <  ■  ag  the  d  'rtmcnt;  but  it 
maybe  anticipated  that  such  abuses  will  in  am  ^j  of  time  be 
erased.  Tlie  lire  alarm  telegraph  and  the  stea.i'  ■>  aj^naratus 
besjioak  the  fullest  readiness  on  the  side  of  the  departments  to 
C''>mbat  with  the  continual!^  ^  ::prring  fires  to  prevent  the  rook- 
eries, when  they  bum  i.(>,  invol-  iu"  the  whole  community  in  de- 
struction. There  are  numeiou.-  squares  and  parks  which  serve 
the  purposes  of  lungs  for  the  mighty  city,  and  others  are  in  con- 
templation.    The  best  of  those  now  in  existence  are  Lake  Park, 


iMjk^"*<!,'<[»-"- 


Principal  Citieu  of  Illinois. 


475 


obtruded 
with  igno- 
taiicc  with 
their  abet- 
'1,  but  for- 
J,  and  the 
acquaint- 
the  cause 
ood  home, 
n  valuable, 
wlio  speak 
•ir  stranger 
^,  she  will 
I'crsuaded 
ic  instance 
Incss  indi- 
I  are  daily 
f  our  lar^e 
''ero  would 
i"  of  Torn. 


it.^,  .i.iionu 
1-=,  are  the 
irubs   and 
^i  Pere  la 
nd  costly 
tent  tlian 
It;  but  it 
time  be 
M~r;""atus 
mcnts  to 
he  rook- 
ty  in  dc- 
ch  serve 
)  in  eon- 
ke  Park, 


better  known  perhaps  as  tbe  Esplanade,  Dearborn  Park,  Union, 
and  Jefferson,  which  range  from  one  acre  to  five  in  extent;  added 
to  whicli,  Lincoln  Park,  tlie  largest  of  the  series  fronting  on  the 
lake,  embraces  an  area  of  sixty  acres,  and  is  rapid!}'-  becoming  a 
very  handsome  as  well  as  commodious  pleasure  ground. 

Scv  ">ral  references  have  been  made  to  elevatorr,  in  this  record 
of  th*^  progress  and  vicissitudes  of  Chicago;  and  inasmuch  as  this 
volume  will  be  read  by  many  persons  who  are  not  personally  in- 
timate with  those  wonderful  contrivances  for  the  dispatch  of 
grain,  we  quote  a  graphic  description  of  the  commercial  wonder  for 
the  benefit  of  European  readers.  A  traveler  comprehensively 
says : 

"An  elevator  is  as  ugly  a  monster  as  has  yet  been  produced. 
In  uncouthncss  of  form  it  outdoes  those  obsolete  old  brutes  who 
used  to  roam  about  the  semi-  iqueous  world,  and  live  a  most  un- 
comfortable life  with  their  great  hungering  stomachs  and  huge 
unsatisfied  maws.  The  elevator  itself  consists  of  a  big  movable 
trunk  —  movable  as  is  that  of  an  elephant,  but  not  pliable,  and 
less  graceful  oven  than  an  elephant's.  This  is  attached  to  a  huge 
granary  or  barn  ;  but  in  order  to  give  altitude  within  the  barn  for 
the  necessary  moving  up  and  down  of  this  trunk  —  seeing  that  it. 
cannot  be  cui'Ied  gracefully  to  its  purposes  as  the  elephant's  \s 
curled  —  there  is  an  awkward  box  erected  on  the  roof  of  the  barn, 
giving  some  twenty  feet  of  additional  height,  up  into  which  the 
elevitor  can  be  thrast.  It  will  be  understood,  then,  that  this  big 
niovabi )  trunk,  the  head  of  which,  when  it  is  at  rest,  is  thrust  up 
into  the  box  oi;  the  roof,  is  made  to  slant  down  in  an  oblique 
direction  from  the  building  to  the  river;  for  the  elevator  is  an 
amphibious  institution,  and  flourishes  only  on  the  banks  of  nav- 
igable waters.  When  its  head  is  ensconced  within  its  box,  and 
the  beast  of  prey  is  thus  nearly  hidden  within  the  building,  the 
unsuspicious  vessel  is  brought  up  within  reach  of  the  creature's 
trunk,  and  down  it  comes,  like  a  mosquito's  proboscis,  right 
through  the  deck,  in  at  the  open  aperture  of  the  hold,  and  so  into 
the  very  vitals  and  Ijowels  of  the  ship.  When  there,  it  goes  to 
work  upon  its  food  with  a  greed  and  an  avidity  that  is  disgusting 
to  a  beholder  of  any  taste  or  imagination.  And  now  I  must  ex- 
plain the  anatomical  arrangement  by  which  the  elevator  still  de- 


■  if 


1 


% 

'  I  j 


'•'■!  -I 


at  ::'■■.  .  1 


1:  a';';«=i 


M 

i    . 

H 

■ 

■ 

]|ji 


476 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


vours  and  continues  to  devour  till  the  corn  within  its  reach  has 
all  been  swallowed,  masticated  and  digested.  Its  long  trunk,  as 
seen  slanting  down  from  out  of  the  building  across  the  wharf  and 
into  the  ship,  is  a  mere  wooden  pipe  ;  but  this  pipe  is  divided 
within.  It  has  two  apartments  ;  and  as  the  grain-bearing  troughs 
pass  up  the  one  on  a  pliable  band,  tliey  pass  empty  down  tlio 
other.  The  system,  therefore,  is  Lhat  of  an  ordinary  dredging 
machine ;  only  that  corn  and  not  mud  is  taken  awa}',  and  that 
the  buckets  or  troughs  are  hidden  from  sight.  Below,  within  the 
stomach  of  the  poor  bark,  three  or  foui'  laborers  arc  at  work, 
helping  to  feed  the  elevator.  They  shovel  the  corn  up  toward  its 
maw,  so  that  at  every  swallow  he  should  take  in  all  that  he  can 
hold.  Thus  the  troughs,  as  they  ascend,  are  kept  full,  and  when 
they  reach  the  upper  building  they  empty  themselves  into  a  shoot, 
over  ■which  a  porter  stands  guard,  moderating  the  shoot  by  a  door 
which  the  weight  of  his  finger  can  open  and  close.  Through  this 
doorway  the  corn  runs  into  a  measure,  and  is  weighed.  By 
measures  of  forty  bushels  each,  the  talc  is  kept.  There  stands 
the  apparatus,  with  the  figures  plainly  marked,  over  against  the 
porter's  eye;  and  as  the  sum  mounts  nearly  up  to  forty  bushels, 
he  closes  the  door  till  the  grains  run  thinly  through,  hardly  a 
handful  at  a  time,  so  that  the  bid.''.nce  is  exactly  struck.  Then 
the  teller  standing  by  marl  c  down  his  figure,  and  the  record  is 
made.  Tlic  exact  porter  touches  the  string  of  another  door,  and 
the  forty  bushels  of  corn  run  out  at  the  bottom  of  the  measure, 
disappear  down  another  shoot,  slanting  also  toward  the  water,  and 
deposit  themselves  in  the  canal  boat.  The  transit  of  the  bushels 
of  corn  from  the  larger  vcs.sel  tu  the  smaller  will  have  taken  less 
than  a  minute,  and  the  cost  of  that  transit  will  have  been  —  one 
cent. 

"But  I  have  spoken  of  the  rivers  of  wheat,  and  .  must  explain 
what  arc  those  rivers.  In  the  working  of  the  elevator,  which.  I 
have  just  attempted  to  describe,  the  two  vessels  were  supposed  to 
be  lying  at  the  same  wharf,  on  the  same  side  of  the  building,  in 
the  same  water,  the  smaller  vessel  inside  the  larger  one.  When 
this  is  the  case,  the  corn  runs  direct  from  the  weighing  measure 
into  the  shoot  that  communicates  with  the  canal  boat.  But  there 
is  not  room  or  time  for  confining  the  work  to  one  side  of  the 


Principal  Cities  of  Illixois. 


477 


building.  There  is  water  on  both  sides,  and  the  corn  or  wheat  is 
elevated  on  one  side,  and  reshipped  on  the  other.  To  efTeet  this, 
the  corn  is  carried  across  the  breadth  of  the  buildinii;;  but,  never- 
thelesR,  it  is  never  handled  nor  moved  in  its  direction  on  trucks  or 
carriages  requiring  the  use  of  men's  muscles  for  its  motion. 
Across  the  floor  of  the  building  are  two  gutters,  or  channels,  and 
through  these  small  troughs  on  a  pliable  band  circulate  very 
quickly.  They  which  run  one  way,  in  one  channel,  arc  ladeu  ; 
they  which  run  by  the  other  channel  are  empty.  The  corn  pours 
itself  into  these,  and  they  again  pour  it  into  the  shoot  which  com- 
mands the  water.  And  thus  rivers  of  corn  are  running  tlirough 
these  buildings  night  and  day.  The  secret  of  all  the  motion  and 
arrangement  consists,  of  course,  in  the  elevation.  The  corn  is 
lifted  up ;  and  when  lifted  up,  can  move  itself,  and  arrange  itself, 
and  weigh  itself,  and  load  it.self." 


QuiNCY.  — This  is  the  county  seat  of  Adams  county,  and  it 
ranks  second  only  in  size  and  importance  in  the  state  of  Illinois. 
It  is  located  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  world  famed  Mississippi 
river,  foity-four  miles  from  Keokuk,  one  hundred  and  sixty-four 
miles  fnjiu  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  and  two  hundred  and  sixty-three 
miles  by  railroad  southwest  from  Chicago.  The  city  of  Quincy  is 
built  on  a  limestone  bluff  one  hundred  aud  twenty-five  feet  above 
the  river,  aud  the  extensive  view  of  the  Father  of  "Waters,  aud  of 
the  countrv  throuii-h  which  it  flows,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
sights  in  this  region.  The  city  is  laid  out  in  squares  and  blocks, 
the  streets  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles,  and  the  business 
premises  are  usually  handsome  as  well  as  commodious.  The  pub- 
lic buildings,  which  will  be  more  particularly  referred  to  here- 
after, are  ornamental  to  Quincy,  and  the  private  residences  of  the 
more  wealthy  citizens  challenge  admiration.  The  city  is  lit  with 
gas  and  well  supplied  with  water,  and  its  population  at  the  pres- 
ent time  canr;ot  be  less  than  thirty-five  thousand  souls,  as  in  the 
yea-  1850  the  census  showed  6,812,  in  1860,  13,566,  and  in  the 
yeav  1S70  there  were  more  than  twenty-four  thousand,  since  which 
time  six  years  of  surprising  progress  have  developed  the  resources 
of  Quincy  beyond  the  liopes  of  its  best  friends.  As  a  center  of 
railroad  coinmuuicatiou  the  city  rises  daily  into  greater  import- 


Mi 


iMikki'' 


¥ 


It'," 

i  • ' 
I  ■  i>* 


mi 
Ml 

lilt; 


i.ii» 


V.t 


\U 


pi   ail! 


'  f 


478 


TuTTLE's  CKNTES'XrAL  NoRTHWEST. 


fince.  The  main  line  and  Carthage  division  of  the  Chicago,  Bur- 
lington and  Quincy  llailroad  has  here  an  immense  business;  and 
here  also  tlie  Toledo,  Wabash  and  Western  Railroad,  the  Quincy, 
Alton  and  St.  Louis,  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph,  the  Mississippi 
Valley  and  Western,  and  the  Quincy  and  Missouri  Paciilc  Hail- 
roads  have  each  important  stations.  The  Hannibal  and  St.  Jo- 
seph has  a  very  beautiful  bridge  across  the  Mississippi  river  at 
this  point,  and  that  fact  assists  materially  in  developing  Quincy. 
There  arc  twelve  newspapers  published  here,  and  three  of  them 
are  daily,  employing  men  whose  brillant  talents  are  recognized  in 
journalistic  circles  all  over  the  union.  The  educational  facilities 
of  the  city  are  such  as  might  be  expected,  where  so  many  well 
conducted  newspapers  arc  well  supported  by  tlic  population.  The 
}>ublic  schools  are  graded  and  well  administered  in  every  depart- 
ment, and  there  are  many  private  academies  in  which  the  standard 
of  training  is  very  high.  Two  of  the  newspapers  published  in  the 
city  are  printed  in  German,  to  meet  the  wants  of  a  large  section 
of  the  population  of  Quincy  and  the  surrounding  country.  Tliere 
are  no  less  than  twenty-four  churches  in  the  city,  a  very  fair  pro- 
portion, considering  how  large  is  the  average  of  every  population, 
that  will  remain  unchurched,  "  charm  yo  never  so  wisely."  As 
usual  whei'C  the  Germans  form  a  large  element  in  the  population, 
"music  hath  charms,"  to  which  exemplary  attention  is  given,  and 
tlierc  are  no  less  than  ten  public  halls  available  for  such  and  sim- 
ilar entertainments.  The  court  house,  a  county  structure,  is  very 
large  and  really  beautiful  in  its  proportions,  being  more  noticeable 
than  any  other  of  the  edifices  in  the  city,  if  we  except  three  of  the 
churches,  on  which  large  and  wise  expenditures  have  been  made 
at  various  times,  educating  the  eyes  of  thousands  who  never  come 
within  the  sound  of  the  gospel.  The  surroundings  of  Quincy  arc 
made  up  of  very  fertile  and  beautiful  land,  which  has  been  largely 
improved  for  agricultural  purposes,  and  the  facilities  afforded  for 
shipment  at  this  point  have  resulted  in  building  up  a  great  local 
business,  which  is  ra[)idly  extciiding  into  metropolitan  propor- 
tion.s,  as  its  river  communications  by  steamers  and  other  ves.sclfc 
give  especial  opportunities  for  carrying  the  war  beyond  "  pent  up 
Utica,"  The  river  landings  and  wharves  arc  customarily  thronged 
with  steamboats,  which  bring  the  fruits  and  grain  of  other  prairies 


Principal  Cities  of  Illinois. 


479 


:ago,  13  ur- 
Jncss ;  and 
|o  Quincy, 
llississippi 
;iiiG  Jiail- 
f^l  St.  Jo- 
|i  I'ivcr  at 
Quine3^ 
of  them 
I'gnized  in 
Aieilities 
lain-  well 
on.     The 
y  depart- 
standard 

icd  ill  the 

?e  sectioi: 

There 

fail-  pro- 

'pidation, 

b-."     As 

puhition, 

ven,  and 

and  sim- 

!,  is  vciy 

'ticeablo 

•e  of  the 

■11  made 

[?i'  come 

ncj  are 

hii'gely 

Jed  lor 

»t  local 

^ropor- 

V'osselfc, 

ini  up 

onged 

'usries 


to  compete  in  the  markets  here  with  the  productions  of  her  own 
farming  popuh\tion,  before  the  lines  of  railway  are  called  upon  to 
give  sliipmcnt  to  the  liberal  remainder.  The  rapid  increase  of 
commerce  and  m  an  u  fact  a  res  in  Quincy  makes  the  home  market  a 
considerable  item  in  the  calculations  of  the  farming  communities, 
whicli  make  this  place  the  center  of  their  trade.  Iron,  lumber, 
flour,  tobacco,  machinery  and  carriages  are  among  the  chief  ar- 
ticles produced  in  the  city,  if  we  except  the  one  hundred  thousand 
hogs,  whose  carcasses  are  annually  converted  into  excellent  packed 
pork.  The  first  settlement  n.ade  on  the  site  of  Quincy  dates 
from  the  year  1822,  and  the  name  was  adopted  in  honor  of  the 
celebrated  John  Quincy  Adams,  when  that  gentleman  was  inaug- 
urated as  president,  in  the  year  1325.  The  town  v>-as  laid  out  in 
that  year  by  order  of  the  county  court,  but  the  population  in  the 
vicinage  was  vdy  small.  The  whole  county  of  Adams  had  but 
three  white  persons  living  in  its  area  at  the  time  when  Quincy 
was  first  settled,  and  the  nearest  mill  —  a  horse  mill  only  —  was 
distant  forty  miles  at  a  place  called  Atlas,  to  which  each  settler 
in  his  turn  made  a  pilgrimage  to  procure  corn  meal.  After  the 
Black  Hawk  war  in  1832,  the  countr}'-  became  much  more  widely 
settled,  the  enforced  departure  of  the  Indians  being  a  desideratum 
among  those  inclined  to  colonize.  The  healthful  situation  in 
wdiich  the  city^s  built,  and  the  care  bestowed  upon  improving 
the  natural  advantages  of  the  site,  leave  no  room  for  doubt  that 
Quincy  will  long  continue  to  maintain  its  exceptional  reputation 
for  salubrit}'. 

Peoria  ranks  next  to  Quincy  in  population,  and  it  is  the  seat 
of  administration  for  the  county  of  Peoria.  It  stands  on  the 
western  bank  of  the  Illinois  river,  at  the  o-nlet  of  Peoria  lake, 
one  hundred  and  ninety-two  miles  from  the  point  where  the  river 
discharges  its  volume  into  the  Mississippi.  It  is  claimed  by  some 
that  the  river  forms  the  lake  on  which  the  city  stands,  while  oth- 
ers, with  as  great  a  show  of  reason,  claim  tlio  lake  as  one  of  the 
feeders  of  the  river;  but  perhaps  the  best  way  to  arrange  an  oth- 
erwise interminable  dispute  is,  by  admitting  that  "  the  reciprocity 
is  not  all  on  one  side."  Peoria  stands  about  seventy  miles  north 
from  the  state  capital,  and  a  little  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 


\  ,■■ 


yilHl,: 


II-' I 


480 


TvTTLE's  CENTEXyiAL  NoiiTinyEST. 


iM 


i!i 


3;! 


miles  from  Chicago.  Tlic  city  has  first  class  railroad  accornmoela- 
lions,  in  addition  to  the  advantage  of  the  river  being  navigable 
to  this  point,  which  gives  free  passage  to  the  Gulf  of  ^lexieo  via 
the  ^Mississippi  river.  The  lake  system  is  o[)cncd  to  Peoi'ia  by 
the  canal,  which  connects  the  city  with  Chicago  and  liakc  Michi- 
gan ;  and  the  Michigan  canal  is  almost  as  important  to  the  manu- 
facturing interests  as  the  railroads  themselves.  The  railroad  lines 
which  have  siation;?  or  termini  at  Peoria  arc  tlic  Toledo,  Peoria 
and  Warstw  ;  the  Peoria,  Pekin  and  Jacksonville ;  the  Peoria 
branch  of  the  Chicago,  Pock  Island  and  I'ac-ific;  the  Peoria 
branch  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  ;  the  Peoria  and 
Rock  Island ;  and  the  Indianapolis,  IMoomington  and  Western 
Railroads  ;  many  of  these  have  termini,  and  in  that  fact  there  is 
conclusive  evidence  that  the  mo.st  astute  business  men  of  the  day 
anticipate  great  growth  for  Peoria.  The  manufacturing  interests 
in  this  locality  are  very  large  and  wealthy,  embracing  among 
many  smaller  but  improving  industries,  foundries  and  machine 
shops,  boiler  works  on  a  large  scale,  agricultural  imi)lement  man- 
ufactories, wagon  and  carriage  shops,  planing  mills,  breweries  and 
distilleries,  'i'hc  city  stands  on  a  plateau,  rather  more  than  two 
miles  square,  with  bluITs  very  easy  of  access,  surrounding  the 
area,  and  affording  numerous  beautiful  sites  for  residences.  The 
river  and  lake  afl'ord  large  quantities  of  excellent  fish  and.  the 
cliarm  of  the  scenery  surrounding  that  large  body  of  water  will 
lead  to  a  much  larger  settlement  here  of  that  ela.<^a  of  persons 
that  can  nfFord  to  choose  their  residences,  guided  only  b}  love  of 
the  beautiful  in  the  surroundings.  The  scene,  from  the  banks  of 
the  lake  to  the  blufl's,  majestic  in  form  and  crowned  with  hand- 
some dwellings,  is  truly  captivating,  and  the  cit}'  intervening  on 
the  broad  plateau  is  really  well  worthy  of  the  position.  The 
streets  average  about  one  hundred  feet  in  width,  and  the  lines  of 
shade  trees  make  the  city  resemble  a  park  converted  into  a  busi- 
ness area.  The  grading  of  the  streets  is  perfect  and  the  streets 
slope  toward  the  river  in  length  or  in  breadth  so  that  everywhere 
perfcot  drainage  is  secured.  The  city  is  far  beyond  the  I'cach  of 
an  inundation,  unless  it  assumes  the  proportions  of  the  Noaehian 
deluge.  A  traveler,  who  recently  visited  the  place,  says  of  the 
c'.ty :     "  Peoria  is  the  most  be   tiful  town  on  the  river.     Situated 


VT-f^^^-'  ^ 


PnIKCIPAL  ClTIEii   Of  Tl.USOIS. 


481 


on  rising  ground,  a  broad  plateau,  extending  back  from  the  bluff, 
it  has  escaped  the  almost  univcr.sal  inundation.  The  river  here 
expands  into  a  broad,  deep  lake.  This  lake  is  a  most  beautiful 
feature  in  the  scenery  of  the  town,  and  as  useful  as  beautiful, 
supplying  the  inhabitants  with  ample  stores  of  lisli,  and  in  winter 
with  an  abundance  of  the  purest  ice.  It  i.s  often  frozen  to  such  a 
thickness  that  heavy  teams  can  pass  secureh^  over  it.  A  sub- 
stantial dr-.wbridgc  connects  the  town  with  the  opposite  shore  of 
the  riv'i'.  Back  of  the  town  extends  one  of  the  finest  rolling 
prairies  in  the  state,  which  furnishes  to  Peoria  its  supplies  and 
much  of  its  business."  When  Father  AFarquctte  was  on  his  way 
back  from  the  Mississippi,  completing  his  canoe  voyage  of  two 
thousand  miles,  by  his  return  to  Lake  Michigan,  at  his  point  of 
departure,  St.  Ignace,  he  landed  and  tarried  a  little  while  on  the 
site  of  Peoria,  where  a  coi;;->iderablc  village  of  Indians  then  lived. 
^I.  Joliet,  .who  n-as  a  kind  of  traveling  companion  of  the  worthy 
Perc,  was  much  pleased  with  the  aspect  of  affairs  here  and  would 
gladly  have  stayed  longer,  where  the  scenery,  the  quality  of  the 
fishing,  and  the  temper  of  the  natives,  combined  to  multiply  at- 
tractions. When  l^aron  La  Salle  ascended  to  this  point  from 
Lake  ^ficliigan  for  the  first  time,  in  IGSO,  he  caused  a  iovi  to  be 
erected  here,  and  under  its  protection  a  trading  post  was  estab- 
lished, ami  the  colony  of  La  Salle  on  the  Illinois  river  continued 
to  be  a  place  of  some  importance  from  that  time  onward.  The 
conquest  of  Canada,  by  the  troops  commanded  by  General 
Wolfe,  until  that  officer  fell  mortally  wounded  at  Quebec,  on  the 
heights  of  Abraham,  involved  a  change  of  masters  for  Illinois, 
but  the  settlement  was  not  remarkable  for  wealth  nor  attainments 
in  1796,  when  Uncle  Sam  had  become  the  sovereign.  It  was 
then  an  Indian  village,  with  variations,  composed  of  Indian 
traders  with  squaws  and  half  castes,  some  hunters,  and  Canadian 
French  voyaijcnrs  and  nondescripts,  many  of  whom  had  substan- 
tial reasons  for  not  desiring  to  dwell  in  cities.  Tiie  Pcoriaco  Indi- 
ans made  up  the  bulk  of  the  population,  and  they  were  as  the  In- 
dians seem  fated  always  *^  remain,  as  long  as  they  remain  at  all, 
p,seudo  savages  combining  the  vices  of  barbarism  with  the  still 
more  fatal  vices  of  our  civilization.  The  city,  as  well  as  being 
the  most  ancient  settlement  on  the  Illinois  river,  is  also  the  most 
31 


,  i,  > 

\  ■''' 


i. .'! ' 


r- 


!  h: 


11 


:?•;• 


tn 
■4-'^ 

W'.^ 


l-l>: 


lll^  :i 


\i^'^ 


illy 


li- 


1!' 

ell 

iiii 
1' 


li! 
I. 

5"  4 

ill 
f 

V 
\ 


ll 


t<* 


it 


r.i  : 


482! 


TrTTLi:'s  Ci:kti:x\i.il  XoRTinvKi^T. 


populous  town  on  that  strouin  at  the  present  time.  Grain,  pork, 
lumber  and  ice,  in  large  fpianiities,  arc  sent  by  the  river  to  Clii- 
cago  and  St.  Louis,  regular  lines  oi'  steamboats  J'lying  constantly 
to  St.  Louis,  except  in  thuse  seasons  when  winter  seals  up  the 
running  streams  in  these  latitudes.  Tlie  county  buildings  aro 
located  liore,  and  the  city  hall  deserves  notice  for  tlie  neatness  of 
the  structure.  There  aro  twenty-eight  churches  in  Peoria,  many 
of  the  edifices  being  models  of  architectural  beauty,  and  the  pub- 
lic schools  merit  praise  for  the  efTectiveness  of  the  system  of 
grading  and  tuition,  under  which  the  youth  of  the  city  are  as- 
sisted to  master  the  difTiculties  of  school  life.  The  .settlement  on 
the  site  of  Peoria  was  in  such  ill  repute  in  the  year  1812,  when 
the  British  troops  raided  in  upon  the  city  of  Washington,  that  it 
was  considered  necessary  to  break  up  the  evil  a.«sociations,  and 
the  Indian  village  was  purged  as  by  lire.  In  the  following  year, 
Fort  Clark  was  built  near  the  lake,  under  orders  from  <  iov.  Ed- 
wards, and  six  years  later  actual  settlement  upon  the  town  site 
commenced.  Growth  was  slow  until  the  fine  country  which  sur- 
rounds Peoria  became  tiiickly  settled,  but  the  town  was  incorpo- 
rated in  the  year  1831,  and  thirteen  years  later  Peoria  became  a 
city  of  the  second  clas.s.  In  the  year  1850,  there  were  five  thou- 
sand people  assembled  within  the  city  bounds,  and  in  ten  years 
from  that  time,  the  number  had  increased  to  nearly  fourteen  thou- 
sand. When  the  last  census  was  taken  in  1870,  the  population 
was  22,8-19,  and  assuming  the  same  rate  of  progression  to  have 
continued,  the  inhabitunts  of  Pe()ria  cannot  fall  far  short  of  thirty 
thousand  at  the  present  time.  There  are  thirteen  newspapers 
published  in  the  cit}',  representing  the  interests  of  the  city  and 
county,  and  all  of  them  appear  to  be  well  sustained.  Three  of 
the  number  are  dailies,  with  weekly  editions,  and  the  talent  dis- 
played fully  equals  the  average  of  such  iniblieation.s.  The  city 
is  lighted  with  gas,  and  well  su[iplied  with  beautiful  water. 

Galena. —  The  name  of  this  city  signifies  "  leail  mine  "  in  the 
French  tongue,  and  it  is  upon  that  branch  of  industry  that  the 
city  has  risen  to  such  eminence  as  it  now  posses.«es.  It  is  the 
seat  of  justice  for  Jo  Daviess  count}-,  and  was  the  residence  of 
Ulysses  S.  Grant  before  the  war  of  the  rebellion  called  that  gen- 


Wlfagemaimm^mmi 


•ifsr'm^tBmmfgmf^g^ 


rmsciPAL  CrriF.a  of  Jujnois. 


488 


tlcman  and  officer  from  other  avocations,  to  orusli  the  suicidal  at- 
tempt of  the  south,  (lalcma  lies  on  the  Fcvrc  river,  five  miles 
from  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  and  steamboats  connect 
this  center  of  mining  enterprise  with  St.  Loui.s.  The  mines  are 
the  miiinstay  of  the  city  and  of  the  surrounding  country,  but  the 
fiopuhition  does  not  increase  very  rapidly.  Tliere  were  six 
tliousand  persons  in  Galena  in  the  year  1850,  and  there  was  only 
an  increase  of  a  little  more  than  two  thousand  in  the  next  decade, 
the  number  decreasing  to  seven  thousand  at  the  time  of  the  last 
censu.s.  Tliorc  are  six  newspapers  published  here,  but  lilcc  every 
other  place  in  which  mining  is  the  main  reliance,  the  city  is  sub- 
ject to  severe  fluctuations.  The  city  is  built  on  the  steep  banks 
of  the  Fevrc  river,  the  parallel  streets  communicating  with  each 
other  by  flights  of  steps  but  the  effect  as  seen  from  the  river  is 
very  fine.  The  railroad  communication  with  Galena  is  moderate- 
ly good  as  the  Illinois  Central  has  a  station  at  this  point,  seven- 
teen miles  southeast  of  Dunlcath,  and  fifty  miles  west  of  Freeport. 
Chicago  is  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  distant,  and  the  cities  of 
New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis  can  be  reached  by  steamboat  travel  at 
distances  of  one  thousand  sir  hundred  and  fifty  miles  ;  and  four 
hundred  miles  rcspectivel}'.  The  river  on  which  Galena  stands  is 
more  properly  described  as  an  arm  of  the  Mississippi,  up  from 
whose  waters  the  rocky  bluffs  ascend  with  an  air  of  majesty,  and 
the  windings  of  the  stream  are  very  effective  in  a  scenic  point  of 
view.  There  are  numerous  churches  on  the  first  ledge  above  the 
levee,  and  the  terrace  is  much  ad(-''^i  by  their  presence.  Al- 
thoufrh  there  is  an  abundance  of  stone  to  be  had  for  the  trouble  of 
quarrying,  most  of  the  houses  arc  built  of  brick.  The  streets  are 
well  paved,  and  lighted  with  gas.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the 
drainage  is  perfect,  as  it  would  be  impo.ssiblc  to  establish  a  mud 
hole  on  such  a  site.  The  county  buildings  arc  in  Galena,  and 
they  are  tolerably  graceful  specimens  of  architecture.  The  jmb- 
lic  schools  are  well  graded  ;  and  the  buildings  arc  substantial,  the 
management  being  perfectly  satisfactory',  but  the  average  attend- 
ance is  far  below  the  number  of  children  of  school  aEfc  in  the  citv, 
who  arc  entitled  to  the  advantages  of  tuition.  There  are  some 
private  school.^,  but  not  enough  to  make  the  attendance  sufficient, 
and  the  question  confronts  the  philosopher  and  philanthropist  at 


■m 


484 


Tuttlk's  Ckstkssim.  NonrinvEaT. 


!t   I 
»    I 

■  I 


•>  \ 


If     '1 


every  stage,  in  every  village,  town  and  city  in  the  union,  liow  can 
we  best  employ  the  foreetJ  at  the  disposal  of  society  to  indueo  a 
free  pooj)lc  to  fulfill  their  duties  to  their  olTspring  in  this  matter  of 
education?  The  mere  establishment  of  schools  eflVcts  nothing, 
unless  the  children  can  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  efTicient 
tutors,  and  a  juvenile  population  daily  running  in  the  streets  must 
come  up  in  a  large  measure  for  diplomas  of  efTicicncy  in  our 
county  jails. 

The  city  is  one  of  tli„  oldest  !•'  the  state,  and  it  has  the  interest 
which  must  attach  to  a  region  in  which  thousands  of  men  have 
won  their  bread  in  the  bowels  of  the  ear<"  '  )r  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury. The  first  settlement  dates  from  j  'ty  years  ago,  in  the 
year  1826,  midway  between  the  birth  of  tiie  union  and  its  centen- 
nial annivensary ;  and  it  is  estimated  that  there  remains  enough 
lead  still,  to  furnish  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  pounds 
annually  for  a  term  of  years  which  the  present  generation  will  not 
be  able  to  define.  There  is  a  considerable  quantity  of  co{)i)er 
found  with  the  lead  ore  in  the  Galena  mines.  Many  other  mining 
towns  of  less  note,  .some  of  ihem  in  Wisconsin,  send  their  ores  to 
this  city  for  shipment  down  the  ^[issi.ssippi,  as  steamers  j)ly  be- 
tween this  mining  center  and  all  the  river  towns  while  the  frost 
permits  of  such  operations.  We  have  already  seen  bow  complete 
is  the  railroad  communication  between  Galena  and  all  points  east 
and  west  throughout  the  union.  The  country  around  Galena 
does  not  impress  one  very  favorabl}',  as  the  hills  arc  largely  want- 
ing in  the  green  mantle  which  usually  drapes  the  outline  of  the 
globe,  and  at  the  first  glance  the  anti(j^uarian  might  imagine  that 
be  has  come  upon  a  settlement  of  juvenile  mound  builders.  The 
mounds  are  there  undoubtedly,  but  they  are  Lilliputian  in  bulk, 
compared  with  tho-^ie  vast  mausoleums  and  sacrificial  altars  in 
which  the  relies  of  the  dead  and  gone  possessors  of  this  continent 
are  found,  and  on  a  closer  inspection,  he  finds  that  in  the 
center  of  every  mound,  like  a  crater,  surrounded  by  the  debris  of 
innumerable  belchings  forth  of  lava,  there  is  an  orifice  which  may 
afford  some  explanation  as  to  the  mode  by  which  this  configura- 
tion arises.  The  visitor  climbs  one  of  the  numerous  hills,  and 
we  may  as  well  accompany  him.  There  is  a  track  worn  by  the 
heavy  tread  of  men  who  are  accustomed  to  leave  "  foot-prints  on 


I'liis-cirAL  Cities  or  lujsois. 


4S5 


the  sands  of  time,"  and  the  pohit  aimed  at  i.s  soon  reached.     Tlio 
yellowisli  mound  i.s  tlie  wa.sle  that  has  to  he  dug  out  by  tlic  miner 
in  order  tliut  he  may  reaeli  tlio  ore,  and  one  man  on  tlic  top  at- 
tends to  a  windlas.s,  by  wliieli  lie  witid.s  up  from  the  liole  t!ic  stuft 
whicli  lii.s  partners,  a  hundred  feet  below,  continue  to  make  ready, 
and  to  load  into  the  tub  used  as  a  vehicle  of  conveyance.     There 
are  hundreds  of  these  windla.'^.s  men  within  sight,  almost  within  hail, 
where  we  stand,  but  we  could  not  lujld  converse  with  tliem  all  if 
we  trieil,  and  the  first  that  we  encounter  can  give  us  all  the  in- 
formation that  is  desired  as  to  this  business.      We  can  see  for  our- 
selves that  the  tub  com  -;  up  loaded  with  ror>^.  and  refuse,  and  it 
is  not  difficult  to  distinguish  between  the  material  that  will  help 
to  swell  the  mound  and  that  which  will  give  profit  to  the  workers. 
The  miners  don't  wi.sh  to  be  disturbed  by  every  visitor,  but  there 
are  infiuences  which  will  open  even  the  doors  of  a  mint ;  so  we  are 
on  our  way  to  the  bottom  of  the  hole.     There  are  some  shafts  much 
deeper  than  others  ;  many  are  only  forty  feet ;  this  is  one  slightly 
exceeding  a  hundred,  and  may  go  deeper  still.     But  there  is  a 
loop  on  the  end  of  the  windlass  rope,  and  one  foot  is  made  fast; 
you  have  a  tight  grasp  with  both  hand.«,  above  your  head,  ujioa 
the  faithful  support  to  which  your  life  is  entrusted.     "Lower 
away,"  is  the  word,  and  you  are  going  steadily  down,  down,  down, 
into  Hades  itself,  so  dark  is  the  road  below  you.     "IIow  far  is  it 
from  this  place  to  hell  ?  "  asked  a  would  be  facetious  traveler  of 
the  class  leading  ^Methodist  who  tended  the  windlass.     "  Let  go  of 
that  "rope. and  you  will  be  there  in  a  minute,"  was  the  quick,  if 
not  ]>leasant,  reply.     The  air  becomes  sensibly  cooler  as  we  de- 
scend beyond  the  range  of  sunlight,  and  the  earth  seems  to  close 
in  around  us;  then  there  is  a  warmth,  not  entirely  for  want  of 
ventilation,  but  an  actual  contribution  of  heat  from  the  central 
fires,  or  from  the  slowly  cooling  rocks,  which  have  retained  a  por- 
tion of  the  sun's  ardor,  if  not  of  his  radiance,  during  all  the  mil- 
lions of  years  which  have  elapsed  since  the  solar  system  was 
shaped  and  set  in  motion.     We  are  down  now  in  the  darkness 
on  solid  ground  once  more,  but  it  is  not  entirely  dark.     A  man 
stands  there  before,  us  with  a  candle  set  in  a  sconce  of  clay  upon 
his  headgear,  and  if  it  were  not  for  his  straight  hair,  his  thin,  com- 
pressed lips,  and  the  gray  eyes  which  patiently  overhaul  his  ob- 

I 


(ft;        I 


;;  1 1 


||!T;,'>4 


''■ 


I.  !l; 


h 


486 


TuTTLe's   CEXTEyNIAL  XoiiTHWKST. 


server,  it  would  be  easy  to  believe  that  the  miner  is  a  "gentleman 
of  color."  The  aspect  of  the  workman  is  due  to  his  occupation; 
as  Shakspcro  sa^'s,  that  "  the  dyer's  hand  is  subdued  to  the  color 
in  which  he  works."  This  mine  is  made  up  of  many  galleries  or 
drifts,  and  away  at  the  extremity  oi;  eacli  there  is  a  man  at  work, 
following  his  lode  of  metal  through  the  earth,  blasting  the  rock 
sometimes  to  procure  it,  and  then  removing  the  fragments  with,  his 
pick,  until  he  has  enough  dchri)s  to  load  a  tub  for  the  windlass 
man  on  the  surface.  Each  "drift"'  contains  its  man,  but  men 
don't  always  find  the  mineral  for  which  they  are  searching. 
Miniiig  becomes  almost  as  alluring  a  pursuit  as  the  gaming  table 
itself.  The  poor  fellows  sometimes  follow  the  vjnis faiuus  luck 
down  there  out  "f  the  sunlight,  nK)nth  after  month,  without  pro- 
curing lead  enough  to  pay  for  sharpening  the  pick,  and  stii.  the 
idea  is  powerful  as  ever  that  a  lode  will  bo  found  presently  that 
will  pay  for  all  this  labor.  The  miner  does  not  call  his  vein  a 
"  lode"  ;  his  term  is  ■'  .oad,"  and  very  naturally  so,  because  he  i.s 
led  by  it  as  far  as  the  vein  traverse^  the  rock  until  he  reaches  the 
confines  of  his  claim,  llis  drive  is  from  four  to  six  feet  high,  and 
from  three  to  four  feet  wide,  without  apparentl"  any  timber  suj)- 
ports  to  prevent  the  superincumbent  earth  ''caVi.ig  in,"  and  bui-y- 
ing  the  human  mole  at  his  work.  This  man  has  found  lead  loag, 
long  ago,  :ind  lie  kindly  allows  you  to  see  him  at  his  work,  strik- 
ing, lifting,  driving,  forcing  in  every  way  that  seuins  most  likely 
to  effect  his  purpose,  to  dislodge  the  mineral  from  the  crevice  of 
rock,  into  which  it  is  wedged  and  fastened,  as  metal  runs  i;ito  a 
mould.  The  colors  which  flash  from  Lh'>  trcasui'c  as  it  stands 
there  waiting  to  be  won  are  sometimv.'s  brilliant  as  diamonds  and 
opals,  as  the  candle  reflects  its  lij^ht  on  a  hundred  glancing  facets, 
and  you  wish  there  were  some  richer  results  than  lead  to  reward 
the  patient  labor  of  these  sons  of  toil ;  but  when  they  win  lead 
enough  to  keep  their  families  in  comfort  they  are  content.  Gold 
in  the  ravth  docs  not  look  always  as  brilliant  as  the  mass  of  lead 
now  before  us,  and  the  returns  of  the  gold  niincr  are  not  nearly  so 
steady  as  the  more  moderate  earnings  of  the  lead  miner  at  Galena. 
The  one  mineral  gives  a  profit  to  its  workers,  and  to  the  nr.iiou ; 
the  other  is  an  absolute  lo.ss  U-  the  community.  Mine  load,  and 
you  will  find,  after  the  wages  fund  of  tiu  whole  enterprise  and  all 


Prixcipal  Cities  of  Illinois. 


487 


[entleman 
pupation  ; 
J  the  color 
lillories  or 
at  woi'k, 
the  rock 
|s  wit!)  Ids 
windlass 
but  men 
Iscarchinc:. 
■)ing  iai)lo 
^tluus  luck 
Itliout  pro- 
'J  stii.  the 
entlj  that 
li-s  vein  a    . 
I'auyc  he  is 
aches  the 
[thigh,  and 
mber  au])- 
and  bu;y- 
lead  loiig, 
ork,  stnk- 
ost  likel)' 
;revioe  of 
11  ns  itito  a 
it  stands 
oiids  and 
ng  facets, 
o  reward 
win  lead 
t.     Gold 
s  of  load 
nearly  so 
-  Galena. 
'■  nr.Uoi.  ; 
o-id,  an('. 
!  and  all 


of  its  expenses  have  been  paid,  there  is  a  margin  of  gain  to  be 
divided  among  the  promoters.  Mine  gold,  and  although  some 
few  will  strike  •' pockets,'  and  "jewelers'  shops,"  the  great  ma- 
jority of  hard  working  and  hard  faring  men  will  not  earn  wages, 
na}'',  worse  than  that,  they  do  not  get,  in  thousai.ds  of  cases, 
enough  to  pay  for  their  stoies.  The  gold  "  finds"  in  California 
and  in  Australia  have  only  sold  at  the  best  for  about  !{520  per 
ounce,  and  when  the  number  of  men  working  in  the  mines  has 
been  charged  against  the  whole  result,  at  wages  which  would 
readily  be  earned  by  easier  work  in  their  several  trades  and  call- 
ings, it  is  found  that  the  cost  of  the  precious  metal  which  will  sell 
at  $20  is  a  little  more  than  $2G.2o.  Perhaps  when  gold  mining 
comes  to  be  followed  out  more  systematically  by  skilled  workmen, 
with  the  aids  of  machinery,  and  under  the  supervision  of  able 
metallurgists,  as  is  growing  to  be  every  day  more  and  more  the 
case  in  our  quartz  mines,  there  will  be  better  results  in  that  indus- 
try also.  Certainly  gold  has  been  mined  in  the  most  reckless  way 
that  can  be  im'igined,  and  the  waste  of  labor  and  capital  in  the 
process  has  bi  en  no  more  than  might  be  expected  in  any  pursuit 
in  which  persons,  without  special  culture,  would  undertake  to 
direct  "enterprises  of  great  pith  and  moment,"  in  which  fortunes 
could  be  expended  in  a  ycir.  When  Galena  was  first  made  a 
settlement  there  were  no  white  neighbors  within  a  journey  of 
about  three  hundred  miles.  Dubuque  was  mined  much  more  ex- 
tensively than  any  other  locality  in  the  northwest  for  this  mineral, 
and  the  French  ma  ,  who  gave  his  name  to  that  region  began  his 
operations  in  th-  last  century,  when  Spain  still  claimed  sovereignty 
over  the  tract  ol"  territory  m.der  which  he  and  his  workmen  pur- 
sued their  toilful  avocation. 

A  visitor,  who  has  given  special  attention  to  the  mines  at 
Galena  says,  concerning  ihe  indications  of  metal,  which  are  sought 
with  so  much  solicitude  by  the  miner:  "Veins  of  mineral  in  the 
same  vicinity  run  in  the  general  direction.  Those  in  the  vicinity 
of  Galena  run  cast  and  west.  The  crevice  which  contains  the 
mineral  is  usually  perpendicular,  and  from  one  to  twenty  feet  in 
width,  extending  from  the  first  solid  rock  above  the  mineral  to 
uncertain  depths,  filled  with  large,  loo.se  rocks,  and  a  peculiar  red 
dirt,  in  which  are  imbedded  masses  of  mineral.    These  masses  are 


t ;  '-I 


-?%(***'! 


il  i\ 


5     tV'"  t' 


r  ;■ 


488 


Tuttlf's  Cestexnial  Northwest. 


made  up  of  cubes,  like  those  formed  by  crystallization,  and  nifiny 
of  them  are  as  geometrically  correct  as  they  could  be  made  widi 
compass  and  square.  Before  the  mineral  is  broken,  it  is  of  the 
dull  blue  color  of  lead ;  when  broken,  it  glistens  like  silver. 
Sometimes  eaves  are  broken  into,  whose  roofs  arc  frosted  over 
with  calcareous  spar,  as  pure  and  white  as  the  frost  upon  the  win- 
dow pane,  and  from  dark  crevices  in  the  floor  comes  up.the  gurg- 
ling of  streams  that  never  saw  the  sun.  The  life  of  a  miner  is 
dark  and  lonesome.  His  drift  is  narrow,  and  will  not  admit  of 
two  abreast;  therefore,  there  is  but  little  eonversrtion,  and  no 
jokes  are  bandied  about  from  mouth  to  rnoutli.  The  alternations 
of  hope  and  disappointment  give  a  subdued  expression  to  his 
countenance.  There  are  no  certain  indications  by  which  the 
miner  can  determine  the  e.Kisteuce  of  a  vein  of  mineral  without 
sinking  a  shaft.  Several  methods  are  resorted  to,  such  as  the 
linear  arrangement  of  any  number  of  trees  a  little  larger  than  the 
generality  of  their  neighbors,  which  is  considered  an  indication  of 
an  opening  underground  corresponding  to  their  arrangement. 
Depressions  in  the  general  surface  are  also  favorable  signs,  and 
there  are  yet  some  believers  in  the  mystic  power  of  witch-hazel 
and  the  divining-rod.  In  the  largest  number  of  cases,  little  at- 
tention is  pa'.d  to  signs  o.'ier  than  to  have  continuous  ground  — 
that  is,  to  dig  on  the  skirts  of  a  ridge  that  is  of  good  width  on  top, 
so  that  any  vein  that  might  be  discovered  would  not  run  out  too 
quickly  on  the  other  side  of  the  ridge.  On  such  ground  the 
method  of  search  is  by  suckering,  as  it  is  called.  The  miner  digs 
a  do/cen  or  more  holes,  about  six  feet  deep,  and  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  each  other,  antl  in  some  one  of  these  he  is  likely  to  find 
a  few  pieces  of  mineral,  the  dip  of  certain  strata  of  clay  then  in- 
dicates the  direction  in  which  he  is  to  continue  the  search,  in 
which,  if  he  is  so  successful  as  to  strike  a  lude,  his  fortune  is 
made." 


Prixcipal  Cities  of  Miciiigak. 


489 


CHAPTER  XLI. 


TRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  MICHIGAN. 


Lansing  —  Detroit  —  Grand  Rapids  —  Adrian  —  Saginaw 

son,  etc. 


•  Bay  City  —  Jacli- 


Lansing. —  Tlic  earlier  and  more  evcntfal  days  of  the  state  of 
!Micliigan  were  not  identified  with  the  city  in  wliich  the  cai)itol  now 
stands,  and  we  shall,  therefore,  turn  aside  from  the  usual  course  be- 
fore describing  Lansing,  to  say  a  few  words  of  the  state  and  its  early 
histor}',  which  otherwise  might  escape  our  recording  pen.  The 
Jesuits  were  the  earliest  settlers  in  Michigan,  some  French  mis- 
sionaries having  established  themselves  in  the  country  as  early  as 
1030.  Thirty  yens  later  they  extended  th^ir  labors  from  Lake 
Huron  to  Lake  iinrior,  and  other  missions  were  successively 
established  in  1668,  .aid  in  1671  the  latter  being  the  -Mccial  labor 
of  Father  Marquette,  whoso  lame  is  identified  w.tb  Chicago  and 
the  earliest  navigation  of  the  Mi^^sissippi.  'i'hc  llurons  who  were 
converted  by  the  Jesuits  v»ere  destroyed  ki  subsequent  assaults 
by  the  L'oquois;  and  the  Indians  generally  hav-  preserved  but 
little  of  the  religious  spirit  which  their  'oachers  .-uove  to  enforce. 
Trading  posts  were  established  in  conn:  uiding  situations,  and  gar- 
risons of  French  soldiers  wore  concentrated  on  points  which  were 
likely  to  be  most  cfTeetive  in  preventing  disorder  or  massacre. 
The  nearness  of  Detroit  to  the  French  i  <-  .sions  in  Canada,  led 
to  a  colony  being  formed  there  in  IT"'  ,  out  the  beauty  of  the 
position  and  its  fitness  as  a  commercial  basis  could  not  sustain  the 
community  against  the  enmity  of  the  Iroquois  and  their  allies.  In 
sj  ite  of  a  fort  and  garrison,  the  colony  languished,  Pontiac 
sought  to  c\'i)el  all  the  white  settlers  from  Michigan  after  the 
conquest  of  Canada  b;,  the  British,  and  the  scheme  came  very 
near  being  successful.  Tiie  organization  of  the  tcrritor}'  of  Mich- 
igan was  elTected  in  the  year  1805,  and  Detroit  was  then  the  seat 
of  justice  ;  but  many  viehssitudes  were  endured  during  the  war  of 
1812,  and  the  population  of  the  territory  was  so  scanty  in  the 


iil'ti 


I 


'i 


i  ir' 


'1 

■i  1 


Jl    iV 


41 


li  ' 


490 


T'ITTLe's   CEyXENNIAL  NORTHWEST. 


year  1820,  tliat  Micliigan  and  Wisconsin,  then  united  in  one  gov- 
ernment, bad  less  iluui  nine  thousand  souls  collectively.  Twelve 
years  later,  Michigan  became  the  center  of  attraction  for  thousands 
of  families  which  were  anxious  to  discover  locations  adapted  to 
settlement,  as  the  steamboats  on  the  lakes  had  opened  new  views 
of'  life,  and  entirely  new  possibilities  for  the  population,  in  the 
state  which  enjoyed  sucli  exceptional  navigation  of  vast  inland 
seas.  There  was  an  increase  of  inhabitants  steadily  progressing, 
until  in  1834,  there  were  ninety  thousand  persons  in  the  territory, 
inoluding  the  Wisconsin  district,  and  in  the  year  1837,  Michigan 
was  admitted  to  the  union.  The  war  record  sho-vs  that  during 
the  great  rebellion,  i^Iiehigan  sent  more  than  ninccy  thousand  men 
into  the  field  to  uphold  the  government  and  the  great  principle 
whieh  was  imperilled  and  vindicated  by  that  struggle. 

Lansing  is  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Michigan,  having  been 
Icrmally  constituted  the  seat  of  government  in  the  year  1850, 
prior  to  which  time  that  honor  and  advantage  had  been  enjoyed 
by  the  city  of  Detroit.  Lansing  is  a  city,  and  is  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  Grand  river,  at  the  point  where  that  stream  joins  the 
Cedar  river,  in  Ingham  county,  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  north- 
west of  Detroit.  The  original  i)lans  of  the  city  have  not  been 
carried  out,  but  enough  has  been  effected  in  that  direction  to  show 
t!;at  Lai -inr  will  become  the  home  of  a  great  and  enterprising 
community,  i^s  its  development  proceeds.  The  streets  arc  very 
broad,  and  they  intersect  each  other  at  right  angles,  the  breadth 
being  availed  of  to  plant  rows  of  shade  trees  which  have  an  excel- 
lent efiect  upon  the  appearance  of  the  city,  which  otherwise  might 
seem  much  too  s  ;attered ;  ..n  outline  drawing  instead  of  a  state 
capital.  Tiic  railroad  communications  of  Lr.nsing  are  excellent. 
The  Detroit,  Lansirig  and  Lake  Michigan  llailroad  here  forms  a 
junction  with  the  I'eninsular  road,  and  the  Lansing  Division  of 
the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern  Eailroad.  There  is  a 
largo  manufacturing  interest  here,  and  the  water  powers  afforded 
by  the  two  rivcis  are  largely  used  by  several  miMs.  There  are 
flouring  mills,  saw  mills,  chair  factories,  a  woolen  mill,  and  sash 
and  blind  factories,  which  employ  a  number  of  hands,  and  the 
commerce  of  the  city  is  considerable.  It  is  claimed  by  many  of 
the  foremost  residents  in  Michigan,  that  the  Massachusetts  of  the 


Principal  Cities  of  Michigan. 


401 


one  gov- 
Twclve 
[Iiousands 
[lap ted  to 
lew  views 
[n,  in  tlie 
|st  inland 
jgrcssiiig, 
territoiy, 
Michigan 
fat,  durinsr 
(sand  men 
principle 

ing  been 
ear  1850, 

n  enjoyed 
|tcd  on  the 
1  joins  the 
iles  nortli- 
!  not  been 
>n  to  show 
iterprising 
3  arc  very 
0  breadth 

an  excel- 
'isc  might 
of  a  state 
excellent. 
e  forms  a 
ivision  of 
"here  is  a 

afforded 
riicre  are 
und  sash 

and  the 
many  of 
ts  of  the 


west  will  be  located  just  liere,  with  Lansing  for  its  capital,  and 
the  intellectual  tone  of  the  city  favors  that  belief,  although  there 
arc  some  parts  of  Michigan  where  it  would  be  pardonable  if  force 
•were  used  to  make  the  schools  and  educational  institutions,  een- 
erally,  of  more   immediate  value  to  the  population.     There  are 
two  newspapers  published  in  Lansing,  and  they  are  moderately 
■well  supported.      The  population  in   the  year  1850  was  a  little 
over  twelve  hundred,  and  in  18G0  the  census  showed  an  increase 
to  three  thousand,  the  latest  enumeration  indicating  an  increase  of 
nearly  four  thousand  in   twenty  years.     It  is  probable  that  the 
population  of  Lansing   slightly  exceeds   seven   thousand    now. 
Among  the  public  buildings  the  state  house  is  the  largest  and  by 
far  the  most  handsome.     It  stands  in  an  enclosure  of  ornamented 
grounds  which  are  in  the  season  much  frequented  by  beauty  and 
fashion.     The  capitol  is  spacious  and  well  worthy  of  the  highly 
important  interests  which  will  be  d,alt  with  in  its  chambers. 
The  location  of  the  state  capitol  at  Lansing  was  first  mooted  in 
18-47,  when  a  gentleman  who  owned  considerable  property  on  the 
Grand  river,  oflored  to  give  twenty  acres  of  land,  and  to  erect  the 
state  buildings  at  his  own  cost,  if  the  seat  of  government  was 
established  at  this  point.     The  proposition  attracted  so  much  atten- 
tion, that  although  the  grant  of  land  and   buildings  was  not  ac- 
cepted, the  location  was  determined  upon  the  same  year  hy  an  act 
of  the  legislature.     At  that  time  there  was  only  one  family  where 
the  city  now  stands,  but  immediately  after  the  town  was  platted, 
and  the  intention  of  the  state  government  became  known,  one 
thousand  persons,  many  of  them  from  Lansing  in  New  York  state, 
moved  into  the  locality.     The  fact  of  so  many  of  the  settlers  com- 
ing from  Lansing,  N.  Y.,  determined  the  name  of  the  state  capital. 
The  State  Agricultural  College  is  an  ornament  to  Lansing,  and  it 
is  a  very  valuable  institution  for  all   who  are  interested  in  the 
success  of  farming.     The  professors  who  are  employed  in  this 
college  deserve  to  rank  among  the  foremost  in  the  state,  and  as  a 
rule  the  number  of  students  indicates  very  high  appreciation  of 
the  advantages  which  can  be  conferred  by  such  an  institution. 
There  is  a  college  for  ladies  exclusively  in  this  city,  and  it  is  very 
numerously  attended,  ihe  general  appearan^-c  of  the  students  show- 
ing a  very  high  standard  of  intellectuality.     It  would  be  difficult 


'}'[  y\   . 


'■■:  I 


;.  I 


I  ■  :     s- 1 


''I 


<iB 


I-;. 


i  It-   i 


-    1 


i'i  I 


:■■    1 


I- 1: 


t          :  ■.■  iv: 

¥. 

c  ii'i:i^ 

'  1    i 

'I  l! 


If 


18;:  !' 
;i-:  ; 


i 


492 


Ti'TTLij's  Cextexxial  NoRTinVEST. 


to  find  a  city  in  Michigan  in  which,  in  proportion  to  its  size,  so 
many  wcl!  educated  women  can  be  found,  yet,  withal,  there  is 
little  to  complain  of  in  the  way  of  pedantry,  and  scarcely  a  sign 
of  the  "  blue  stocking  "  to  be  seen.  There  arc  two  public  schools, 
and  they  are  graded,  but  the  attendance  does  not  more  than  lialf 
cover  the  requirements  of  the  time,  after  making  every  allowance 
for  private  tuition.  There  are  twelve  churches  in  the  city,  but 
none  of  them  are  exceptionally  handsome.  The  reform  school, 
or  house  of  correction  for  juvenile  ofTcnclcrs,  .stands  in  the  eastern 
portion  of  Lansing,  and  the  number  of  young  "reformers"  is 
much  more  noticeable  than  the  reformation,  which  might  be  de- 
sired, but  is  seldom  found  in  their  manners.  Tlic  large  majority 
of  those  persons  who  are  enrolled  among  the  legally  compelled 
students  in  the  reform  .school  consists  of  those  unpromising  mem- 
bers of  society  who  cannot  be  induced  to  attend  school  under 
ordinary  conditions,  or  who  have  .shared  only  to  a  nominal  extent 
and  perfunctorily  in  public  school  training. 

Detroit. —  This  city  was  the  capital  of  Michigan  until  the  year 
1850,  and  it  will  long  continue  to  be  the  metropolis  of  the  state. 
The  position  of  the  city  is  very  beautiful,  and  the  elegance  of 
Detroit  is  beyond  praise.  It  is  situated  on  the  north\\est  bank  of 
the  river  of  the  same  name,  eighteen  miles  from  the  head  of  Lake 
Erie,  and  eight  miles  from  the  outlet  of  Lake  St.  Clair.  The 
river  is  considerably  more  than  half  a  mile  wide,  the  distance 
between  the  docks  on  the  opposing  banks  —  between  which  Inrge 
ferry  boats  ply  all  the  day  long  —  being  just  half  a  mile.  "Wind- 
sor, in  the  dominion  of  Canada,  on  the  farther  side  of  the  Detroit 
river,  is  little  more  than  a  suburb  of  the  larger  city.  The  grade 
between  Lake  St.  Clair  and  Lake  Erie  into  which  its  outlet  flows, 
gives  an  average  velocity  of  two  miles  and  a  half  per  hour  to  the 
river  as  it  flows  past  Detroit.  The  power  of  this  stream  prevents 
the  formation  of  sandbars  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  such  as  com- 
pel continuous  care  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  at  Chicago. 
The  same  causes  preserve  an  open  and  safe  harbor  at  Detroit,  all 
through  the  winter,  as  the  ice  formed  elsewhere  has  no  chance  to 
effect  a  lodgment  and  to  dam  up  the  stream.  The  plan  of  the 
eity  is  rectangular  from  the  river  bank,  and  for  a  distance  of 


Principal  Cities  of  Michigan. 


493 


[its  size,  so 
1,  til  ere  is 
fely  a  sign 
|ic  school.*, 
than  half 
allowance 
|e  city,  but 
\nn  school, 
the  eastern 
prmcrs"   is 
ight  be  de- 
je  majoi-ity 
coiupcllcd 
isiiig  nicni- 
lool  under 
inal  extent 


til  the  year 
f  the  state, 
elegance  of 
est  bank  of 
fid  of  Lake 
^lair.     The 
le  distance 
vhich  Inrge 
e.     Wind- 
he  Detroit 
The  grade 
itlct  flows, 
our  to  the 
II  prevents 
3I1  as  cora- 
Chieago. 
)etroit,  all 
chance  to 
an  of  the 
istance  of 


I 


twelve  hundred  feet ;  beyond  that  line  the  plan  changes  to  the 
triangle,  and  the  vast  city  covers  an  area  of  very  nearly  ten  square 
miles.  Starting  from  the  grand  circus  the  streets  and  avenues 
become  magniiicent  boulevards  of  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundnxl  feet  in  breadth,  <  lamented  by  rows  of  shade  trees,  and. 
the  ro'.ids,  traversed  in  part  by  street  railways,  arc  superb  carriage 
drives,  such  as  can  hardly  be  surpassed  in  any  part  of  the  world. 
Tiie  Campus  Martins  and  the  Grand  Circus  are  very  handsome 
localities,  around  which  the  choicest  buildings  are  grouped;  but 
the  private  residences  of  the  wealthier  citizens,  standing  back 
from  the  avenues,  in  grounds  well  ornamented  by  forest  trees  and 
shrubs,  or  laid  out  as  croquet  lawns,  suggest,  beyond  the  possibil- 
ity of  a  doubt,  that  the  people  congregated  in  the  city  know  how 
to  enjoy  life.  An  old  resident  says :  "  This  beautiful  city  of 
Detroit  is,  as  you  say,  charming  to  the  eye,  but  it  is  the  s^^irit 
which  prevades  the  population  that  is  really  its  greatest  fascina- 
♦''^'1.  Society  is  high  toned,  but  not  exclusive.  The  able  and 
^  worthy  have  here  no  difTieulty  in  procuring  the  entree  to  tlie 
best  circles;  and  it  would  be  no  easy  matter  to  find  a  community 
in  which  intellect  is  more  entirely  at  home."  The  street  ears 
unite  the  more  distant  points  within  the  city  limits,  and  in  eonse- 
qucncc  large  numbers  of  people  who  might,  mider  other  circum- 
stances, crowd  into  ^^aalid  tenements  in  the  city,  are  able  to 
move  further  away  from  the  center  without  inconvenience,  w'ith 
an  actual  gain  in  comfort  and  in  rental.  The  old  city  was  built 
almost  en.iirely  of  wood,  and  many  of  the  narrow  and  crowded 
streets  still  bear  the  nomenclature  which  marks  their  origin,  but 
the  new  city  which  is  rising  every  day  into  greater  prominence, 
until  the  small  beginnings  are  all  but  lost  sight  of,  is  being 
mainly  constructed  of  brick,  stone  and  iron.  The  city  was  at  one 
time  besieged  by  the  Indian  forces  combined  under  Pontiac,  but 
the  citizens  and  the  soldiery  were  fully  competent  for  the  work  of 
defense.  In  the  year  1812,  Governor  Hull  surrendered  the  city 
to  the  British  without  a  blow  and  for  some  time  the  place  re- 
mained in  their  hands;  but  the  following  year  was  brightened  by 
an  event  more  glorious  for  cur  arms,  when  Commodore  Perry, 
with  a  small  force,  attacked  and  conquered  the  British  fleet  on 
.Lake  Erie,  demonstrating  that  the  blood  of  the  old  Vikings  had 


mm. 


|! 


•t-f: 


'■   * : 


:  MM" 


!|  is  j  f 


li  I  i  i 


Nil 

if  11 


i:ii 


>lh 


494 


Tuttle's  Centexntal  Northwest. 


not  died  out  in  the  hardy  race.  Tlio  defeat  of  Tecumseli  by  Gen. 
Harrison,  and  the  victory  achieved  over  the  British  forces  by  that 
ofTicer,  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames  in  Canada,  only  a  few  miles 
from  Detroit,  caused  the  city  to  be  evacuated  without  dehiy ;  and 
the  original  mishap  was  lost  sight  of  in  the  subsequent  glorious 
conduct  of  our  tnx^ps.  The  old  state  house,  which  fell  into  disuse 
when  Lansing  became  the  capital  of  Michigan,  is  now  devoted  to 
science,  literature  and  the  arts;  and  its  latter  days  are  better  than 
the  first.  The  custom  house  is  a  fine  stone  edifice,  bi.it  it  is  en- 
tirely eclipsed  by  the  new  city  hall,  the  high  t'.^'. er  of  wi.'ich  is 
visited  by  almost  every  person  that  makes  a  sUiy  in  the  city. 
The  coup  (Tceil  is  magnificent,  and  the  panorama  that  could  do 
justice  to  the  scene  of  beauty,  unrolled  many  hundreds  of  feet 
below  the  spectator,  here  in  tlie  charming  river,  there  on  the  lake, 
then  stretching  away  on  the  other  side  into  the  l^ritish  dominion, 
here  striking  ofl  by  avenue,  railwa}'  and  road  toward  the  interior 
of  the  state,  with  all  the  princijial  residences  embowered  in  trees, 
and  the  populous  streets  thronged  by  the  moving  caravans  of 
commerce,  would  offer  to  the  contemplative  mind  the  hcau  vital 
of  modern  civilization.  Having  spoken  with  becoming  praise  of 
the  intellectual  tone  of  Detroit,  it  is  but  the  corollary  of  that  fact 
to  say  that  the  public  school  system  is  well  nigh  perfect.  There 
are  one  hundred  and  twelve  })ublic  schools,  all  provided  with 
suitable  buildings,  and  the  grading  of  these  institutions  has  been 
attended  to  with  great  success.  The  people  have  much  cause  to 
be  proud  of  those  establishments,  but  the  statistics  of  education 
reveal  the  unhappy  truth  that  a  large  per  centagc  of  the  children 
of  school  age  in  the  city  are  not  partakers  in  the  training  pro- 
vided for  their  advantage.  The  number  of  enrolled  scholars  is  a 
little  over  eleven  thousand,  the  children  who  should  attend  aggre- 
gating about  twenty-seven  thousand.  There  arc  one  hundred 
and  fifty  teachers  engaged  in  the  work.  During  the  ten  years 
ending  in  1870,  the  population  of  Detroit  increased  from  45,619 
to  79,577,  consequently,  considering  the  ra])id  growth  which  has 
marked  the  community  during  the  time  which  has  since  elapsed, 
it  is  safe  to  assume  that  tlie  city  has  now  a  population  of  fully 
one  hundred  thousand.  The  number  and  elegance  of  the  churches 
in  this  place  furnish  a  never  failing  theme  for  comment. 


PnmciPAL  Cities  of  MicnioAy. 


495 


by  Gen. 
[s  by  that 
ew  miles 
'la}' ;  aiul 
glorious 
Jito  disuso 
[evoted  to 
tter  than 
it  is  en- 
wi-'ich  is 
Uie  city, 
coil  1(1  do 
Is  f)f  feet 
the  lake, 
dominion, 
le  interior 
1  in  trees, 
iravans  of 
beau  idtal 
?  praise  of 
f  that  fact 
:t.     Tliere 
ided   with 
!  has  been 
1  cause  to 
education 
;  children 
iiing  pro- 
olars  is  a 
11(1  an"irre- 
hnndrcd 
:cn  years 
m  45,G19 
'hich  has 
elapsed, 
of  fully 
churches 


There  arc  splendid  facilities  here  for  railroad  travel  and  tralRc, 
and  of  course,  the  river  and  lake  are  alike  available  for  commerce. 
The  eastern  terminus  of  the  Michigan  Central  railroad,  and  of  the 
Detroit  and  Milwaukee  railroad  are  here,  the  freight  depot  of  the 
first  named  company  being  a  supcu'b  establishment.  The  north- 
ern terminus  of  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern,  and  the 
western  terminus  of  the  Grand  Trunk  railroad  of  Canada  being 
also  here,  there  are  unrivalled  opportunities  for  passengers  and 
commerce.  Detroit  is  the  port  of  entry  and  the  seat  of  justice 
for  Wayne  county.  The  commercial  importance  of  the  citv  ap- 
pears upon  an  inspection  of  its  imports  and  exports,  the  latter  includ- 
ing grain,  wool,  pork,  and  copper  ore,  and  the  tonnage  of  enrolled 
and  licensed  vessels  in  the  year  1871,  aggregated  more  than  .sev- 
enty-eight thousand  tons,  the  clearances  for  that  showing  a  total 
of  90-1,778  tons.  The  city  is  well  lighted  with  gas,  and  the  water 
supply  is  obtained  from  the  river  by  a  steam  engine  which  deliv- 
ers it  to  a  large  hydraulic  reservoir,  from  whence  the  city  pipes 
are  fed.  The  steam  fire  department  is  very  effective,  and  the 
system  of  signals  worked  in  the  city,  enables  the  people  to  locate 
the  cause  of  every  .alarm  within  a  few  doors  at  farthest.  The 
benevolent  institutions  of  Detroit  include  the  House  for  the 
Friendless,  the  Industrial  School,  the  Orphan  Asylum,  and  three 
hospitals,  the  Harper,  the  Marine  Hospital  and  St.  Mary'.s.  The 
Industrial  School  gatliers  in  all  tlie  vagrancy  and  rags  among  the 
juveniles  of  the  city,  and  the  little  ones  arc  fed  once  every  day  and 
being  taught  to  mend  their  clothe?,  and  make  new  garments,  as 
well  as  to  read,  write  and  sin'j.  The  amount  of  good  effected  by 
such  means  is  so  great,  that  the  expense  of  the  operation  is  a  mere 
bagatalle  by  comparison.  Detroit  has  many  ideas  which  are 
worthy  of  being  copied.  There  are  thirty  newspapers,  magazines 
and  peri(jdicals  ])ublished  in  the  city,  many  of  the  papers  jiosses- 
The  manufacturing  enterprise  of  Detroit  is  de- 


smg  great  merit. 


veloped  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  machinery  of  all  kinds,  loco- 
motives, window  .sashes  and  blinds,  leather  and  leather  ware,  fur- 
niture of  the  best  kinds,  lumber,  lager,  and  iron  and  bra,ss  works 
of  every  kind.  Tlvere  is  one  largo  establishment  in  the  city  de- 
voted to  the  manufacture  of  iron  from  the  ores  which  are  shipped 
to  this  point  ivom  lake  Superior,  whore  extensive  mines  are  being 


iii'i 


ll' ' 


1'! 


1  " 

'  I' 


iJ  li 


I'  1 ., 


Il 


I 


!i 


11 


!;;  ,!■' 


ll^ 


Li^^i 


1 

L 

1^1 

496 


TuTTU'fs  CeSTESSIAL  XoiiTinVEST. 


woi'lvod  ;  and  nidrc  than  $2,000,000  worth  of  cci)pcr  from  tlie 
same  range  of  country  is  annually  smelted  into  ingot  (;o{)i)er  in 
Detroit.  WJicn  the  French,  in  1070,  first  erected  a  fort  on  the 
site  now  occupied  by  the  city,  the  country  around  was  occui)icd 
by  Indian  villages,  the  Ottawas,  the  Pottawattamios,  and  the  IIu- 
rons,  but  when  the  Hurons  had  been  converted  by  the  Jesuits, 
that  tribe  was  neai'ly  destroyed  and  wholly  scattered  by  the 
Iroquois.  "When  Canada  was  conquered  from  the  French  the 
British  forces  took  possession  of  the  fort  in  1700,  and  after  the 
close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  Great  Britain  made  many  excuses 
for  holding  the  fort  until  1790,  thirteen  years  after  the  delivery 
should  have  been  made.  There  was  then  a  village  around  the 
fort,  and  that  had  become  a  town  in  1805,  when  a  great  fire  de- 
stroyed almost  every  vestige,  and  a  new  plan  was  adopted  in 
platting  the  elegant  city  which  is  now  known  as  Detroit. 

Gr.\>'1)  Hai'IDS. — This  is  a  city  which  is  very  rapidly  devel- 
oping, as  its  manufactures  increase  daily,  its  commerce  is  large,  its 
railroad  connections  are  very  complete,  and  the  citizens  generally 
are  wavy  enterprising  peo[)le.  Kent  county  has  its  seat  of  justice 
in  Grand  liapids,  and  tiie  population  cannot  be  less  than  twenty- 
two  thousand,  upon  the  most  moderate  e.<>timato.  ^n  the  year 
1800,  this  little  settlement  on  the  banks  of  Grand  river,  had  only 
about  eight  thousand  people,  and  during  the  ten  years  next  ensu- 
ino:,  its  numbers  had  increased  to  10,507.  The  lines  of  railroad 
which  are  connected  with  Grand  Rapids  are  the  Detroit  and  Mil- 
waukee, the  Grand  Ivapids  and  Indiana,  which  crosses  the  river 
at  this  point  conticcting  this  city  with  Kalamazoo  and  the  north- 
ern parts  of  Michigan,  besides  whicli,  a  branch  of  the  Michigan 
Central,  connects  this  center  of  industry  with  the  cities  of  Char- 
lotte and  Jackson.  Grand  Rapids  stands  cast  of  Grand  Haven, 
distant  about  thirty-two  milcs,and  it  is  fort^'-nine  miles  from  Kala- 
mazoo. There  arc  eight  newspapers  published  in  the  city,  and 
the  tone  of  the  press  is  metropolitan.  The  rapids  of  Grand  river 
probably  suggested  the  establishment  of  lumber  works  at  this 
point,  forty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  the  city  has 
grown  up  rapidly  on  both  banks.  The  stream  is  about  nine  hun- 
dred feet  wide  at  the  location  of  the  city,  and  numerous  works  are 


m 


Principal  Cities  of  Miciiiqan. 


i97 


established  where  the  current  ean  be  turned  to  account  as  motive 
]iowcr  for  flouring  mills,  foundries  and  saw  mills.  Small  steamers 
run  on  the  river  above  thj  rapids  to  Lyons  at  a  distance  of  fifty 
miles,  and  larger  vessels  connect  with  Grand  Haven,  tlif;  city  of 
sandhills,  whence  larger  steamers  cross  the  lake  in  every  direction 
to  Milwaukee,  Chicago,  and  elsewhere.  There  are  very  handsome 
and  commodious  busmess  premises  in  the  city  of  Grand  llapids, 
the  bustle  in  its  .streets,  and  the  amount  of  capital  invested  in 
manufactures,  alike  testifying  to  the  vast  capabilities  of  its  mer- 
cantile population.  Persons  arriving  at  this  point  from  Grand 
Haven  are  very  favorably  impressed  by  the  contrast  whieli  is 
abruptly  presented.  The  streets  are  quite  wide  and  in  moder- 
ately good  repair,  but  (Ires,  which  have  several  times  attacked  the 
city,  will  cause  the  quantity  of  Itiniber  used  for  building  purposes 
to  decrease  every  year,  the  more  especially  as  large  quantities  of 
building  stone  are  quarried  in  the  neighborhood.  Lumber  is  one 
of  the  chief  exports  from  Grand  llapids,  and  gypsum  or  land  plas- 
ter, as  it  is  more  frequently  called,  is  procured  here  in  considerable 
quantity.  I'uilding  stone,  and  lime  which  can  be  manufactured 
here,  also  figure  among  the  shipments,  assisting  to  make  an  im- 
mense aggregate  of  wealth  conveyed  by  the  river  and  the  roads. 
There  arc  salt  springs  in  this  neighborhood,  which  produce  a 
bushel  of  salt  from  every  twenty-nine  gallons  of  water,  and  the 
minimum  of  chemical  impurities  which  are  found  in  the  manufac- 
ture place  the  .valine  springs  of  this  locality  almost  on  a  par  with 
the  larger  and  more  numerous  springs  of  the  same  kind  in  Kan- 
sas, considerably  above  the  average  of  the  sources  of  salt  supply 
in  Great  Britain.  The  excellent  quality  of  the  article,  and  the 
nearness  of  the  supply,  causes  quite  a  demand  for  this  salt  in 
Chicago,  for  packing  purposes,  and  the  manufactories  increase 
their  activity'  continually. 

The  Grand  river  flows  throneh  one  of  -the  best  timbered  see- 
tions  of  the  state  of  Michigan,  and  the  lumber  trade  of  Grand 
Rapids  is  the  center  of  supply  for  an  immense  area,  as  all  the 
means  which  facilitate  easy  and  .profitable  handling  of  immense 
masses  of  timber,  and  converting  theai  into  the  forms  best  adapted 
to  serve  the  purposes  of  builders,  are  here  jiossessed  in  perfection. 
So  large  i?  the  range  of  country  from  which  supplies  are  pro- 
33 


^•4\ 

'■A  ; 

U 

i!'  '1 


'If'  'i" 


'\  m 


408 


TuTTLffs  Ckstessial  Xortuw'kst. 


cured,  that  it  is  claimed,  iipiiaiciitly  on  a  sound  basis,  tliat  tlic 
reproductive  powers  of  nature  are  fully  c(iual  to  all  the  drain  yet 
made  u[)oii  its  resources,  the  young  timber  springing  up  all  tlio 
more  rapidly  where  the  clearings  are  made,  and  speedily  attain- 
ing such  pr(»portions  as  will  in  a  few  years  make  it  ■  ,i!uable  for 
lumber  of  some  kinds.  The  city  is  well  endowed  with  churches, 
no  less  than  fourteen  of  various  capacity  and  orders  of  architec- 
ture, being  now  in  good  working  order,  and  two  other  ediTices  are 
projected.  Three  of  the  churches  arc  really  hanu.iome  buildings, 
and  all  of  them  taken  togetiier  arc  suiricieutly  commodious  to 
meet  the  demand  for  church  sittings  in  this  locality.  l''or  Grand 
llapids,  like  many  other  plac's  where  the  lumbrriii"-  interests 
are  large,  confirms  the  idea  that,  as  a  class,  lumbL 'iiuii  are  not 
the  most  strict  in  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  no;  tiie  most 
steady  in  their  vi.sits  to  the  house  of  prayer.  AVhethcr  this 
arises  from  the  business  itself  or  from  the  natural  tendencies  of 
the  men  who  generally  follow  this  business,  we  leave  the  reader 
to  decide  for  himself. 

'^I'lic  city  of  (rrand  Rapids  was  first  settled  in  the  year  1803, 
but  there  were  only  a  few  scattered  residences  to  accommodate 
workmen  and  employers  until  the  year  L830,  when  the  growing 
demands  for  luuiber  indicated  the  permanency  of  the  works  upon 
tlie  river  banks,  and  a  village  was  accordingly  platted.  In  the 
year  1850,  the  population  and  the  pro.spects  of  the  place  had 
made  such  advances,  that  the  town  was  incorporated  as  a  city, 
and  its  growth  since  that  period  has  gone  on  in  an  increas- 
ing ratio.  The  city  is  now  supplied  with  water  from  the 
river,  and  the  supply  can  be  increased  sufiiciently  to  meet  the 
wants  of  a  population  of  one  hundred  thousand.  The  fire  de- 
partment is  vcr}'  effective,  and  the  best  machinery  is  available 
for  the  rescue  of  life  and  property,  as  well  as  for  the  extinction 
of  flames  when  a  contlagration  occurs.  The  site  of  the  city  is 
pronounced  very  favorable  to  health,  a  consideration  of  moment, 
in  a  state  which  has  the  reputation  of  being  able  to  sup])l3'  chills 
and  fever  for  a  continent;.  Grand  Rapids  is  lighted  with  gas,  and 
the  number  and  completeness  of  its  hotels  give  it  preeminence 
over  most  cities  in  western  MiehiKan. 


V 


'<!- 


PiiTsciPAL  Cities  of  MicnicAX. 


400 


TIio  schools,  public  ami  private,  in  Grand  Rapids,  arc  good, 
Miul  ill  tliG  former  the  grading  has  been  attended  to  by  a  school 
board,  exceedingly  well  qualified  for  the  work,  eonsequently  the 
results  \vlii(;li  are  attained  give  good  returns  upon  the  capital  in- 
vested. Tlic  ])rivate  schools  compete  in  a  very  spirited  way  for 
the  support  of  the  wealthier  sections  of  the  community,  and 
many  of  those  institutions  deservedly  take  a  high  ratdc. 

Adrian.  — The  city  of  Adrian  is  a  very  beautiful  place  audit 
is  the  home  of  a  very  cntcr{)risingconinnuiity,  but  for  some  years 
jiast  its  gnnvth  has  been  very  moderate,  a  neighboring  town  hav- 
ing competed  very  effectually  for  shipments  of  grain.  The  first 
settlement  on  the  .^site  of  Adrian  was  made  in  the  year  1828, 
when  the  principal  attraction  to  the  spot  was  the  beauty  of  the 
])osition  on  the  banks  of  a  branch  of  the  river  Raisin,  wliicli  runs 
through  the  city.  The  water  powers  which  arc  here  available 
were  very  inviting  in  the  center  of  a  rich  agricultural  country, 
well  adapted  for  the  production  of  grain,  and  flouring  mills  were 
soon  afterwards  erected,  forming  the  nucleus  of  many  similar  en- 
terprises since  that  time.  Settlement  on  the  lands  around  Adrian 
was  proceeding  very  rapidly,  before  the  town  was  laid  out,  and 
the  growing  community  by  the  river  banks  was  the  market  to 
which  the  agriculturists  looked  for  the  exchange  of  their  products 
for  the  various  luxuries  and  necessaries  of  which  they  stood  in 
need.  That  fact  brought  a  large  local  trade  to  Adrian  ver}' early 
in  its  history,  and  the  numl)cr  of  mills  and  factories  upon  the 
baidcs  of  the  stream  went  on  increasing.  The  position  of  Adrian, 
only  thirty-three  miles  from  Toledo,  or  more  properly  from  the 
the  upper  and  lower  landings,  on  the  site  which  has  since  become 
Toledo,  in  the  neighboring  state  of  Ohio,  enabled  the  traders  to 
shi])  oil  their  accumulating  grain,  at  intervals,  to  the  shores  of 
lake  Eric,  where  there  never  failed  to  be  found  warehousemen  and 
shippers  ready  for  such  trafhe,  and  the  importance  of  the  little 
town  increased  with  every  sign  of  such  enterprise.  Detroit,  the 
capital  of  the  state,  was  too  far  away  to  be  made  the  commercial 
center  for  Adrian  enterprise ;  the  dilTerencc  was  forty  miles  in 
favor  of  Toledo,  the  distance  to  Detroit  being  seventy-three  miles. 
The  branch  of  the  Raisin  is  but  a  small  stream,  valuable  for 


mm 


i'^T*' 


fi'i 


ri 


Ml 


500 


TurTLEfs  Ckxtessial  XonrinrEST. 


water  power,  but  not  for  navigation,  although  the  spring  freshets 
give  it  quite  an  imposing  appearance.  In  the  year  1853,  the 
progress  made  by  Adrian  justified  its  promoters  in  procuring  its 
incorporation  as  a  city,  a  nd  long  before  tliat  time  its  value  as  a  ship- 
ping center  had  been  recognized  by  farmers  and  stock  raisers, 
morf  especially  after  the  construction  of  railways  had  opened  the 
way  for  rapid  and  economical  transit  to  Detroit  as  well  as  to 
Toledo,  and  had  connected  the  city  through  Chicago,  with  the 
whole  of  the  union.  Adrian  increased  very  considerably  after 
railwaj-s  were  opened,  as  almost  every  center  of  population  is  cer- 
tain to  do  where  there  arc  agricultural,  mining,  manufacturing  or 
other  industrial  facilities  to  susiaiu  the  energies  of  the  pcoj)le. 
Adrian  is  a  very  beautiful  city,  w''h  broad  well  paveu  and  well 
graded  streets,  and  the  business  pi-'Uiises  are  handsome  as  well  as 
commodious,  many  of  the  merchants  therein  being  men  of  ex- 
ceptional attainments,  who  have  brought  into  their  commercial 
pursurts,  the  ripe  results  of  high  culture.  The  roadways  arc  laid 
out  at  right  angles,  and  shade  trees  adorn  the  streets,  which  are 
mainly  devoted  to  private  residences.  The  prevalence  of  Wv)odcd 
grounds  and  croquet  lawns  around  tlie  dwellings  of  the  more 
wealth}-  citizens,  gives  an  mr  of  com  fort  and  enjoyment  to  the  city, 
and  tho.se  who  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  stay  for  ever  so  brief 
a  term  within  tii  >  hospitable  habitations  of  Adrian  carry  witli 
them  remembran.;es  of  hearty  welcome,  and  intellectual  delight, 
whicli  will  not  readily  die.  The  number  of  churches  in  Adrian 
and  I iio  splendor  of  many  of  those  edifices  are  marked  features  in 
the  locality.  The  I^Iethodist  Episcopal  church  is  perhaps  the  hand- 
somest, as  certainly  it  i.s  the  largest  in  the  city,  but  where  so  many 
other  buildings  of  the  same  kind  arc  beautiful,  it  seems  invidious 
to  make  distinctions.  College  life  gives  a  tone  to  Adrian  society, 
and  contributes  largeh^  to  the  elegance  of  its  social  circles,  as 
many  of  the  professors  and  their  families  arc  leaders  of  ion,  v;ith- 
out  in  any  sen.se  derogating  from  their  scholarly  attainments, 
and  with  a  manifest  gain  in  their  capacity  to  communicate  to 
others  a  knowledge  of  the  methods  by  which  they  have  mounted 
the  eminences  of  Parnassus.  There  are  three  newspapers  in 
Adrian,  and  they  are  generally  liigli  tonod  and  well  sustained. 
One  of  the  dailies  has  a  lady  for  associate  editor,  and  the  raciness 


! 


PjiixciPAL  Cities  of  Michigan/ 


501 


^g  freshets 
1S53,  the 
bearing  its 
[e  as  iiship- 
Ick  raisers, 
lopcncd  the 
well  as  to 
[,   witli  the 
prably  after 
lation  iscer- 
"acturing  or 
the  pcoi)le. 
;u  and  well 
e  as  well  as 
men  of  ex- 
commercia] 
ajs  are  laid 
s,  wliieli  are 
:e  of  wooded 
of  the  intn'e 
t  to  I'leeity, 
;ver  so  brief 
II  earrj  with 
ual   delight, 
s  in  Adrian 
.1  features  in 
ps  tlic  hand- 
icre  so  many 
ns  invidious 
rian  society, 
d  circles,  as 
>f  (on,  vnih- 
attainments, 
nunicate   to 
vc  mounted 
A'spapers  in 
I  sustained, 
the  raciness 


of  its  style,  the  courage  with  which  its  opinions  arc  expressed, 
and  the  earnestness  with  which  the  journal  enters  into  questions 
of  tiio  day,  give  to  the  columns  of  that  paper  vast  influence  with 
the  reading  public,  and  as  an  almost  inevitable  consequence  a 
commanding  claim  upon  advertisers,  v.'bich  mokes  the  commer- 
cial success  of  the  undertaking  one  of  the  certainties,  The  popu- 
lation found  in  Adrian  at  the  time  of  the  last  census  in  1870,  was 
just  8,438,  and  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that  it  now  exceeds  ten 
thousand  souls.  The  public  buildings  of  the  city  are  substantial, 
and  the  edifice  which  is  devoted  to  collegiate  pursuits  commands 
the  attention  of  travelers  for  many  miles  before  they  reach 
Adrian,  so  effective  and  so  well  placed  is  that  architectural  fea- 
ture, amid  the  beautiful  surroundings  of  the  place.  Doubtless 
the  elegance  of  that  edifice  has  had  some  influence  in  elevating 
the  style  of  the  private  residences  here,  which  attracts  the  atten- 
tion of  all  observant  visitors.  The  supply  of  water  in  Adrian  is 
ample,  and  the  city  is  illuminated  with.  gas.  The  opera  house  is 
very  commodious,  and  during  winter  is  largel}^  employed  for  lec- 
tures and  other  entertainments  of  an  intellectual  character,  which 
customarily  repay  the  promoters  in  a  financial  point  of  view  as  well 
as  otherwise.  Theatrical  performances  are  on ]y  occasional  in  the 
city,  but  when  first  class  performers  visit  that  locality,  they  are 
tolerably  sure  of  an  appreciative  public,  and  the  distance  from 
Chicago,  only  two  hundred  and  eleven  miles,  broken  by  many  ex- 
cellent stopping  places  en  route,  secures  quite  a  large  share  of 
all  the  best  entertainments  of  every  season  for  a  place  situated 
little  more  than  three  hours  journey  from  Detroit,  and  only  thirty- 
three  miles  from  Toledo.  The  railroad  station  at  Adrian  is  a 
point  of  junction  for  many  lines  r.nd  the  area  covered  by  the  iron 
roads,  the  depots  which  accommodate  the  large  traffic,  and  the 
worksliops  occupied  by  the  employes  of  the  companies  arc  very 
extensive.  The  amount  of  capital  em[)loyed  in  the  several  flour- 
ing mills  and  manufactories  along  the  river  banks  is  considerable, 
and  the  hands  employed  in  such  cntcrj)riscs,  added  to  those  who 
depend  upon  the  railroads  for  their  support,  make  up  a  large 
item  in  the  industrial  population  centered  here,  which  supports 
tlie  local  trade.  Farming  enterprise  has  of  late  years  been  direct- 
ed  largely  into  fruit  growing,  and  in  the  season  there  are  few 


I    ■      ! 


&,  I 


/■!!:r| 


r  ■■ '  1 


RWBSBIBWHH 


MM 


^mi^m^ 


xdOimiii' Httliil 


§ 


!'    «-v: 


502 


TuTTLE's  CeNTEKNIAL  NuiiTIlWEST. 


,>lf 


fill!  ■' 


.«( 


cities  in  tlic  state  in  which  a  per.-^on  inclined  for  such  enjoyment 
can  more  advantageously  share  in  the  gifts  of  Pomona.  The 
school  system  in  Adrian  is  excellent,  the  schools  are  well  graded, 
and  taken  for  all  in  all,  there  are  not  many  cities  in  ^Michigan  bet- 
ter adapted  for  the  residence  of  families. 

Sagixav;  is  a  city  of  considerable  promise,  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  of  the  same  name,  which  is  formed  in  Saginaw 
county  by  the  confluence  of  the  Shiawassee  river  with  Flint  river, 
forming  a  navigable  stream,  which,  flowing  north,  connects  this 
city  with  lake  Huron  and  the  lake  system  generally.  The  dis- 
tance to  lake  Huron  is  only  about  twenty-four  miles,  and  the 
■wide,  deep  stream  is  traversed  by  fine  steamers  which  convey  pas- 
sengers and  the  more  valuable  kinds  of  freight  to  the  busy  center. 
Heavier  and  less  valuable  freights  have  their  appropriate  menus 
of  dispatch  b^'the  same  river,  and  the  stream  being  navigable  for 
at  least  six  miles  above  the  town,  there  will  be,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  a  still  wider  extension  of  the  populated  area.  The 
river  Saginaw,  with  its  numerous  tributaries,  drains  a  largo  pro- 
portion of  the  lower  area  of  the  peninsular  state,  and  the  country, 
which  is  watered  by  the  many  branches  of  the  stream,  comprises 
some  of  the  best  timbered  and  most  fertile  lands  in  Michigan. 
Agricultural  pursuits  flourish  in  every  part  of  the  surrounding 
country,  and  the  city,  which  is  the  natural  as  well  as  the  com- 
mercial center  for  an  im-nense  population,  must  expand  into  very 
great  proportions.  The  city  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  Saginaw 
county,  and  the  buildings  necessary  for  the  tran.saction  of  county 
business  are  very  creditable  edifices,  althou^di  unlike  most  of  the 
public  buildings  in  some  states,  they  do  n<™]emind  one  of  the 
Parthenon  at  a  very  considerable  distance.  The  city  stands  in 
the  township  of  the  same  nominaUg||,  so  that  river,  county,  town- 
ship and  city,  are  all  Saginaw.  Tljo  lumber  trade  in  this  region 
is  very  extensive,  as  the  presence  of  timber,  water  power,  labor, 
capital  and  inventive  skill  cdfibine  to  afford  facilities  here  for 
that  line  of  business  which  can  hardly  be  excelled  in  the  world, 
and  when  the  trees  have  been  converted  from  the  rude  beauty  in 
which  they  adorn  the  forest,  to  tlr  grooved  and  planed  plank  of 
commerce,  which  may  make  the  walls  of  the  farm  house,  or  the 


{ 


:i 


Pjiixcii'jL  Cities  of  Michigan. 


503 


flooring  for  a  palace,  there  are  unrivaled  facilities  for  the  convey- 
ance of  the  manufactured  article  to  whatever  points  may  afford 
the  best  market,  without  incurring  the  expense  of  railroad  traflic. 
There  are  other  very  important  industries  which  are  prosecuted 
here,  and  the  river  will  afford  motive  power  and  dyn,  .lical  force 
for  an  almost  illimitable  extension.  Tliere  may  come  a  time 
when  force  will  be  made  so  cheap,  that  the  velocity  of  a  flowing 
stream  will  be  of  no  account,  except  as  a  means  for  the  supply  of 
local  demands;  but  the  time  is  yet  distant,  and  the  population  of 
Saginaw  will  have  many  opi)ortunities  to  grow  rich,  before  the 
latent  suggestion  of  science,  the  uriiization  of  wave  power  on  every 
shore  of  oceans  and  seas,  and  the  natural  outflow  of  tliat  sutjures- 
tion,  the  erection  of  works  to  employ  wave  power  everywhere, 
will  make  it  no  longer  necessary  for  man  to  start  the  sweat  drop 
iipon  his  brow,  except  in  directing  his  multifarious  agents  to  their 
work.  Tiie  time  will  come,  of  course,  when  the  waves  in  their 
unceasing  beat,  as  well  as  the  tides  and  the  winds  in  their  courses, 
must  severally  do  the  bidding  of  man,  and  in  that  confidence  we 
quote  the  words  of  the  poet,  "Still  may  it  wave."  There  arc 
many  flouring  mills  here,  which  are  employed  by  the  vast  sup- 
plies of  grain,  which  require  to  be  converted  into  the  form  best 
adapted  to  meet  the  demands  of  graminivorous  man.  This  branch 
of  enterprise  is  decidedly  on  the  increase,  as  many  of  the  mills  arc 
increasing  their  powers  considerablv,  and  there  are  some  new 
works  being  started  which  will  employ  numercv  h-inds  in  that 
busine-^s..  The  quality  of  the  product  shipped  fron  this  port  will 
have  the  effect  of  still  further  increasing  the  demand  for  Saginaw 
flour.  Planing  mills  are  numerous  and  extensive,  and  a  very 
large  aggregate  of  capital  is  employed  in  this  department  of  in- 
dustry, which  supports  quite  a  consi<KM\nblc  proportion  of  the 
population  in  Saginaw,  and  which  wil'.  increase  as  the  country  be- 
comes peopled.  Many  persons  suppo.se  that  the  increase  of  .resi- 
dents in  an  area  of  country  must  necessarily  diminish  the  supply  of 
timber,  and  lliey  are  right,  when  immense  metropolitan  cities  ex- 
pand tlicir  borders,  covering  many  .square  miles  in  extent;  but 
only  so  far  as  the  soil  is  occupied  in  that  way.  The  agriculturist 
who  settles  down  upon  the  land,  to  wrest  his  living  from  old 
mother  earth,  is  not  only  a  farmer,  and  he  docs  not  want  his  land 


' :.; 


:l'.!l 


i;n!i 


^-^.f^ 


g^WMjflUMgWWMM 


HiK^':     !i 


'I 


iil 


'':^ 


if 


"'f 
si 


t  ,ii 


504 


TuTTLe's  CeNTENXIAL  NORTinVEST. 


entirely  denuded  of  wood.  The  fertile  bottom  lands  wbioli  are 
high  and  dry  above  the  ehances  of  inundation  may  be  wanted  for 
hiri  golden  grain  and  bis  orchards,  or  for  other  similar  occupation  ; 
but  there  are  certain  to  be  found  many  spots  where  he  may  ad- 
vantageously plant  groves  suflicient  in  tlie  aggregate  to  supply  the 
saw  mills  and  planing  mills  in  endless  succession.  Even  though 
no  trees  should  be  planted  by  the  hand  of  man,  every  monarch 
of  the  forest  that  is  felled,  leaves  room  for  two  or  three  successors, 
and  at  least  fifty  competitors  are  ready  to  enter  on  the  race. 
Wherever  the  soil  is  allowed  an  opportunity  to  develop  its  re- 
sources, trees  spring  into  existence  rapidly,  and  the  farmer  finds 
his  advantage  in  the  shelter  thus  ailorded  to  his  stock  and  grow- 
ing crops,  to  say  nothing  of  the  supply  of  fuel,  and  the  ]n-ofit 
which  he  will  eventually  reap  from  the  sale  of  lirst  class  trees  to 
be  manufactured  into  building  inaterials  and  furniture.  Saginaw 
will  not  sulicr  for  want  of  lumber  on  which  to  operate,  for  many 
years  to  come,  and  the  lumber  trade  will  increase  rathe  tlan  di- 
minish. Tliere  are  machine  shops  here,  which  ail'ord  a  wide  range 
of  employment  to  skilled  mechanics,  and  the  salt  works  are  estab- 
lishing a  good  reputation  for  the  saline  product  which  is  largely 
exported.  There  are  also  other  manufactories,  which,  in  the  ag- 
gregate, employ  a  large  number  of  hands,  but  not  of  such  extent 
as  to  justify  particular  mention,  and  on  the  whole,  Saginaw  may- 
be included  in  the  numerous  list  of  cities  in  this  state,  which 
olfer  to  the  workingman  and  to  the  manufacturer,  to  the  inventor 
and  to  the  capitalist,  as  well  as  to  the  wide  extent  of  po})ulation 
which  must  de})cnd  upon  their  enterprise,  lirst  class  oj)enings  for 
the  emplo^'meut  of  their  energies  and  wealth,  in  a  manner  [)rorit- 
able  to  themselves  and  to  the  community  at  large.  The  popula- 
tion of  Saginaw  in  the  year  1870  was  7,-iGO  ;  but  the  growth  since 
that  date  has  been  rapid,  and  it  may  safely  be  averred  that  there 
are  now  not  less  than  eleven  thousand  jjcrsons  in  the  city  and  its 
busy  suburbs.  Itailfoads  have  contributed  materially  to  the 
growth  of  the  city  by  creating  demands  for  its  lumber  and  other 
products  in  other  parts  of  the  state.  The  Jackson,  Lansing  and 
Saginaw  Kailroad  intersects  the  Flint  and  Pere  Aranjuette  liail- 
road  at  this  point,  and  the  two  roads  thus  crossing  afford  bound- 
less facilities  for  overland  shipments  to  busy  centers.     Detroit, 


Fjiixcn'AL  Cities  of  Miciiigax. 


605 


standing  only  eighteen  miles  from  lake  Erie,  is  one  hundred  miles 
from  this  city,  and  the  trafllc  between  the  two  points  is  very  con- 
siderable. The  school  system  in  Saginaw  i.s  very  good,  but  the 
attendance  is  much  below  the  point  which  should  be  reached,  if 
the' interests  of  the  rising  generation  are  to  be  properly  defended. 
The  philosopher  who  was  asked  what  should  be  done  to  build  up 
an  empire  replied,  "  educate  your  children,"  and  such  advice 
must  needs  be  of  yet  greater  importance,  where  the  youths  are  to 
become  custodians  of  a  sovereign  power,  known  only  to  compon- 
ents of  a  republic.  There  are  two  newspaj)ers  published  in  Sag- 
inaw, and  they  arc  well  conducted  exponents  of  two  sided  public 
opinion.  The  advertising  columns  are  especially  well  perused, 
and  the  journals  carry  with  them  the  best  signs  of  their  own  suc- 
cess as  well  as  of  the  prosperity  of  their  constituents.  Churches 
are  well  supported  in  Saginaw,  but  among  the  lumbermen  arc 
many  hard  cases  that  would  require  special  missionary  enterprise 
locally  applied  to  reach  them  with  customary  ministrations.  The 
imblic  buildings  and  private  residences  of  the  city  are  very  at- 
tractive, and  the  city  \   '.  grow  for  many  years  to  come. 

Bay  City  is  the  county  scat  of  the  county  bearing  the  same 
appellation,  which  is  derived  from  its  location,  bounding  Saginaw 
Bay,  into  which  all  the  rivers  and  streams  which  drain  and  water 
the  county  flow.  The  area  of  the  region  of  which  Bay  City  is  the 
adininistrative  center  is  about  seven  hundred  and  sixty  square 
miles,  and  its  population  is  very  rapidly  increasing,  having  ad- 
vanced to  nearly  sixteen  thousand  in  the  year  1870,  from  a  total 
but  little  over  three  thousand,  ten  years  before.  The  city  has 
an  almost  unlimited  supply  of  timber  in  the  county,  as  the  lands 
are  intersected  in  every  direction  by  rivers  and  streams,  all  of 
which  have  their  banks  fringed  with  woodlands.  The  principal 
rivers  in  the  county  arc  the  estuary  of  the  Saginaw  river,  in  the 
southern  section  of  the  area,  Sagnin  river,  Cog-a-lane  river.  Rifle 
river,  and  Aux  Grais.  The  surface  of  this  region  is  level  and 
although  its  capacity  for  supplying  lumber  is  so  great,  it  contains 
farms  whose  aggregate  value  is  set  down  at  over  eight  hundred 
thou.sand  dollars,  and  additions  to  stock  are  estimated  at  two  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.     In  the  year  1870,  the  district  produced 


'   'H 


!     ■'. 


506 


TuTTLhfs  Cl'xtexmal  XouTinvicsT. 


II  : 


9,398  bushels  of  wheat,  over  10,000  bushels  of  oats.  2fl,u05  bush- 
els of  potatoes,  1,799  bushels  of  rye,  8,458  busliels  of  Itulian  corn, 
besides  o,oo4:  tons  of  hay,  and  05,2-15  pounds  of  butter.  The 
city  and  county  scat  represents  the  wealth  of  the  whole  district 
.because  nearly  all  the  markets  are  found,  and  shipments  made  in 
the  commercial  center,  and  a  largo  local  business  is  necessarily 
effected  here.  The  distance  fronr  East  Saginaw  is  just  thirteen 
milus  by  the  river,  and  the  city  is  consequently  only  nine  miles 
from  Lake  Huron  at  Saginaw  Bay.  Tlie  proximity  of  the  lake 
has  led  to  a  great  deal  of  money  being  invested  in  fishing  ven- 
tures on  that  body  of  water,  and  there  is  no  difhculty  in  finding 
a  market  for  any  quantity  of  fish  of  the  quality  common  in  Lake 
TTiiron.  Many  of  tlie  inland  lakes  and  rivers  of  this  continent 
would  repay  2)i.<eicultural  enterprise,  but  the  waters  of  Lake 
Huron  abound  in  fish  of  the  best  descriptions  in  endless  variety. 
The  number  of  men  engaged  in  this  business  in  Ba}^  City  affords 
quite  a  large  ]ocal  market  for  the  agriculturist,  and  farmers  as  a 
class  are  great  consumers  of  fi.sh,  so  that  the  community  can  efi"ect 
a  large  trade  by  simple  barter.  There  is  no  difficult}^  in  sending 
the  finny  treasure,  which  is  in  excess  of  the  local  demand,  to  in- 
land markets  by  railroad,  as  two  lines  compete  for  the  carrying 
trade  of  Bay  City,  the  Flint  and  Pere  !Mar(;[uette,  and  the  Jack- 
son, Lansing  and  Saginaw  Kailroad.  The  aggregate  of  shipments 
by  these  lines,  and  by  the  lake  steamer.^,  which  can  ascend  the 
river  Sat:inaw,  is  very  considerable,  leaving  a  larsze  margin  of 
profit  on  the  tra!^-?actions  of  every  day.  Dairy  [)roduce  forms 
quite  a  large  item  in  tlie  trade  records  of  Bay  City.  Lumber  is 
one  of  the  main  industries  in  the  city  and  county,  and  the  busi- 
ness is  prosecuted  in  every  branch,  except  that  it  is  probable  that 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years  the  manufacture  of  furniture  will  be 
acclimated  as  a  means  of  multiplying  wealth  for  the  toilers  on 
land  and  water.  There  are  extensive  salt  works  in  the  county, 
which  find  an  outlet  for  their  product  through  Bay  City,  and  the 
"  .salines  "  are  not  likely  to  be  exhausted  by  the  demand,  however 
great  it  may  become.  The  schools  in  Bay  City  are  numerous  and 
well  administered,  hut  the  attendance  does  not  average  one-half  of 
the  number  of  children  of  school  age  in  the  locality,  and  although 
there  are  some  private  schools,  their  pupils  added  to  those  iu  tlie 


PnixciPAL  Cities  of  Michigan. 


607 


loU5  biLsli- 
(dian  corn, 
tter.     Tlic 
|oIc  district 
Is  mncle  in 
necessarily 
i.st  tliirtcen 
nine  miles 
of  the  lake 
isliin<'  veil- 
>'  in  findinf' 
[ion  in  Lake 
lis  continent 
rs  of   Lake 
li's^s  variety. 
[City  a  fiords 
farmers  as  a 
ty  can  cfTeet 
\y  in  sending 
Ijrnand,  to  in- 
tlic  carrying 
nd  the  Jack- 
of  sliipments 
n  ascend  the 
e  margin  of 
nduce  forms 
Lumber  is 
nd  the  busi- 
robable  that 
tiire  will  be 
c  toilers  on 
the  county, 
ity,  and  tlie 
111,  however 
merous  and 
'  one-half  of 
id  although 
those  in  tho 


public  schools  slill  fall  far  short  of  the  number  which  should  re- 
ceive daily  instruction  and  training.  It  is  not  easy  to  see  how 
this  can  be  remedied,  but  it  is  imperative  that  every  good  man 
and  woman  should  consider  the  fact  of  paramount  importance. 
There  are  several  churches  in  Bay  City,  and  the  orders  of  archi- 
tecture are  not  of  a  kind  to  demand  special  notice,  but  the  services 
therein  are  marked  by  deep  earnestness  among  all  classes,  and  the 
attendance  is  good.  There  are  live  newspapers  published  here, 
representing  the  views  and  interests  of  the  whole  county. 

Jackson  is  a  very  handsome  city,  and  the  scat  of  rdministra- 
tion  for  Jackson  county,  being  situated  on  the  banks  of  Grand 
river,  which  intersects  the  county,  flowing  from  east  lo  west, 
through  the  northern  area.  The  Michigan  Centi'al  Eailroad  runs 
along  the  course  of  the  Grand  river,  intersecting  tho  Michigan 
Southern,  the  Fort  "Wayne,  Jackson  and  Saginaw,  and  the  Jack- 
son, Lansing  and  Saginaw  railroads  at  this  point,  just  seventy-six 
miles  west  of  Detroit,  and  two  hundred  and  eight  miles  east  of 
Chicago.  The  population  of  Jackson  city  and  county  have  in- 
creased very  rapidly  of  late  years,  and  the  exceptional  richness  of 
the  soil  of  the  county,  ndiich  is  being  very  rapidly  taken  up  for 
agricultural  purposes,  will  continue  to  compel  growth  in  every 
relation.  The  Grand  river  aflords  exceedingl}-  valuable  water 
powers,  which  are  to  some  extent  improved,  but  in  the  year  1870, 
the  total  value  of  manufactures  for  the  whole  county  was  under 
four  thousand  dollars.  There  are  several  flouring  mills  and  otlier 
works  located  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  there  is  good  i-eason 
for  believing  that  Jackson  will  now  make  very  rapid  progress. 
In  the  year  1860,  the  population  was  only  -±,700,  and  within  ten 
years  the  increase  had  brought  up  the  numbers  to  11, -1-17,  but  tlie 
vast  acceleration  of  growth  within  the  five  years  which  have  since 
elapsed  must  have  brought  the  population  up  to  twenty  thousand 
souls,  if  not  far  beyond  that  point.  The  railroad  depot  in  Jack- 
son, which  is  the  site  of  so  man}'  intersections,  as  we  have  seen, 
is  a  very  extensive  building,  containing  telegraph  oflices,  the  pas- 
senger depot,  with  very  extensive  accommodations  for  persons 
waiting  for  the  cars,  very  handsome  refreshment  saloons,  baggage 
departments,  book  stalls,  and  every  convenience   that  foresight 


••i.H 


iSBSB 


flf^ 


h'l-'a 


2  ■  fl 


y 


t.-l 


•Ul 


:'fe 


608 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


could  suggest  for  the  benefit  of  travelers.  The  traffic  and  travel 
along  these  lines  is  simply  immense,  as  nearly  all  the  railroad 
business  of  the  state,  from  Grand  Haven  to  Detroit,  seems  to  pass 
through  Jackson  city.  The  school  system  in  Jackson  is  well  car- 
ried out  by  a  board  of  able  men,  well  qualified  for  the  discharge 
of  such  onerous  duties,  and  the  teachers,  who  administer  the  ad- 
mirably graded  institutions  of  this  locality,  arc  well  adapted  to 
their  several  departments,  but  when  all  that  has  been  said,  we 
arc  still  confronted  by  the  unwelcome  fact  that  the  attendance  is 
far  below  the  number  which  should  be  seen.  Hardly  one-half  of 
the  children  of  any  city  in  the  union,  at  this  day,  can  be  induced 
to  attend  .school  with  such  regularity  as  will  secure  valuable  re- 
sults; and  many  of  those  who  are  in  regular  attendance  pursue 
their  studies  perfunctorily,  if  that  can  properly  be  called  pursuit, 
which  is  in  reality  only  tame  acquiescence  in  a  prescribed  course. 
When  Martin  Luther  and  his  classmates,  the  Minnesingers,  were 
compelled  to  sing  in  the  German  streets,  to  procure  the  means  to 
live,  while  they  studied  day  after  day,  there  was  earnestness  and 
holy  zeal  in  their  childish  voices,  which  came  afterwards  out  into 
the  broad  sunlight,  in  their  manly  and  noble  lives;  but  our  boys 
and  j-ls,  lapped  in  luxuries,  of  which  these  grand  souls  never 
dreamed,  feel  that  they  have 

"Come  to  tliis  world  as  a  gcutlcmau  comes, 
To  apiutmcnls  ready  furnished," 

and  it  hardly  beseems  them  to  be  in  earnest  about  education, 
although  the  priceless  jewel  in  their  heads  must  fall  into  almost 
utter  worthlcssness,  without  proper  and  continuous  labor.  Per- 
haps the  low  rate  of  remuneration  wdiich  is  customarily  bestowed 
upon  tutors  and  professors  in  this  country  is  one  reason  why 
children  arc  so  lax  in  their  studies.  The  girls  have  more  zeal 
than  the  boys,  because  their  gentler  natures  incline  toward  culti- 
vation ;  but  the  boys  know  how  small  are  the  salaries  paid  to  the 
very  best  talent  procurable  in  schools,  and  they  arc  not  tempted 
to  embrace  a  pursuit  which  offers  remuneration  .=:o  meager.  It 
would  be  a  wise  expenditure  on  our  part  if  every  salary  were 
doubled  from  this  hour,  and  the  fact  made  known  that  every  man 
and  woman  in  the  community,  and  every  boy  and  girl  now  grow- 


PnrsciPAL  CiTiiJs  of  MwiiiaAN. 


509 


nd  travel 
i  railroad 
[lis  to  pass 
well  car- 
disci  laro'c 

o 

cr  the  ad- 
daptcd  to 
n  said,  we 
[endance  is 
ne-half  of 
e  induced 
al  liable  ro- 
ll cc  pursue 
ed  pursuit, 
bed  course. 
[ngcrs,  were 
ic  means  to 
cstncss  and 
Irds  out  into 
ut  our  boys 
souls  never 


education, 
into  almost 
;djor.  Per- 
y  bestowed 
oason  why 

more  zeal 
ward  culti- 
paid  to  the 
ut  tempted 
n  eager.  It 
salary  were 
every  man 
now  grow- 


ing up  under  the  system,  might  enter  into  competitive  examina- 
tions from  time  to  time,  to  prove  their  fitness  for  the  task  of 
tuition,  with  the  certainty  that  the  most  able  would  carry  off  prizes 
worth  winning  in  the  battle  of  life.     Every  youth  would  strive  then 
to  press  to  the  front  for  the  rich  rewards  which  would  wait  upon 
special   fitness,  and  in  the  honor  thus  bestowed  upon  learning, 
society  at  large  must  be  in  every  way  the  gainer.     The  best  tal- 
ents would  be  engaged  in  tuition,  and  the  very  poorest  would  be 
stimulated  to  better  work  than  can  bo  expected  now,  under  a  sys- 
tem which  grinds  the  face  of  the  teacher,  and  gives  to  him  or  her 
no  inore  pay  than  barely  sufTices  to  keep  body  and  soul  tojiether. 
Time  was,  and  that  not  more  than  three  centuries  and  a  half  ago, 
when  education  led  the  way  to  the  highest  offices  in  the  state 
among  our  ancestors,  and  Cardinal  Wolscy  was  one  of  the  latest 
fruits  of  that  system,  which  brought  men  of  comprehensive  intel- 
lects to  the  front,  giving  them  prominence  in  both  churcii  and 
state  ;  but  education  of  the  better  sort  is  being  divorced  from  state- 
craft, until  it  is  a  most  unusual  thing  to  discover  among  our  lead- 
ing men   the  bright  intellects  which  illumine  th*^  world.     Who 
would  not  be  surprised  if  James  Russell  Lowell,  Oliver  Wendell 
llolmes,  or  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  should  be  offered  as  candidates 
for  high  olficc?     Yet  no  man  doubts  that  when  supreme  fitness 
becomes  the  test,  just  such  men  will  be  sought  in   their  retreats 
and  compelled  to  assume  such  responsibilities.     Pericles  was  a 
philosopher,  as  well  as  a  warrior  and  statesman.     Socrates  repre- 
sented his. people  as  a  legislator  before  he  figured  as  a  soldier,  and 
before  anybody  suspected  that  the  wondrous  sculptor  had  within 
that  plain  but  marvellously  endowed  head  the  faith  and  the  intel- 
lect which  would  raise  him  to  the  Christian  level  as  a  teacher  of 
mankind  and  a  martyr  to  his  constancy  in  adoring  the  unknown 
God.     The  days  must  come  again  when  learning  and  true  fitness 
shall  be  the  passport  to  every  high  position,  and  when  that  under- 
standing shall  have  been  well  established  in  the  minds  of  the 
community,  there  will  be  no  difiiculty  in  bringing  to  our  schools 
ninety-nine  oiie-hundredths  of  all  the  children  of  school  age.     We 
have  "muzzled  the  ox  which  treadeth  out  the  corn,"  and  we  won- 
der that  there  are  not  crowds  of  competitors  for  his  ill-requited 
toil.     We  starve  our  scholars,  while  our  quack  medicine  vendors 


WWW 


610 


TuTTLE's  CESTKNyiAL  NoRTinVliST. 


.!!:.:-:. 


m 


grow  wealdiy,  ami  are   lioiiored,  and  tlicii   wo  are  surprised  to 

discover  that  tlie  rising  generation  i|iiit  sc-Iiool  with  eager  haste, 

to  become  quacks.  The  inventor  of  some  ingenious  machine,  wliicli 

will  abridge  the  toil  of  the  laundress,  may  reap  his  reward  in  an  ohl 

age  in  the  lap  of  hixury  ;  but  the  scliool  ma'am  must  pintih  every 

day  of  her  life,  if  she  would  avoid  in  the  decline  of  her  well  spent 

vigor  a  jiraetical  illustration  '^f  the  afTccting  lino,  "Over  the  hills 

to  the  poor  house."     Our  nostrum  for  remedying  all  the  existing 

carelessness         to  school  is,   simply  to  increase  the  honors  and 

emoluments  of  the  school  ma'am,  and  of  her   bettor   paid   male 

competitor,  until  they  have  no  longer  to  endure  the  whims  and 

caprices  of    the  jicoplo,  among  whom  they  "board  round,"  until 

they  can  afford  to  wear  the  insignia  of  comfort  and  competence, 

and  can  a  (lord  to  surround  thern.selves  with  the  best  books  and 

thoughts  of   the  world's  greatest  tneii.     It  has  been  said  with 

truth,  that, 

"  The  hnud  tlmt  rocks  the  crndle 
Ih  the  liand  I  hat  moves  the  world, " 

and  the  motlior's  influence  cannot  be  underrated  by  a  nation,  with- 
out such  loss  as  will  speedily  reduce  its.gi-oatness  to  zero  ;  but  the 
best  mother  has  so  many  duties  to  perform  that  she  is  always 
ready  to  welcome  the  assistance  which  a  well  graded  school 
affords,  for  the  cflicient  discharge  of  her  onerous  task.  The  re- 
muneration given  to  teachers  in  the  city  of  Jackson,  and  through- 
out the  county  of  which  it  is  the  seat,  is  not  smaller  than  in  the 
average  of  cities  of  the  same  size  in  Michigan,  but  everywhere 
throughout  the  state,  intellect  engaged  in  tuition  is  too  nieagcrly 
rewarded,  and  throughout  the  whole  union  an  improvement  in 
that  respect  will  be  found  advantageous  to  our  national  d(!volop- 
nicnt.  There  is  a  seminary  for  young  women  in  Jackson,  which 
is  of  exceptional  worth,  and  it  is  tolerably  well  sustained  by  the 
long  suffering  and  ill-paid  class  for  which  it  is  intended.  AVo  hojio 
to  sec  the  dav  when  such  seminaries  will  be  the  cynosure  of  all 
eyes  in  the  community,  and  when  for  every  woman  and  for  every 
man,  scholastic  training  will  be  the  wise  beginning  of  long  lives 
of  culture,  from  which  must  come  brighter  achiovemonts  in  science 
and  mechanics,  lovelier  forms  of  poetic  thought,  and  a  better  ca- 
pacity generally  to  sec  the  world  as  it  is,  in  all  its  irradiating 


PuixciPAL  Cities  of  Wmcuxsiy. 


ill 


glorj,  as  well  as  to  make  the  most  of  its  conditions.  Tlie  slate 
penitentiary  is  located  in  Jackson,  and  willun  its  walls  are  found 
iiundreds  of  hard  cases  that  have  graduated  outside  of  the  school 
house,  to  become  a  charge  upon  society  as  criininuls  and  ruffians, 
or  as  [11  isoiiors  all  their  lives.  We  establish  hygienic  regulations 
at  our  jiurts  for  the  prevention  of  the  chance  of  in[ection  reaching 
our  children  and  ourselves  from  over  sea.  Personal  liberty  is  a 
myth  where  our  quarantine  regulations  are  brought  into  opera- 
tion, aiul  it  iimst  some  day  be  perceived  that  we  are  allowing  a 
far  worse  virus  to  aflect  whole  '.asses  of  our  popuhition,  because 
we  are  over  .scrupulous  about  personal  rights.  The  churches  are 
numerous  and  very  beautiful  in  Jackson  ;  indeed,  the  whole  city 
is  very  handsome  and  well  laid  out;  the  streets,  business  prem- 
ises, churches  and  opera  house  .Uumiuated  with  gas,  and  well 
.supplied  with  water,  which  gushes  fortli  in  fountains  before  the 
residences  of  the  wealthy,  making  their  green  swards  a  delight  to 
the  eyes  of  the  passers  by.  We  have  .seen  that  tip'  population  of  th.e 
city  in  1800  was  4,709,  and  within  ten  years  it  increa.sed  to  lljiil, 
consequently  it  is  not  diflicultto  credit  the  assumption  that  at  the 
present  time  the  city  has  twenty  thousand  inhabitrjits.  The 
highly  improved  soil  of  the  count}^  supplies  an  immense  amount 
of  agricultural  produce  for  shipment  at  Jackson,  creating  a  large 
local  trade,  which  will  be  increased  every  year  by  more  rapidly 
developing  manufactures,  until  Jackson  must  become  a  metropo- 
lis of  a  vast  area.  There  are  six  newspaprcs  published  in  the  city, 
and  two  of  them  arc  very  ably  conducted. 


CHAPTEll   XLI.I. 

PRINCIPAL  CITIES  01'  WISCONSIN. 

]\Iiulison  —  Milwaukee  —  Racine  —  Fond  ilu  Lac  —  Oshkosh  — .lanesvillc. 


^Madisox  is  the  cajjital  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  and  the  seat 
of  justice  for  Dane  county.  The  spot  selected  for  this  twofold 
purpose  is  singularly  beautiful,  being  an  isthmus,  all   but  sur- 


''  wm^fuamuumik 


M 


I! 


it 


111 


vm^m^.  r 


>l 


<!..    (Ill 


ii 


>  if' 


1  ,-t 


512 


Ti'rri.K's  CnxTKyxiAL  Xoimm'KST. 


rouiul(.'(l  Ijy  the  /our  lakes,  known  as  Mcu(li)ta,  Monona,  Wan- 
bcsu  and  Kcgon.'^a.  The  lakes  are  also  known  under  a  nnnier- 
ical  nuincnclatnre,  not  nearly  so  euphonious  as  the  native  luune.s 
given  above.  Fouitli  lak(>,  or  Mendota,  is  nine  miles  long  by  six 
wide,  ranging  in  some  parts  from  fifty  to  seventy  feet  in  depth. 
This  lake  is  l)y  far  the  largest,  and  the  .shores  are  of  white  gravel, 
whieh  can  be  seen  throuLih  the  translueent  water  at  eonsiderable 
di.stancc.s  from  the  beaeli.  The  lake  next  in  sisie  is  the  Third 
lake,  or  Monona,  whieh  is  more  than  five  miles  long  l)y  about 
two  miles  in  width.  'JMic  other  two  lakes  arc  oaeli  about  three 
miles  in  length,  by  two  in  breadth,  and  the  beauty  of  thaieeno 
which  they  eidianee  is  not  surpassed^by  the  site  of  any  capitl|(,'ity 
in  the  uni(;n.  The  surroundings  of  the  valley,  in  wliieli  tl,|L;ity 
stands  well  nigb  encompasseil  by  the  several  lakes,  arc  dWant 
hills,  from  whicli  the  capitol  and  the  well  formed  streets  whieh 
start  from  that  point  as  a  eommon  ecnter,  and  the  university  on 
an  eminence  to  the  west  of  the  city,  constitute  a  very  charming 
picture,  elegantly  set  in  the  framework  of  lakes  and  groves."  The 
isthmus  on  wdiich  the  city  stands  is  only  about  three-quarters  of 
a  mile  across,  but  it  has  been  so  well  covered  by  streets  and 
buildings,  that  the  space  .seems  more  considerable.  The  streets 
are  broad  and  well  formed,  the  sidewalks  being  mostly  of  wood, 
but  in  some  portions  of  the  city  stone  has  been  used  for  side- 
walks, with  much  advantage  in  appearance  as  well  as  in  durabd- 
ity.  The  best  view  that  can  be  obtained  of  the  city  is  from  the 
tower  of  the  capitol,  whence  a  series  of  panoramic  views  unfolds 
to  the  artistic  eye  a  vision  of  loveliness  which  no  dream  of  earth 
and  water,  tree  and  sky  can  jiossibly  excel.  Tlie  public  build- 
ings of  the  city  are  very  fine,  but  of  course  the  capitol  is  a  long 
way  ahead  of  all  competitors,  the  court  house  being  commodious 
rather  than  bcautifid,  and  the  post  ofTice,  one  of  the  type  of 
buildings  with  which  a  general  dispenser  of  such  favors  from 
Washington  has  very  plentifully  dotted  the  country,  accommo- 
dates the  pursuit  of  letters  below  stairs,  while  the  upper  .stories 
are  devoted  to  the  United  States  district  court  and  to  various  ofTi- 
ces  connected  witli  the  general  government.  The  court  house  is 
a  county  structure,  and  the  first  floor  is  devoted  to  the  accommo- 
dation of  county  oflicials,  the  second  floor  being  ajipropriated  for 


%  i  I 


■'-4 


\v 


111- 


iiumcr- 
imiiies 
by  six 
(Icptli. 
grave], 
Milor.iblo 


lie 


Thinl 


|iy  ill)' lilt 

it    tlil't'O 


Lll( 


'Clio 


l>ii||f'ity 
tljILity 

0  dWaiit 
:3tr-  which 

ersity  on 
clianning 
vcs."  Tlic 
uart(,'i'.s  (i[ 
roots  and 
he  streets 

of    \V0(k1, 

for  siilc- 
1  (lurab'l- 
froiu  the 
s  unfolds 
I  of  cartli 
lie  build- 
is  a  long 
amodious 
!  type  of 
■ors  from 
iceomnio- 
•er  stories 
rious  ofTi- 
house  is 
lecommo- 
riated  for 


h 


'P!^ 


i| 


'I'/'l^)^   .*«■ 


'♦  ;.:■!;>?'' 


'H 


!j  ■     'i 


111 


!l»i  111'' 


Principal  Cities  or  Wiscoxsix. 


513 


court  purposes  and  to  tlio  ante  rooms  and  ofTicos  inculcntal  to 
such  business.  The  county  jail  forms  part  of  the  same  inchisure, 
but  of  course  there  has  been  no  attempt  to  mal<e  that  institution 
an  ornament  to  the  capital  of  the  state.  Tlic  eapitol  is  a  very 
extensive  bui' '"'ng,  of  Wisconsin  limestone,  standing  in  tlic  cen- 
ter of  a  park  containing  fourteen  acres,  aruiuid  which  are  grouped 
tlie  principal  liotels  and  busines.;  houses  of  the  city,  with  a  sprinlc- 
ling  (if  churches  thrown  in  to  sweeten  the  general  ilavcM'.  In  this 
park  there  was  an  attempt  made  some  years  ago  to  find  good 
water  by  artesian  borings,  but  after  descending  about  one  thou- 
sand feet,  a  stream  of  mineral  water  was  tappctl,  from  which 
thou.sands  of  the  citizens  have  since  been  supplied  with  an  excel- 
lent substitue  for  the  average  contents  of  a  drug  store,  and  the 
water  is  still  popular.  With  such  bodies  of  v»'ater  as  the  lakes 
olTer  to  be  improved  by  the  Holly  system  of  water  works,  there 
would  be  no  difficulty  and  but  little  expense  in  perfecting  a,  sup- 
ply for  the  whole  city,  which  within  one  day  might  be  the  means 
of  saving  from  destruction  buildings  and  property  worth  more 
than  ten  times  their  annual  expense,  but  it  has  not  yet  been 
thought  necessary  to  asssumc  the  necessary  expenditure.  The 
eit'zens  dencnd  mainly  on  wells  for  supplies  of  drinking  water, 
and  on  cisterns  for  other  purposes.  The  water  obtained  usually 
at  depths  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  fct.  could  hardly  be  surpassed 
for  all  culinarv  mir;'  ses.  Tliere  are  no  indications  in  the  forma- 
tions  around  Jladiso  i  which  would  lead  one  to  anticipatv.  success 
for  an  artesian  well  bore,  but  one  bore  more  or  less  near  the  state 
eapitol  could  '..ardly  bo  a  subject  for  regret.  Tlic  base  of  the 
copitol  is  occupied  for  workshops  and  storehouses,  and  for  other 
necessary  purposes.  The  first  door  is  apportioned  to  the  gov- 
ernor and  t(j  the  several  departments  of  the  state  government,  the 
rooms  being  elegant  and  commodious;  the  next  floor  containing 
the  chambers  for  the  senate  and  for  the  assembly,  is  further  de- 
voted to  tlic  libraries  of  the  state  and  to  the  records  of  the  State 
Historical  Societ\'.  The  books  and  documents  ther-;  available, 
and  the  museum  of  curiosities  from  the  realms  of  nature  and  art, 
there  offered  for  the  delight  of  visitors,  is  rendered  still  more  in- 
teresting by  a  colle.-tion  of  oil  paintings,  "counterfeit  present- 
ments "  of  men  more  or  loss  noted  and  useful  in  the  early  pio- 
33 


:  I'il 


.uiai**^aae?«ss9'.' 


514 


Tcttle's  Cextesxial  Northwest. 


■^:  % 


neer  tlavs  of  the   territory  a 
the  upper  stories  of  tlie  \\\ 
poses,  but  none  more  prai;- 
of  rooms  to  a  ladv  artiste, 
of  a  long   line  of  first  clas, 
very  beautiful  designs  for 
imposing  api)earar.ce,  having  i 


tatc.     Numerous  apartm(ints  in 

ding  are  devoted  to  useful  pur- 

y  than  the  allotment  of  one  suite 

lines  as  a  painter,  having  come 

'ts,  and  who  is  now  elaborating 

ure.     The  building  has  a  very 

cntranees,  corresponding  to  the 


cardinal  jioints  of  the  compass,  and  the  general  style  of  the  edi- 
fice answers  to  the  description  which  may  be  read  everywhere  of 
such  erections,  from  the  pillare^porticos  to  t!  -ast  overshadow- 
ing dome.  The  state  lunatic^svlum  stand.;  the  far  side  of 
lake  Mcndota,  and  is  a  very#' Bdsome  structure,  but  not  suffi- 
ciently commodious  to  acca»  Jcdate  all  the  cases  which  crave 
the  care  of  the  public,  and*  ^onsecpicncc  another  asylum  has 
been  rcccntlj-  erected  in  t^Jcit}'  of  Oshkosh,  concerning  which 
we  shall  have  something  tHiay  at  the  projjer  time.  The  man- 
agement of  the  asylum  in  this  city  deserves  very  high  commen- 
dation for  efficiency  and  humanity,  in  attending  to  a  cla.ss  of  cases 
which,  until  of  late  years  had  little  or  no  help  from  professional 
skill.  The  state  university  is  controlled  by  the  faculty  in  con- 
junction v,'ith  a  board  nominated  by  the  state,  and  the  number  and 
efficiency  of  the  professors  engaged  in  the  work  of  training,  indi- 
cates the  generosity  with  which  the  state  and  the  general  govern- 
ment have  aided  the  institution.  Customarilv  there  arc  about 
four  hundred  and  fifty  students  in  the  institution,  but  of  course 
the  number  varies.  Both  sexes  recite  in  the  same  classes,  but 
there  is  one  college  specially  devoted  to  the  ladies,  and  the  bright 
countenances  of  "  the  sweet  girl  graduates  with  golden  hair,"  or 
indeed  with  auburn,  or  raven  locks,  if  Tennyson  will  permit  the 
change,  testify  to  the  high  order  of  intelligence  which  will  be 
contributed  to  the  state  at  large  from  the  labors  of  the  univcrsit}'. 
The  principal  structure  stands  on  an  eminence  overlooking  th.o 
lakes,  the  subordinate  buildings  occupying  I'athiM"  lower  positions, 
and  one  college  is  still  in  process  of  erection.  The  grove  of  forty 
acres  in  which  the  university  buildings  stand  is  about  one  mile 
west  of  the  capitol,  approached  by  the  broad  avenue  known  as 
State  street.  TIic  university  has  an  income  of  about  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars  per  year,  and   its  library  and  apparatus  arc  perfect 


Inc.nts  in 
Icful  pur- 
lonc  suite 
jiiti;  come 
liborating 
as  a  very 
linfT  to  the 
f  tlie  cdi- 
•ywliere  of 
ci'sliadow- 
far  side  of 
not  suffi- 
licli  crave 
5ylum  has 
ling  wliich 
Tlie  man- 
li  coinmen- 
ass  of  cases 
professional 
ulty  in  con- 
number  and 
lining,  indi- 
:3ral  govern- 
3  are  about 
it  of  course 
classes,  but 
.1  the  bright 
:n  hair,"  or 
permit  the 
ieh   will  be 
university, 
looking  the 
.;r  positions, 
'ov(;  of  forty 
it  one  niilo 
!  known  as 
thirty  thon- 
are  perfect 


PnixciPAL  Cities  of  Wiscoxsix. 


515 


np  to  the  latest  requirements  for  a  thorough  mastery  of  the  arts 
and  sciences.  The  State  Historical  Society  is  in  every  respect  a 
success,  and  the  historian  in  future  days  will  find  rich  stores  of 
material  wherewith  to  construct  the  philosophy  of  the  history  of 
Wisconsin,  among  the  curious  records  preserved  by  this  institu- 
tion. The  population  of  the  city  is  now  probably  a  little  over 
ten  thousand;  in  the  year  1870,  there  were  9,170  souls  in  Madi- 
son, having  increased  to  that  number  from  6,G11  within  ten 
years.  The  population  in  1850,  was  1,525.  There  are  several 
churches  in  the  citj'-,  some  of  them  very  beautiful  edifices.  The 
schools  arc  well  attended,  and  graded  to  perfection.  There  are 
eight  newspapers  in  ^Madison.  The  cit}'  is  lit  with  gas,  except 
a  few  streets  where  oil  is  used.  The  water  ^lowers  of  the 
city  are  excellent  but  there  are  few  manufactories.  The  com- 
merce of  the  locality  is  well  cared  for  by  two  railroad  compa- 
nies, and  communications  are  perfect  with  all  parts  of  the  state. 
There  are  three  fire  engines  in  Madison. 

The  Capitol  park  is  a  very  beautiful  enclosure  surrounded  by 
an  iron  palisade  which,  with  the  formation  of  the  walks  and  the 
erection  of  ornaments  at  the  main  gateways,  cost  $38,759. 

The  liiMi  school  building  is  very  handsome,  and  it  cost,  exclu- 
sive  of  the  furniture  now  in  use,  $20,000.  It  is  two  stories  high, 
with  a  basouient,  the  main  edifice  being  sixty-three  feet  by  forty- 
four,  and  the  wing  thirty-five  feet  by  thirty-six.  In  the  year 
1873,  the  salaries  paid  to  teachers  aggregated  $12,105. 

In  a  former  paragraph  the  artesian  well  in  the  eapitol  reserve 
has  been  referred  to,  and  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  add  some  partic- 
ulars concerning  that  mo.st  interesting  work.  The  well  was  bored 
to  a  depth  of  one  thousand  feet,  and  then  abandoned  as  a  failure, 
because,  although  water  had  been  reached,  it  did  not  overflow  as 
some  wells  of  the  kind  are  known  to  do,  throwing  out  millions  of 
gallons  per  day.  This  expenditure  was  incurred  by  the  state  of 
Wisconsin  in  the  year  1867,  a  sum  of  $8,000  being  spent  in  the 
work.  In  the  year  1873,  the  legislature  appropriated  a  sum  of 
$5,000  to  procure  a  permanent  supply  of  water  for  tlie  eapitol ; 
the  idea  which  then  obtainc<l  being  that  a  steam  pump  might  bo 
emplo3-ed  to  di'av;  the  required  bod}'  of  water  from  Lake  Monona 
and  force  it  into  a  reservoir,  at  such  an  elevation  as  would  enable 


516 


TuTTLES  Cektexxial  Nortiiwest. 


its  own  gravitation  to  carry  the  stream  where  it  was  wanted. 
Gov.  Washburn,  who  was  then  in  office,  having  had  his  attention 
called  to  the  subject,  caused  a  series  of  experiments  to  bo  made, 
and  the  result  was  tliat  all  parties  concerned  were  convinced  tliat 
the  necessary  supjjly  was  already  at  hand  in  the  abandoned  well. 
A  shaft  was  sunk  to  the  level  of  the  water,  v.-hich  stood  perman- 
ently at  about  sixty  feet. from  the  surface,  and  a  powerful  steam 
pump  was  set  to  work  through  the  shaft,  connecting  the  unlimited 
supply  below  with  the  boilers  in  the  vault  of  the  capitol ;  the 
product  being  a  stream  v;hich,  upon  analysis  by  Gustavo  Bode, 
analytical  chemist  of  Milwaukee,  shows  the  following  ingredients 
in  the  proportions  set  forth  by  the  several  figures  :  Chloride  of 
sodium,  0.671;  Sulphate  of  soda.  1.538;  Bi-carbonate  of  soda, 
1.956;  Bi-carbonate  of  lime,  8.120;  Bi-carbonate  of  magnesia, 
6.937;  Bi-carbonate  of  iron,  0.555;  Silica,  1.-156.  The  well  has 
been  in  constant  use  from  that  time  to  the  present,  and  up  to  this 
time  there  has  been  no  failure,  and  certainly  no  occasion  to  regret 
the  later  expenditure. 

MiLWAiKKE  —  Is  known  almost  all  over  the  union  as  the 
Cream  City,  and  the  singular  appearance  of  the  place  as  ap- 
proached by  railroad  ur  lake  fully  justifies  the  appellation;  the 
major  portion  of  all  tho  principal  residences  being  built  of  ptalo 
straw  colored  bricks,  which  closely  itsemblc  the  rich  product  of  the 
dairy  in  appearance.  This  peculiarity  of  tint  arises  from  the  fact 
that  the  chemical  cliangcs  which  incorporate  with  or  remove  from 
a  loealit\-  the  iron  wliicli  customarily  gives  redness  to  day  has  in 
the  cl'^.y  deposits  of  Milwaukee  been  especially  operative  in  pre- 
serving the  clay  from  mixture  with  that  mineral.  The  bricks  of 
which  the  city  is  so  largely  l>aih  are  of  excellent  (piality,  and  are 
exported  to  ail  the  principal  cities  of  the  union,  whore  fashion 
and  their  fine  texture  have  made  them  acceptable.  Perhaps  it 
would  have  been  more  in  order  to  have  commenced  by  giving  the 
bearings  of  the  city,  but  the  name  which  it  bears  would  still  have 
required  elucidation  at  a  later  stage,  unless  an  item  of  history  so 
interesting  was  to  be  overlooked  (jutircly.  We  come  now  to  treat 
of  the  general  features  of  the  metropolis  of  Wisconsin,  the  largest 
city  in  the  state  by  un  immense  disparity,  and  the  nineteenth  city 


Principal  Cities  of  Wiscoxsix. 


517 


in  the  union.  Milwaukee  is  built  on  both  sides  of  the  river  of 
the  same  name,  which  runs  for  a  considerable  distance,  almost 
pa'-allel  with  the  lake  shore  on  the  western  side  of  Lake  Michigan, 
the  river  coming  in  from  the  north,  and  being  joined  by  the 
Menomonce  river  about  ha^f  a  mile  from  the  point  where  it  pours 
its  waters  into  the  lake.  The  embouchure  of  the  river,  with  the 
aids  alTordod  by  engineering  skill,  lias  given  to  Milwaukee  one  of 
the  best,  if  not  the  best  altogether,  of  all  the  harbors  on  the  system 
of  lakes,  and  in  consequence  ^rilwaukce  is  the  best  primary  wheat 
market  in  the  world.  A  member  of  the  board  of  trade  in  the 
Cream  City  who  has  seen  the  board  room  crowded  day  after  day 
by  an  excited  mass  of  men  while  the  operations  of  a  "corner" 
have  been  worked  out,  says  that  "for  courage  and  foresight,  the 
men  who  form  that  body  can  compare  favorably  with  their 
wealthier  fellow  gamblers,  the  gold  board  in  New  York  cit}'." 
The  amounts  moved  and  the  accruing  profits  are  not  so  large  as 
in  the  gold  board  of  course,  but  the  sums  involved  are  very  con- 
siderable;  and  Milwaukee  owes  much  of  its  wealth  to  the  move- 
ments of  the  capitalists  who  at  high  noon  and  at  three  P.  !^^. 
every  day,  save  Sunday's  and  holidays,  assemble  in  their  spacious 
})remises  to  handle  the  staff  of  life,  and  to  deal  in  vvcry  other  of 
the  staple  products  of  the  soil.  Large  fortunes  have  been  made 
and  lost  by  individuals  in  the  transactions  under  the  (v;ji6  of  that 
institution,  but  the  general  result  is  on  the  whole  good  for  society. 
In  connection  with  this  brief  reference  to  "longs"  and  "shorts,"' 
and  without  glancing  further  at  the  mysteries  of  "seller  the 
month,"  it  will  be  well  to  mention  here  ti-it  Mdwaakee  is  es- 
pecially endowed  with  "elevators,"  those  "..graceful  but  very 
valuable  aids  of  commerce,  of  which  we  appended  a  description 
to  our  sketch  of  Chicago.  The  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railway 
Co.  have  an  elevator,  one  among  many  in  the  city,  which  v/ill  hold 
one  million  five  hundred  thousand  bushels  ;  and  many  of  the  other 
buildings  of  the  same  kind  in  private  hands  are  immense.  New 
York  allows  herself  to  be  beaten  in  such  matters,  not  only  by 
Chicago  but  by  the  cities  which  are  competing  with  her  as  })oints 
of  shipment  for  Europe  ;  but  the  city  of  Milwaukee  maintains  ti 
steady  course  which  will  not  be  distanced  by  the  general  run  of 
competitors.     In  the  year  1862,  the  receipts  of  wheat  and  Hour, 


l! 


518 


Tcttle's  Cextenxial  NoRTinVES-^ 


111 


••  \ 


tm 


f'ii 


calculated  as  wheat,  amounted  to  18,000,000  bushels;  and  three 
years  later  the  exports  from  the  city  and  port  aggregated  13,250,- 
000  bushels.  The  storage  provided  is  ample  to  deal  with  much 
greater  quantities.  During  the  year  1872,  the  imports  to  Mil- 
waukee from  foreign  ports  amounted  in  value  to  §180,003,  and 
the  money  value  of  the  exports  during  the  same  year  reached  the 
vast  aggregate  of  $1,464,972.  Facilities  for  shipment  in  ^lilwau- 
kee  are  as  good  as  can  be  desired  for  the  present,  and  the  expan- 
sive power  which  exists  among  the  quiet,  easy  going  citizens  of 
the  half  German  metropolis,  will  suffice  to  meet  all  the  contin- 
gencies of  growth.  The  city  is  eighty-five  miles  from  Chicago, 
lying  north  by  west  from  the  vaster  metropolis  with  which  it  is 
connected  by  first  class  railroads.  The  city  is  the  terminus  of  the 
Milwaukee  and  Northern  Eailroad ;  of  the  La  Crosse  Division, 
and  the  Prairie  du  Chien  Division,  of  the  Milwaukee  and  St. 
Paul ;  of  the  Western  Union  ;  and  of  the  Detroit  and  Milwaukee 
Railroad;  besides  being  the  head  quarters  of  numerous  powerful 
and  commodious  steamers,  wnich,  as  long  as  the  lakes  are  open, 
convey  passengers  and  freight  to  all  the  principal  ports.  The 
harbors  are  commodious  as  well  as  safe,  and  accidents  are  com- 
paratively rare  among  vessels  which  have  made  their  way  from 
the  bosom  of  the  vast  lake  into  the  more  sheltered  waters  of  the 
estuary  and  river.  Milwaukee  is  the  port  of  entry,  and  the 
county  seat  for  the  county  of  the  same  name;  but  in  the  broad 
interests  of  its  commercial  importance,  local  politics  are  relegated 
to  very  small  circles,  during  the  greater  portion  of  the  year. 

Milwaukee  was  first  settled  in  the  year  1835,  and  its  name  very 
properly  was  taken  from  the  native  appellation  nearly  similar  in 
sound,  signifying  "  fertile  or  beautiful  land."  For  very  many 
years  it  was  \('.vy  slow  in  development,  but  those  who  came  into 
the  locality  remained.  Men  could  live  in  plenty  upon  very  small 
earnings,  and  put  by  something  for  the  future.  Lumber  came  in 
abundantly,  and  where  the  spacious  and  elegant  operahou.se  now 
stands  near  the  river  in  Oneida  street  were  numerous  workshops, 
in  which  cabinet  makers  were  busily  engaged  in  preparing  furni- 
ture for  the  citizens.  Numbers  of  ti,c  workmen  .so  cngag';d  had  for 
their  ultimate  purpose,  settlement  upon  the  beautiful  lands  which 
were  waiting  only  "to  be  tickled  with  a  ho.',  i^)  laugh  with  a  bar- 


PniNciPAL  Cities  or  Wiscoxsiy. 


619 


I 


ii 


SI 


vest."  When  tlic  workmen  had  earned  a  few  hundred  dollars, 
they  would  carry  their  purpose  so  far  into  eil'oct  that  lliey  would 
locate  a  farm,  build  a  log  hut  for  their  wives  and  families,  lay  in 
a  small  store  of  necessaries,  fence  and  plant  their  holding,  or  part 
of  it,  as  the  case  might  be,  and  then  return  alone  to  the  city  to 
earn  the  means  for  the  further  prosecution  of  tlicir  design,  divid- 
ing their  labors  thus  until  the  time  came  when  their  toilfully 
acquired  and  improved  farms  would  profitably  occupy  all  their 
time,  and  the  labor  of  their  families.  Many  of  the  best  farms  near 
the  city  of  Milwaukee  were  procured  by  jr.st  such  safe  and  praise- 
worthy operations.  When  settlers  came  west,  bent  upon  agricul- 
tural pursuits  only,  they  were  ready  to  give  high  valuations  for 
the  lands  clearc!],  i^  .icci]  and  planted,  by  the  mechanic  farmers, 
andthereupcr  '  ■  ■  .;;e.u',-d  out  ata  considerable  profit,  moved  fur- 
ther afield,  tool'  i'..  '.iger  farms  with  better  capital  and  increased 
experience,  fnd  uli  .  •,;  men  of  property,  a  kind  of  landed  aristoc- 
racy on  a  small  scale,  or  still  better, 

"  A  bold  pcii.santry  their  country's  prklc, 
Which  ouce  destroyed  can  never  be  supplied." 

In  that  way  Milwaukee  increased  its  own  importance,  by  .spread- 
ing its  resources  in  reproductive  labor  over  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, but  the  growth  of  the  city  was  so  slow,  that  it  was  not  until 
the  year  IS-iG,  eleven  years  after  the  first  settlement,  that  the 
place  had  become  sufiicicntly  great  to  warrant  incorporation. 
Col.  Juneau,  who  was  identified  with  the  earliest  movements  of 
settlers,  is  still  borne  in  mind  by  surviving  pioneers,  for  the  gen- 
erous and  liberal  aid  which  he  gave  to  every  step  which  promi.sed 
to  incease  the  importance  of  the  town,  long  before  it  was  sup- 
posed that  Milvvaukc'^  .vould  become  such  a  metropolitan  city  as 
it  now  is.  The  fine  water  powers  of  the  rivers  were  improved  by 
the  establishment  of  flouring  mills,  saw  mills  and  maimfactories, 
ferries  were  made  available,  connecting  the  two  sides  of  the  settle- 
ment, where  there  were  yet  no  bridges  over  the  river,  and  some  of 
the  best  families  in  the  modern  city  owe  the  foundations  of  their 
wealth  to  such  enterprise.  In  four  years  from  the  date  of  incorpor- 
ation, that  is  to  say  in  the  year  1850,  the  pojMdation  had  increased 
to  neaily  tvrenty  thousand  persons,  and  from  that  time  growth 


Ml 


iJ 


520 


TuTTLifs  Centennial  Northwest. 


^ilifW 


\'.'h 


m 


became  more  ra))id.  The  ten  years  wliicli  elapsed  before  tlic  cen- 
sus of  ISGO  was  taken,  witnessed  an  increase  to  more  than  forty- 
five  thousand,  and  in  the  year  1870,  tlie  latest  authentic  record 
showed  a  total  of  71,450  souls.  Considering  how  rapid  has  been 
the  growth  of  Milwaukee  since  that  date,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that 
it  now  contains  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  with  as  fair  pros- 
pects of  continued  prosperity  as  any  other  city  in  the  union.  It  is 
generally  settled  among  casual  talkers,  that  ^Nfilwaukcc  is  half  Ger- 
man ;  but  in  I'cality,  the  proportion  of  that  element  of  the  pojjula- 
tion  is  not  so  great,  unless  the  consumption  of  lager  is  tlic  test  of  na- 
tionality, in  wiiich  case  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that  three-fourths  of 
the  families  are  very  German  indeed.  Figures  are  said  to  be  the 
most  deceptive  factors  in  any  calculation,  except  facts ;  but  when 
all  that  has  been  said,  figures  alone  can  help  us  to  niaster  the 
items  in  a  census,  so  that  we  are  entitled  to  give  them  some  atten- 
tion. Figures  show  that  in  the  year  1870,  the  native  born  ele- 
ments in  the  population  i>f  ^Milwaukee,  aggregated  37,007,  and 
the  sum  total  of  foreigners  of  every  nationality,  including  Eng- 
lish, Tvish,  Welsh,  Scotch,  French,  German,  Sclavonian  and 
Dutch,  among  others  too  numerous  to  be  particularized,  only 
amounted  to  33,773,  of  which  the  German  element  numbered 
22,599.  The  Germans  are  good  colonists ;  when  the}'  come,  they 
come  to  stay,  and  they  find  themselves  surrounded  by  institu- 
tions which  are  in  many  respects  an  improvement  upon  the  older 
forms  and  customs  which  they  have  left  liehind  them,  in  every 
sense.  They  arc  readers  and  thinkers,  with  a  very  high  regard 
for  scholarship  and  learning;  they  love  mnsie  even  bett(?r  tlian 
pretzels,  lagel"  an4  snuer  krmit ;  they  are  law  abiding  and  hospit- 
able, nnd  only  lllDsb  ^IliJ  llavu  lived  among  them  for  years  can 
appreciate  the  extent  to  which  the  domestic  virtues  are  cultivated 
in  their  families,  j'jven  wlieli  innler  the  inllucnce  of  lager,  just 
en  route  from  the  hifr gartfti,  YidUx  or  (Jarl  is  a  good  fellow,  and  a 
pleasant  companion,  us  coniiiared  with  liis  neigliboj'  wliojins  fillnd 
himself  with  bad  whisky,  and  other  sileh  violent  Iii(m.<i|((ii|i(,h.  J(, 
would  be  foil}'  to  pretend  that  men  who  are  soaked  tluoiigh  with 
lager  are  pleasant  people ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  will  be  rc- 
jnendicred  that  civilization,  while  it  is  increasing  the  power  of  the 
poorer  classes  to  procure  such  indulgences  as  the  use  of  liquor,  is 


>• 


PiusTivAL  Cities  of  Wisconsin. 


621 


lilic  ccn- 
111  forty- 


)iiiaii  and 
i/x'd,  only 
'  numbered 
:;omc,  tlicy 
by  institu- 
1  tlie  older 
I,  in  every 
igli  regard 
letter  than 
md  iiospit- 
ycars  can 
cultivated 
lagcr,  jijsl; 
low,  and  a 
I  liiiH  (iljnd 
*'\\\\iA.  it, 
lUgli  with 
will  be  I'c- 
wcr  of  the 

liquor,  is 


also  enliglitning  tlio  minds  of  tlio  better  informed,  until  it  has  be- 
come unfashionable  to  drink  to  excess,  and  many  of  the  foremost 
intellects  of  the  age  are  identified  with  the  belief  that  the  use  of 
alcoholic  stimulants  in  any  form  can  be  dispensed  with  by  tlio 
whole  human  family,  with  manifest  advantage.  Lagcr,  in  that 
aspect,  is  a  doomed  item  of  consumption.  It  will  die  out  like 
that  abominable  snufl:  which  used  co  discolor  the  noses  of  our  an- 
cestors until  within  the  last  half  century,  and  we  may  hope  that 
it  will  carry  with  it  to  oblivion,  all  forms  of  nicotian  abomination, 
such  as  wc  find  ruining  digestion,  poisoning  breath,  and  making 
roadways  barely  passable,  for  those  who  think  that  God's  foot- 
stool was  not  primarily  meant  to  be  a  spittoon.  The  blufTs  which 
ovcrl(K)k  the  rivers  and  the  lake  are  the  sites  of  very  elegant  and 
luxurious  dwellings,  which  arc  adorned  by  all  the  a/-',  of  the 
landscape  gardener,  in  the  spacious  lawns  and  shrubberies  which 
intervene  between  the  traveled  I'oads  and  the  residences  of  the 
wealthy;  and  within  those  homes  can  be  found  copies  of  the  best 
masters  interspersed  with  the  productions  of  the  best  artists  o*' 
our  own  tunc,  articles  of  verlu  which  might  have  adorned  Ver 
.sailles,  cultured  tastes  which  can  appreciate  the  best  contributions 
to  literature  and  music,  and  collections  of  books  which  only  great 
wealth  can  compass,  and  enlightenment  desire.  The  homes  in 
ililwaukcc  are  not  stifT  and  formal  abodes,  in  which  women  talk 
"  ologies,"  and  men  become  every  day  more  pedantic  ;  the  music 
of  the  evening  is  a  feast  which  renders  still  more  piquant  the  con- 
versation, in  which  most  can  participate  without  trouble  or  em- 
barrassment, on  the  leading  questions  in  art  journals,  scientific 
magazines,  and  advanced  literature,  and  in  tliat  way  better  than 
in  any  other,  Milwaukee  is  shaping  the  mind.-?  of  thousands  who 
will  be  heard  from  in  their  day  and  generation.  The  foreign  ele- 
ment contributes  very  largely  to  such  results,  and  the  population 
of  the  city  is  homogeneous  to  a  greater  than  usual  degree,  where 
the  two  elements  are  so  nearly  equal  in  proportion.  It  is  not  pre- 
(f'lidcd  that  all  the  leading  families  are  intellectual,  hospitable, 
musical,  and  capable  of  pleasant  conversation,  but  as  a  whole  the 
population  of  the  city  is  high  toned  and  amiable.  There  are 
twenty-seven  newspapers  and  periodicals  published  in  the  city, 
several  of  them  being  old  established  and  very  influential.     First 


I 


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522 


TvTTLK's   CeWTENXIAL  NoiiTUWKST. 


class  tulciit  is  employed  on  the  leadiDg  journals  in  furnishing 
matter  for  tlie  editorial  columns,  which  varies  from  discussions  as 
to  tlie  site  of  ancient  Troy,  to  the  minutest  items  of  general  an(] 
local  politics,  and  personal  peccadilloes,  dealt  with  in  the  liglitest 
style  oi pcr.sijl(i;/n.  The  musical  criticisms  in  the  Milwaukee  press 
arc  usually  very  good,  and  customarily  the  writers  have  sulTleient 
exercise  in  that  voeation  to  keep  well  up  to  their  work.  Tiiea- 
trical  notices  are  also  very  well  considered  as  a  rule,  and  W9  know 
of  no  place  where  a  mere  pretender  would  be  more  likely  to  pro- 
cure his  quietus  than  in  the  columns  devoted  to  dramatic  art  in 
the  journals  of  Milwaukee.  Mixny  of  the  publications  which 
make  up  the  aggregate  arc  publi.><hed  in  the  (jierman  tongue,  but 
so  good  is  the  quality  of  Teutonic  lucubration,  that  one  of  the 
English  dailies  employs  an  editor  in  translating  special  articles 
into  nervous  Anglo-Saxon.  There  arc  many  small  publications 
which  are  "specialist"  in  design  and  execution  ;  but  even  among 
th(;se  there  arc  some  which  might  do  honor  to  the  })ress  of  any 
city  in  the  union. 

The  bluffs  already  mentioned  vary  from  twenty  to  one  hun- 
dred feet  in  height,  some  of  them  being  very  nearly  perpendicu- 
lar. In  some  cases  these  bluffs  have  been  adorned  by  the  forma- 
tion of  walks  which  are  aradcd  along  the  face  of  the  descent,  con- 
ducting visitors  down  the  well  grassed  city  front  to  the  lake 
shore,  and  trees  have  also  been  planted  at  intervals  where  they 
are  most  likely  to  flourish  and  increase.  The  views  upon  and 
over  tlic  lake  where  the  mighty  vessels  of  commerce  form  the 
imposing  background  of  a  picture,  in  which  the  sailing  boat  and 
the  skill"  till  the  foreground  with  parties  of  pleasure,  are  very  in- 
teresting. The  river  Milwaukee  and  the  Mcnomonec  arc  both 
navigiible  for  about  two  miles  from  the  point  where  the  first 
named  river  flows  into  the  lake,  and  the  banks  of  the  stream 
through  the  heart  of  the  city  are  covered  with  immense  build- 
ings to  the  river's  brink.  The  traffic  of  the  streets  pa.sses  over 
the  river  by  means  of  swing  bridges,  wdiich  turn  upon  pivots  to 
permit  of  the  vessels  which  ply  upon  the  lake  coming  into  and 
passing  out  from  the  center  of  the  populous  city.  Every  second 
street  running  down  to  the  river  has  its  bridge,  and  the  number 
of  street  cars  running  on  both  sides  of  the  stream,  from  the  lake 


.«-lS 


r  HI  SCI  PAL  Cities  of  Wisconsin. 


623 


i 


front  to  the  extreme  points  on  tlie  south  side,  bears  eviilonce  o[ 
the  value  which  time  has  for  the  popuhition,  aixl  as  to  the  vast 
extent  of  the  concourse  of  people  whose  convcnicnco  it  is  profit- 
able to  consider  and  secure.  The  city  has  contributed  from  its 
own  resources  $100,000  toward  improving  the  river  and  harbor, 
in  addition  to  the  moneys  expended  under  the  direction  of  con- 
gress, to  secure  the  same  objects,  so  that  on  the  principle  recog- 
nized by  the  I'Vench  ajdiorism,  "  Heaven  helps  those  who  help 
themselves,"  congress  and  all  such  inferior,  because  mundane 
institutions,  should  be  proud  to  assist  Milwaukee.  The  streets 
in  the  city  cross  each  other  at  right  angles,  and  the  grading  is 
sufliciently  cared  for  to  secure  moderately  good  drairiagc,  besides 
which  a  large  amount  is  annually  expended  in  procuring  under- 
ground drainage,  which  eventually  will  be  brought  to  perfection. 
Tiie  business  houses  are  as  Qnc  in  their  way  as  the  handsomest 
private  residences  and  churches  ,  some  of  the  soft  goods  firms 
especially,  have  incurred  immense  expenditures  in  making  ilioir 
emporiums  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  best  known  on  this 
continent.  Parks  have  engaged  the  attention  of  the  citizens  to 
some  purpose,  but  there  are  sections  of  the  population  which 
would  have  every  cent  of  public  money  utilized  in  works  which 
promise  an  immediate  return  in  cash,  refusing  to  recognize  the 
excellent  value  which  is  procured  when  a  small  percentage  of 
outlay  in  pleasure  grounds  removes  an  area  of  population  in  a 
more  than  corresponding  ratio,  out  of  the  hands  of  the  medical 
profession.  .  The  position  of  the  city,  with  the  grand  inland  sea 
for  its  lungs,  makes  the  people  less  dependent  on  parks  tlian  the 
rcsldoiit.s  of  strictly  iidand  towns,  but  it  is  still  a  matter  of  con- 
siderable importance  that  attraction.-,  should  bo  multiplied  every- 
where on  this  continent,  to  wean  the  people  from  their  indoor 
lives  and  make  them  familiar  with  the  blessings,  fresh  air  and 
wholesome  exercise.  The  tendency  of  public  opinion  is  towards 
the  increase  of  parks  and  pleasure  grounds,  and  during  the  sum- 
mer, croquet  mallets  are  in  request  on  most  of  the  handsome 
lawns  within  the  city  limits.  Milwaukee  has  good  gas  works, 
but  the  price  of  gas  is  far  too  high,  considering  the  moderate  cost 
of  all  the  materials  and  machinery,  and  in  course  of  time  that 
inconvenience  will  be  obviated  by  force  of  competition.     Water 


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supply  is  procured  from  the  lake  surface,  far  out  beyond  the 
plash  and  impurities  of  the  shore,  and  custorriarily  the  inhabit- 
ants are  well  served  in  that  particular.  With  such  a  body  of 
fresh  water  from  which  to  draw,  there  is  no  stint  in  the  quantity 
available  for  domestic  purposes,  <"or  watering  lav/ns  and  gardens, 
and  for  the  extinguishment  of  fires.  Milwaukee  has  been  singu- 
larly fortunate  in  escaping  great  conflagrations,  partly  in  conse- 
quence of  the  habits  of  the  people,  and  in  part  because  the 
maxim  which  rules  in  many  cities :  "  The  devil  takes  the  hind- 
most," has  not  prevented  the  city  fathers  observing  due  caution 
in  regard  to  the  class  of  ])uildings  erected  within  the  corporate 
limits.  The  fire  company  is  vcr}'  efTicient,  and  the  system  of 
signals  by  telegraphs  and  bells,  such  as  permits  of  a  fire  being 
announced  and  dealt  with  without  that  fatal  loss  of  time  which 
has  condemned  many  cities  to  semi-destruction.  Then  again  the 
use  of  brick  and  stone  in  most  of  the  busy  centers  has  tended  to 
make  Milwaukee  fire  proof  to  a  very  considerable  extent.  The 
city  is  governed  by  a  mayor  and  council,  and  the  police  force  is 
moderately  efiicient,  although  there  is  too  much  scope  given  to 
politi'  \\  favoritism  in  a  service  in  which,  especially,  everything 
should  depend  upon  good  behavior  and  efficiency.  Still  in  this 
respect  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  city  is  better  circumstanced 
than  many  of  its  neighboring  communities,  and  its  government 
altogether  compares  in  a  very  favorable  way  with  Chicago,  al- 
though the  annual  production  of  lager  is  said  to  exceed  three 
million  gallons.  Much  of  the  lager  is  doubtless  intended  for 
exportation,  figuring  in  the  shipments  for  Grand  Haven  and  the 
other  lake  ports,  where  Milwaukee  lager  is  a  "specialty  "  much 
in  request.  Lumber,  which  is  still  one  of  the  main  exports  from 
Milwaukee,  was  for  a  long  time  the  principal  feature  in  its  trade; 
it  now  wears  more  subdued  proportions  in  comparing  with  its 
surroundings,  but  the  quantity  exported  is  very  large,  so  that  it 
ranks  with  flour,  iron,  ironware  and  beer  among  the  principal 
items.  The  flour  now  manufactured  in  Milwaukee  deserves  spe- 
cial mention,  for  the  excellence  which  distingui.shes  the  higher 
qualities.  The  damming  of  the  river  has  been  made  subservient 
to  milling  purposes  be^'ond  the  point  of  trafilc,  but  the  best  flour- 
ing mills  are  now  run  by  steam  machinery.     Milwaukee  leads 


Principal  Cities  of  Wiscoksix. 


525 


Lit  beyond   the 
ly  the  inliabit- 
such  a  body  of 
n  the  quantity 
[s  and  gardens, 
as  been  siiigii- 
lartly  in  conse- 
t   because   the 
[akes  the  hind- 
g  due  caution 
the  corporate 
the  system  of 
of  a  fire  beinir 
of  time  which 
Then  again  the 
1  has  tended  to 
i  extent.     The 
police  force  is 
=cope  given  to 
dy,  everything 
'•     Still  in  this 
circumstanced 
ts  government 
h   Chicago,  al- 
>  exceed  three 
intended   for 
"aveii  and  the 
cialty  "  much 
ex])orts  from 
e  in  its  trade  ; 
iring  with   its 
I'ge,  so  tliat  it 
the  princlj)al 
deserves  spe- 
:s  the  higher 
e  subservient 
he  best  flour- 
A'aukee  leads 


the  whole  nortliwest  in  the  extent  of  her  rolling  mills,  and  in 
conHequence  the  quantity   of    iron   and  ironware  exported  and 
supplied   for    home  use  is  immense.     The  site  of  Milwaukee  at- 
tracted attention  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last   century,  when  in 
the  year   1785,  a  Frenchman   named   Alexandre  La  Framboise, 
came  to  this  ijoint  from  Mackinaw  and  established  a  trading  post, 
in  which  quite  a  large   business  was  done  with  the  Indians,  but 
the  Frenchman  did   not  induce  his  countrymen  to  join  him  in 
making  a  settlement,  and  it   was  half  a  century  later  when  the 
first  white  men  came  to  the  spot  to  make  a  home  for  themselves 
and  their  families.     The  opera  house  in  Milwaukee  is  a  very  fine 
theatre,  and  when  companies  of  actors  or  lyric  artistes  visit  the 
city  from  Chicago  or  St.  Louis,  a  very  fair  average  of  business  is 
customarily  done,  but  large  as  tlie  city  is,  the  population   has 
never  i^uccoeded  in  sustaining  a  regular  company  for  more  than  a 
passing  visit.-  The  academy  of  music  is  also  adapted  for  theatrical 
and  operatic  performances,  but  it  is  only  occupied  by  occasional 
visitors,  at  rare  intervals.     The  musical  societies  among  the  Ger- 
mans hold  their  reunions  in  this  building,  and  it  is  also  used  for 
lectures  and  for  church  services  every  Sunday.     The  hall  is  very 
handsome  and  commodious,   and   the   front  of  the   building   is 
devoted  to  the  Y.   M.  A.,  who  have  an  excellent  library  and 
reading  room  for  tlie  accommodation  of  members.     The  lectures 
in  the  academy  of  music  arc  among  the  most  successful  agencies 
for  the  improvement  of  Milwaukee,  as  audiences  of  from  fifteen 
to  eighteen  hundred  are  assembled  in  thi'-  magnificent  room  to 
hear  the  soundest  philosophy  of  the  day  applied  to  the  business 
of  the  hour,  and  the  number  always  anxious  to  share  in  the  feast 
makes  the  cost  a  bagatelle  to  all  participants.     The   building  is 
very  handsome  within  and  without,  and  it  is  deservedly  popular 
among  all  classes.     Milwaukee  is  very  well  endowed  with  public 
buildings.     The  post  office  is  a  fine  structure  of  the  kind  com- 
monly seen  in  tl^  great  cities  of  the  union,  in   which  the  in- 
terests  of    letters  occupy  the  lower    portion   of   the    structure, 
and  the  United  States  courts  and  offices  the  upper  floor.     The 
custom  house  is  also  a  fine  building,  constructed  on   the  design 
favored  at  Washington  for  some  years  past,  the  material  being 
Athens  stone.     The  court  house  stands  fronting  Jackson  street 


til'. 


M. 


j^^ 


i  i 


(   ■ 


526 


Tuttle's  Cijxtexxtal  XoRTinrKsT. 


■fi    'Vjv^ 


and  Oneida,  at  the  junction  of  Biddlc  with  Jefferson,  and  a  hirgo 
open  ground  is  devoted  to  park  iiurposcs  between  the  stru'-tme 
and  Oneida  street.  The  building  itself  is  very  imposing,  and  tlio 
courts,  council  chamber  and  offices  of  the  city  and  county  arc 
provided  for  in  elegant  halls,  which  are  good  testimonials  to  the 
taste  of  the  projectors.  The  tSentind  newspaper  office  is  a  very 
handsome  and  commodious  building,  adapted  to  all  the  purposes 
of  an  extensive,  wealthy  and  prosperous  company,  engaged  in 
every  branch  of  printing  and  publishing,  as  well  as  running  an 
admirable  journal. 

The  public  schools  of  the  city  are  numerous  and  well  graded, 
so  tliat  the  talents  of  the  teachers  can  be  well  applied  to  the 
work  of  tuition  with  good  results.  !Many  of  the  schools  contain 
full  machine  V  for  teaching  German  as  well  as  P]nglish,  an  ad- 
vantage wliicli  will  be  highly  appreciated  a  few  years  hence,  but 
against!  which  some  sections  of  the  small  politicians  loudly  pro- 
test. In  connection  with  some  of  the  schools  there  are  societies 
in  which  the  more  advanced  pupils  participate  in  the  ir.tellcctual 
delight  of  reading  and  hearing  essays  on  set  topics,  and  discuss- 
ing the  facts  and  conclusions  set  forth  by  the  writers.  The 
public  schools  number  seventeen  in  all,  and  many  of  the  build- 
ings arc  massive  and  well  proportioned,  adapted  to  secure  the 
comfort  and  the  health  of  pupils,  while  supplying  every  facility 
for  the  development  of  their  minds.  The  number  of  private 
schools  is  steadily  increasing,  and  the  efficiency  of  the  princijial 
establishments  is  a  fact  thoroughly  admitted  by  all  who  arc  ac- 
quainted with  their  appliances  and  modes  of  operation,  but  our 
already  lengthened  notice  will  not  allow  of  more  detailed  men- 
tion. There  is  a  female  college  in  Milwaukee  which  is  doing  ex- 
cellent work  under  profes.sors  whose  attainments  command  the 
respect  of  every  scholar.  The  churches  in  the  city  are  very  nu- 
merous. There  were  sixty  edifices  of  the  kind  in  1S72,  and  since 
that  time  others  have  been  erected.  Emanuel  Church,  on  Astor 
street,  is  one  of  the  handsomest  buildings  in  the  northwest,  and, 
when  crowded,  as  it  sometimes  is,  by  an  immense  congregation, 
the  auditorium  is  perfect  in  its  acoustic  properties.  ^J'he  building 
is  of  stone  with  lofty  square  towers,  and  the  interior  is  son.owhat 
fantastically  colored  and  ornamented,  but  the  general  effect  is 


-  ■'-nrrr^wr 


Principal  Cities  of  Wis  cox  six. 


527 


very  goc^'l,  find  tlie  organ  is  by  far  tho  finest  in  the  state  of  Wis- 
consin. The  Cathedral  of  St.  John  is  also  a  very  fine  building, 
in  which  tho  lloman  Catholic  Bishop  ofBciates,  and  the  number 
of  other  churches  which  would  demand  attention  if  we  moved 
outside  the  limits  already  reached,  obliges  us  to  bring  our  re- 
marks on  church  architecture  to  a  close.  There  are  now  over 
seventy-five  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  of  various  denominations,  in 
tho  city,  and  nearly  all  of  them  have  commodious  and  suitable 
buildings,  some  of  which  will  soon  be  replaced  by  more  curable 
and  handsome  structures.  One  of  the  churches,  having  no 
church  building  in  which  to  conduct  religious  services,  has  for 
some  months  past  rented  the  Academy  of  Music,  and,  in  that 
splendid  hall  every  Sunday  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  hundred 
worshipers  assemble  to  hear  the  Word  of  God  expounded  by 
one  of  the  best  beloved  pastors  in  the  city.  The  singing  of  the 
congregation  is  led  by  an  able  player  -f  the  cornet,  and,  submit- 
ting to  the  direction  thus  easily  assumed,  the  great  host  pours 
forth  a  flood  of  melody  which  carries  the  song  of  praise  far  and 
wide  into  the  hearts  of  thousands  in  the  busy  city  who  might 
otherwise  seldom  participate  in  sabbath  observances. 

Benevolent  institutions  abound  in  Afilwaukee,  the  Catholics 
liaving  established  many  of  their  agencies  of  mere}-,  by  the  aid 
of  Protestants,  as  well  as  b}'  the  liberal  contributions  of  their 
own  flock.  Tliere  are  two  orphan  asylums  under  their  direction, 
housing,  .clothing,  feeding  and  educating  many  hundreds  of  the 
otherwise  homeless  little  ones,  and  so  excellent  is  the  system  of 
moral  training  that  the  boys  and  girls  taught  in  these  establish- 
ments can  readily  be  provided  with  situations  when  they  arrive 
at  the  proper  age  for  being  sent  out  into  the  world.  It  would  be 
a  sin  for  any  person  to  regret  tlio  multi})lication  of  such  noble 
works,  and  it  is  gratifying  beyond  measure  to  have  the  statement 
from  the  lips  of  the  most  prominent  upholders  of  these  charities, 
that  the  largest  donations  obtained  within  the  fold  have  been 
etpialled,  sometimes  even  surpassed,  by  the  munificence  of  well 
known  and  energetic  Protestants.  Tlie  Protestant  Orphan  Asylum 
stands  on  Division  street,  on  the  high  bluff  fronting  lake  !Michi- 
gan,  and  the  institution  is  in  cxecllcnt  hands.  Children  of  all 
ages  are  cared  for  by  the  painstaking  matron,  but  infants  arc  cus- 


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528 


TuTTI.h's  CKSTKyXIAL  NoiiTID^'EST. 


toniarily  proviciccl  for  by  engaging  wot  nurses  to  attend  to  tlicir 
wants  until  liicy  can  safely  be  weaned.  The  dorniitoricrf  arc 
large  and  high;  the  ventilation  of  the  building  is  very  carefully 
preserved,  even  in  winter,  when  the  exposed  position  renders  an 
immense  consumption  of  fuel  necessary  to  maintain  warmth. 
Tlierc  are  excellent  bath  rooms  and  wash  houses  which  are  con- 
tinually in  use,  and  the  mile  a  manyer  is  cheerful  as  well  as  com- 
modious. The  expenditure  of  the  committee  is  bnt  small,  but 
every  cent  is  made  to  afford  full  value  in  the  work  of  benevo- 
lence, and  the  pleasantest  feature  in  the  whole  affair  is  the  child- 
like love  with  which  every  little  boy  and  girl  comes  up  to  win 
the  smile  and  the  kind  word  which  the  worthy  matron  is  always 
ready  to  bestow.  There  is  a  school  wliich  forms  part  of  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  asylum,  and  it  is  excellently  administered.  There 
are  several  hos[)itals  in  the  cit\-,  all  excellent  institutions,  from 
which  much  good  has  been  gained  b}'  the  community,  and  the 
Soldiers'  Ilo.ue  in  the  suburb  of  the  city  has  been  visited  by 
thousands  from  all  parts  of  the  union.  The  public  library  is  an 
institution  much  fret|UOiited. 


■ll 

.  1 


Racixe  is  one  of  the  loading  cities  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin, 
and  it  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  Eacinc  county.  The  city  stands 
on  the  western  shore  of  Lake  ^richigan,  whereby  it  commands 
unrivalled  facilities  for  transport  of  its  i)roducts  by  water  to  a. 
vast  area  of  country.  Hoot  river  forms  a  very  fine  estuary  at  this 
point  and  advantage  has  been  taken  of  that  feature  to  make  a 
very  commodious  harbor,  one  of  tlie  best  within  a  wide  range  of 
coast.  The  city  has  rail.-oad  facilities  as  well  as  the  chance  of 
trafiic  over  the  lake,  as  t'' j  Cliicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad 
has  a  station  here,  and  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Kacine  branch 
of  the  Western  I'nion  llailroad  is  located  at  tliis  point.  Haoinc 
is  twenty-three  miles  .south  from  Milwaukee  and  sixty-two  miles 
north  from  Chicago,  consequently  in  the  race  for  greatness  it  has 
formidable  rivals  to  contend  with,  liut  notwithstanding,  the  growth 
of  the  city  is  steady  and  sure.  There  are  live  newspapers  pub- 
lished in  this  locality  and  they  are  well  managed  organs  of  public 
opinion,  supported  in  a  very  satisfactory  way  by  readers  and  ad- 
vertisers.    In  the  year  18(30,  the  population  was  7,751,  and  when 


011(1  to  tlicir 
initorics  aro 
iry  carefully 
re  11  dors  an 
lin   warmth, 
cli  arc  con- 
A'cll  as  com- 
t  Ptiiall,  but 
of  bciicvo- 
■s  the  chikl- 
s  up  to  will 
)ii  is  always 
t  of  the  ma- 
crcd.    There 
:utions,  from 
ity,  and  the 
1  visited  by 
ibrary  is  an 


Wisconsin, 
3  city  stands 
i  commands 
y  water  to  a 
tuary  i,t  this 
0  to  make  a 
idc  range  of 
le  chance  of 
■n   Railroad 
cine  branch 
it.     Racine 
y-two  miles 
tncss  it  has 
the  growth 
ydpcvs  pub- 
is of  public 
)rs  and  ad- 

and  when 


']\ 

i.,' 

1      f 

r, 

t 

I'll 

IHI-: 

■ 

PiuscivAL  Cities  or  Wiscoxsm. 


629 


the  census  was  last  taken  tlic  number  had  increased  nearly  one- 
third  in  the  course  of  ten  years,  the  inhabitants  at  that  enumera- 
.tion  being  9,880.  Probably  there  are  now  nearly  twelve  thou- 
fand  people  in  liaeine.  The  city  is  backed  by  ver}'  fine  agricul- 
tural land,  which  has  been  for  many  years  past  in  the  hands  of 
very  enterprising  and  capable  men,  consequently  the  area  of 
which  liacinc  is  the  center  is  one  of  the  best  cultivated  and  most 
fertile  counties  in  tlie  state,  and  the  commerce  from  this  port  over 
the  lake  consists  in  a  very  considerable  degree  of  the  farm  pro- 
duce of  Racine  county.  The  city  is  justly  famous  for  the  excep- 
tional care  which  is  bestowed  upon  the  management  of  its  schools, 
and  several  private  establishments  run  a  close  race  with  the  pub- 
lic schools  in  eiriciency  and  attendance.  Tiie  public  schools  are 
graded  and  the  s^'stcm  of  inspection  resorted  to  throughout  the 
state  displa3's  an  exemplary  spirit  among  those  to  whom  is  en- 
trusted the  educational  charge  of  the  rising  generation.  Besides 
the  schools  there  is  a  collegiate  institution  in  this  city,  known  as 
Kacine  college,  and  very  widely  known  as  one  oE  the  most  active 
schools  of  learning  in  the  northwest,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  Recent  events  have  called  so  much  attention 
to  some  of  the  leading  nnnds  in  the  establishment  tliat  it  is  use- 
less to  say  more  on  a  subject  so  well  worn  than  merely  to  afTirm 
the  admirable  qualities  of  training  and  scholarship  which  are 
conferred  upon  painstaking  students  here.  The  city  is  built  on 
an  elevated  plateau,  about  fort}'  feet  above  the  level  of  the  lake, 
which  is  at  this  point  seventy  miles  across,  and  the  streets  are  laid 
ofl  at  right  angles,  every  roadway  being  wide  enough  to  permit 
of  the  planting  of  shade  trees.  The  public  buildings  are  very 
handsome  and  the  private  residences  of  the  wealthiest  citizens  are 
well  placed  in  beautiful  grounds  which  have  had  all  the  advantages 
of  wealth  a!id  position  to  make  them  elegant  and  attractive.  The 
churches  in  the  ciiy  contribute  much  to  the  beauty  and  tcsthetic 
charm  of  the  place,  which  is  exceptionally  favored  in  the  tone 
and  culture  of  the  people,  and  latterly  much  attention  has  been 
bestowed  on  literature  by  the  establishment  of  societies  to  pro- 
mote lectures  on  the  prominent  questions  of  the  day.  Hundreds 
ill  every  city  can  be  induced  to  attend  lectures  on  historical  and 
scientific  subjects,  who  could  not  be  allured  to  read  one  volume 
84 


w 

Inff 


t 

r 
•  1 

t 

If 

1 

i 

esg 


«  : 


mi: 


Mi--'- 


M 


j:    is- 


i;!.  ;•'* 


411-' 


530 


Tuttle's  Cextesxial  NonriiwEST. 


iindcr  such  licadings,  but  once  tlieir  minds  aro  engaged  in  the  in- 
teresting pursuit  of  knowledge,  by  the  eloquence,  or  the  persua- 
sive stj-lc  of  the  lecturer,  they  will  follow  the  trail  to  any  dis- 
tance and  from  that  time  every  subject  becomes  important  to  tho 
omnivorous  student  of  men  and  things.  Lecturers,  even  when 
they  are  not  first  class,  are  very  useful  men  in  their  day  and  gen- 
eration. They  may  difTu.se  wrong  information  sometimes,  but 
oven  then  they  do  good,  as  almost  inevitably  there  are  men 
among  their  hearers  who  can  set  them  ritfjit  to  the  smallest  item 
of  fact  and  date,  and  tlic  antagonism  roused  by  one  error  may  be 
the  starting  point  for  hundreds  towards  the  attainment  of  truth  ; 
or  what  is  even  of  more  value,  to  the  realization  of  an  inten.se  de- 
sire to  attain  the  truth.  Racine  is  lighted  with  gas  and  well  sup- 
plied with  water,  and  there  arc  man}-  indications  that  the  best 
days  of  the  community  are  yet  to  come.  The  lake  trade  is  al- 
ready large  and  it  is  rapidly  increasing  as  the  large  .shipments  of 
grain  and  produce  incidentally  cause  a  large  local  trade,  which  is 
still  further  magnified  by  the  capital  employed  in  manufactures, 
increasing  the  market  for  the  farmer  and  making  every  descrip- 
tion of  business  more  profitable.  Grain  and  lumber  were  for 
some  years  the  main  items  of  export,  but  many  works  which 
have  since  been  established  have  changed  tlie  aspect  of  affairs. 
Flouring  mills  are  now  in  active  operation  and  the  results  of  their 
industry  fetch  good  prices  after  ern[)loying  an  increased  amount 
of  labor,  more  than  repaying  all  the  outlay  incurred.  The  city 
is  connected  with  the  Mississippi  trade  by  a  line  of  railroad  which 
runs  to  Savannah,  Illinois,  and  in  that  direction  new  markets  are 
being  opened  for  the  several  manufactures  which  flourish  in  Ra- 
cine. Steam  engines  are  among  the  articles  manufactured  here, 
and  the  engineering  interests  are  attracting  very  much  attention, 
the  people  having  engro.ssed  to  their  aid  in  building  up  this  busi- 
ness, some  of  the  soundest  hcad.s,  and  most  reliable  men  of  capi- 
tal that  have  been  induced  to  take  a  hand  anywhere  in  industrial 
development.  Agriculture  being  the  first  love  of  the  city,  it  is 
but  natural  that  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  implements 
should  engage  a  large  share  of  the  capital  available  for  enterprises 
of  that  kind.  There  are  several  establishments,  all  busily  em- 
ployed at  nearly  all  seasons  of  the  year  in  producing  the  very 


PuiyciPAL  Cities  of  Wisconsin. 


531 


latest  improvements  for  tho  better  and  more  economical  cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil,  and  for  tlic  piiri)osc  of  liarvcsting  its  fruits. 
Leatlior  and  leather  ware  arc  also  among  the  lines  of  industry 
which  employ  the  sons  of  toil  in  Racine,  giving  a  liberal  contri- 
bution to  the  wages  fund  upon  which  the  prosperity  of  cities  and 
nations  must  long  continue  largely  to  depend.  The  first  settle- 
ment made  at  this  point  dates  from  the  year  1835,  when  numbers 
were  spreading  out  over  the  territory  from  Milwaukee  and  land 
speculations  were  rife.  The  growth  of  the  young  settlement  was 
not  rapid,  times  of  speculation  are  not  usually  days  of  solid 
growth,  but  in  the  year  18-48  the  city  was  incorporated,  and  there 
arc  few  places  in  the  state  where  a  better  average  of  prosperity 
may  be  found  than  in  Racine. 

Fond  du  Lac  city  stands  where,  many  years  ago,  there  was  a 
French  trading  post  to  supply  the  Indians,  and  to  receive  from 
them  their  peltry  in  payment,  but  the  distance  of  the  post  from 
any  considerable  settlement  made  it  simply  an  impossibility  in  the 
then   condition  of  affairs  to  establish   a  colony.      Near  Peoria, 
in   Illinois,  where  a  colony  was  formed,  it  degenerated   in  the 
course  of  a  few  years  into  an  Indian  village,  with  a  horde  of  de- 
moralized squaws,  Canadian  voi/cigcins,  and  half-castes.     It  was 
not  until  the  year  1835,  that  a  settlement  was  attempted,  but 
since  then  the  very  eligible  site  at  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Win- 
nebago has  increased  with  great  rapidity.     Winnebago  is  one  of 
the  largest  inland  lakes  in  Wisconsin,  and  it  connects  the  city  of 
Fond  du  Lac  with  the  whole  lake  and  river  system  of  this  conti- 
nent.    It  is  a  fine  sheet  of  water  thirty  miles  long  by  ten   miles 
wide,  and  has  been  made  the  channel  of  a  very  extensive  trade 
with   Lake  ^Nfichigan  on  the  one  hand,  and  with  the  Father  of 
Waters  on  the  other,  commanding  a  traffic  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
and  New  Orleans.     Through  the  Fox  river  the  lake  empties  its 
waters  into  Green  Bay,  and  the  channel  having  been  made  navi- 
gable for  steamers,  a  large  traffic  is  carried  on  in  that  direction. 
The  canal  from  the  Fox  river  to  the  Wisconsin  river  opens  up  a 
still  more  extensive  region  for  home  commerce,  and  much  lumber 
and  grain  come  from  all   these  sources  into  the  city  of  Fond  du 
Lac  for  market  and  shipment.     The  large  number  of  elevators  in 


Hhii;, 


mamrnm 


tiiii 


1 


w 


i 


1 


m 


.Hi 


I'- 


ii^l- 


'.    'J  i  i' 


'  1 


TUTTLlfs  ChXTESNlAL   NoilTllWKST. 

tlic  city  testifier  to  tlic  large  business  in  cereals  wliicli  is  cITcelcd 
here.  Saw  mills  abound  in  all  directions,  and  the  quantity  of 
lumber  sliii)i)cd  from  this  point  over  the  lakes  is  simply  prodi- 
gious. Agricultural  implements  are  manufactured  liere  by  many 
companies  and  linns,  and  the  number  of  hands  employed  in  this 
branch  of  industry  alone  forms  a  largo  item  in  the  sum  total  of 
the  prosperity  of  the  city.  1  louring  mills  are  numerous,  and  they 
are  generally  kept  busy  by  the  demand  for  flour  instead  of  graiti 
for  shipment.  There  are  soap  factories  here  which  produce  good 
articles  of  commerce,  and  that  branch  of  labor  must  steadily  ad- 
vance. The  railways  have  also  found  the  advantage.^  which  are 
concentrated  here,  and  there  is  a  large  workshop  established  for 
the  manufacture  of  railroad  cars,  from  which  some  of  the  most 
graceful  carriages  that  ever  ran  on  the  iron  road  have  been  turned 
out.  The  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Jlailroad  runs  through  the 
heart  of  Fond  du  Lac,  sixteen  miles  south  of  OsldvO.sh,  and  one 
hundred  and  seventy-seven  miles  frona  Chicago,  and  all  points  in 
the  west  are  in  communication  more  or  less  direct  with  this  city. 
The  land  on  which  the  city  is  built  gradually  rises  as  it  recedes 
from  Lake  Winnebago,  and  almost  every  residence  has  its  clump 
of  forest  trees,  which  give  to  the  city  almost  a  j)ark-like  a})pear- 
ance.  The  people  take  quite  a  pride  in  their  shrubberies  and  the 
foliage  of  their  shade  trees,  which  adorn  every  street  in  the 
plat  on  which  the  city  is  built.  Fifteen  years  ago  there  was 
only  one  dwelling,  worthy  of  the  name,  where  now  stands  a 
thronged  city,  with  a  population  of  at  least  twenty  thousand  soul.'^, 
and  so  many  enterprises  crowding  into  notice  that  within  the  next 
decade  that  immber  will  be  doubled.  AVhen  the  cen.ms  was 
taken  in  18G0,  there  were  but  a  little  more  than  five  thousand 
persons  chiefly  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  and  in  flouring  mills, 
but  when  the  next  enumeration  was  made  in  1870,  the  poj)ulation 
was  17,70-i:,  with  every  sign  of  still  more  rapid  growth  in  the  near 
future.  The  fact  of  the  city  sustaining  seven  newsnapo-.-.  shows 
that  the  people  arc  of  an  enterprising  spirit,  and  th^-i  „jerc  is 
some  avidity  for  intellectual  food.  The  site  of  tho  city  v\  as,  in 
the  old  days,  part  prairie  and  part  woodland,  the  ."^treum  being 
the  line  of  demarcation  very  naturally,  as  when  thn  Ir.;.^  came 
dowu  year  after  year,  destroying  every  greeu  thing,  aui]  leaving 


I  « 


PnjyciPAL  Cities  of  \\'isco\siy. 


683 


the  trees  merely  blackencil  skeletons  of  the  once  lovely  forest,  the 
river  .suid  to  the  flames,  what  Canute  saiil  to  the  sea,  "  Thus  far 
and  nt)  farthci',  and  hero  shall  thy  proud  \va       ho  stayed  ;  "  with 
this  dilTcrcnee,  moreover,  that  the  river  meant  jr  t  what  wos  said, 
while  Canute,  the  Dane,  only  said  his  [ittle  suy  in  order  to  bring 
the  hlush  of  wholesome  shame  to  the  ch.'<  .cs  of  Lis  fulsome  Hat- 
tt  rc'3.     Up  to  the  bunks  of  the  river  the  fire  came  airain  and 
again,  but  that  was  the  end  of  its  ravages,  Mtid  as  a  eonsequoneu 
the   woodlands  on  tlie  other  side  remained  safe  and  beautiful, 
waiting  for  the  time  wlieti  men  should  eome  to  turn  that  beauty 
and  wealth  to  aeeount  in  building  up  a  prosjierous  and  enlight- 
ened eommunity  ;  some  acres  of  trees  being  converted  into  schools 
and  churches,  some  into  uiills  and  newspapers,  others  into  amuse- 
ments more  or  less   beneficial,  and  not  a  small  area,  touched  by 
the  iiuigic  wand  of  the  manufacturer,  changing  ir.'to  greenbacks 
or  specie,  became  houses,  clothes,  food,  furniture,  and  all  the  thou- 
sand and  one  things  which  make  homes  pleasant,  where  the  hearts 
of  youih  may  be  attuned  to  sing  the  praises  of  tjic  living  God  for 
all  the  glories  of  earth,  water,  forest,   and  sky,  b\'  which  wc  are 
surrounded.     Tlie  men  who  came  first  to  settle  this  pretty  spot 
were  not  very  wealtliy,  but  they  had  courage,  and  they  saw  their 
opportunity  to  make  comfortable  homes  and  «.  conipeteney  for 
their  families  and  themselves.     There  were  some  hard  eases  in 
the  original  settlement,  but  they  removed  or  died  out  very  speed- 
ily, after  having  for  a  few  months  or  years  played  their  role  as 
"frightful  examples."     The  majority  were  men  who   meant  to 
coin  their  thews  and  sinews  as  well  as  to  carry  their  brains  to  the 
mint  which  always  exists  where  nature  and  commerce  strike  hands 
for  a  partnership,  and  they  have  proved  that  they  were  "  right 
men  in  the  right  place."    They  have  persevered,  and  now  they  are 
surrounded  by  all   the  comforts  and  elegancies  which  make  up 
the  foundation  and  concomitants  of  civilization.     The  little  cab- 
ins, in  which  a  few  necessaries  were  sold,  have  been  replaced  by 
rows  of  magnificent  stores  and  countiiig  houses,  in  which  mer- 
chants of  the  wealthiest  order  transact  the  affairs  of  a  prosperous 
community.     The  shanty  in  which  poor  whisky  ran  to  waste, 
washing  ayay  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men  in  the  same  stream, 
has  amplified  into  many  saloons,  gorgeous  in  appearance,  but  still 


»!fi! 


t>'-  m 


1  \i 

s 

'i:' 

J, 

,1  i  ■ 

■ 

(I 


mmmm 


I 


63i 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Nobtiiwest. 


engrcssod  in  the  like  traffic  with  similar  results,  only  suffering 
some  diminution  in  the  fact  that  as  the  people  have  grown 
weahliier,  many  have-become  more  wise  than  were  their  fathers 
in  reference  to  the 

"  Ten  thousiind  casks,  forever  dribbling  out  their  base  contents," 

concerning  which  the  poet  Cowper  became  sadly  eloquent  in  the 
last  century. 

The  meeting  house  of  slabs,  in  which  a  faithful  few  assembled 
day  by  day  to  comfort  and  aid  each  other  with  advice  and  prayers, 
has  grown  almost  beyond  recognition,  into  "  steeple  houses," 
which  plaintively  raise  to  the  sky,  as  a  monument  for  Christian 
worshipers,  the  emblem  of  flame,  which  has  descended  to  us  from 
the  fire  worshipers  in  Persia,  through  the  Baal  frenzy  and  the 
beltane  towers,  which  long  preserved  in  Europe  the  mystery  of 
the  adoration  of  the  sun.  The  simple  meeting  house  is  now  rep- 
resented by  almost  a  score  of  churches,  with  as  many  varieties  of 
teaching,  but  all  leading  to  the  one  Father,  and  perhaps  there  is,  on 
the  whole,  as  large  an  average  of  earnestness  and  utility  in  the 
ministrations  now  carried  on  as  there  was  in  the  days  of  primitive 
zeal.  Turning  from  the  churches  and  the  gay  assemblages  which 
may  be  found  within  their  walls  every  Sunday,  let  us  examine 
the  homes  in  Fond  du  Lac,  which  have  replaced  the  rude  dwell- 
ings by  lake  and  river  in  which  the  pioneers  delighted  to  dwell. 
There  are  comparatively  few  splendid  dwellings,  no  palaces,  cer- 
tainly, although  some  of  the  wealthier  class  have  surrounded 
themselves  vvith  art  treasures  and  fine  architecture,  for  the  sake 
of  the  educating  influence  thus  exerted.  The  bulk  of  the  houses 
in  the  city  are  comfortable  habitations,  nothing  more,  most  of  the 
better  class  owning  their  homesteads,  and  being  happily  so  placed 
as  that  they  have  no  occasion  to  grudge  themselves  and  their 
families  the  little  elegancies  and  improvements  which  lengthen 
the  day  by  economi/^ing  its  minutes,  and  by  affording  to  every 
second  some  oisthctic  charm.  The  tables  are  spread  with  the  .sub- 
stantial viands  which  give  power,  as  well  as  with  the  cleanness 
and  felicitous  neatness  which  make  a  spotless  table  cloth  a  de- 
light, and  when  the  cloth  has  been  removed,  the  lamps  lighted, 
and  the  curtains  drawn,  so  that  the  family  may  shut  out  the  in- 


Principal  Cities  of  Wisconsin. 


535 


\y  suffering 
lave  grown 
llieir  fathers 


|iteuts," 
juent  in  the 

Iv  assembled 
nd  prayers, 
)ie  houses," 
jr  Cliristiau 
d  to  us  from 
nzy  and  the 
mystery  of 
3  is  now  rnp- 
Y  varieties  of 
js  there  is,  on 
itility  in   the 
;  of  primitive 
blages  whieh 
us  examine 
rude  dwell- 
.ed  to  dweU. 
palaees,  cer- 
surrounded 
for  the  sake 
>f  the  liouses 
,  most  of  the 
>ily  so  placed 
ss  and  their 
eh  Ien<i;then 
ng  to  every 
,'itli  the  rub- 
lie  eleanness 
cloth  a  de- 
nps  lighted, 
out  the  in- 


clemency of  the  season,  the  sounds  which  come  forth   from   the 
■walnut  grand  piano  in  the  corner  of  the  handsome  drawing  room 
could  hardly  bs  much  better,  though  the  keys  were  touched  by 
one  of  the  high  born  "  F.  F.  Vs."     The  people  enjoy  life  more 
than  they  did  ;  they  have  pleasures  of  which  their  ancestors  could 
not  afford  even  to  dream,  and  the  staple  j:)leasure3  of  eating, 
drinking  and  sleeping  have  not  materially  abated  in  these  latter 
days.     Outside  many  of  those  houses  there  are  fine  shrubberies 
and  forest  trees  in   the  grounds,  and  occasionally  a  fountain  is 
seen  during  the  summer,  throwing  its  tiny  stream  upward.s  toward 
the  sun,  to  return  like  gentle  dews  from  heaven.     Altogether  the 
scene  is  very  charming  indeed,  and  those  who  have  not  seen  Fond 
du  Lac  will  do  well  to  see  for  themselves  that  the  people,  blessed 
by  fortune,  have  tried  to  make  themselves  worthy  of  its  benefi- 
cence.    One  of  the   finest  blocks  in  the  city  is  surmounted  by  a 
hall,  which  is  capable  of  accommodating  three  thousaiid  people, 
and  on  rare  occasions  the  vast  auditorium  is  crowded  by  a  living 
mass,  which  can  give  an  intelligent  verdict  on  the  best  opera,  the 
best  theatrical  performance  and  the  best  lecture  that  the  most 
advanced  cities  of  the  northwest  can  send  hither  from  their  abund- 
ance.    The  center  of  the  hall  has  a  dome  of  stained  glass,  in 
\\'hich  the  colors  of  the  rainbow  are  linked  together  as  we  some- 
times sec  them  in  the  ravishing  combinations  of  the  kaleidoscope. 
The  German  population  in  Fond  du  Lac  is,  as  usual,  quiet,  indus 
trious  and  law-abiding,  fond  of  innocent  amusements,  and  just  a 
little  more  than  their  average  neighbors,  inclined  to  think  deeply 
about  life  and  its  ineffable  mysteries.     The  scenery  around  Fond 
dii  Lac,  as  seen  from  the  tops  of  the  highest  buildings,  is  more 
ihan  beautiful,  it  is  grand,  and  it  is  easy  to  imagine  that  a  people 
reared   amid  so  many  advantages  must,  in  the  course  of  years, 
produce  good  fruit  for  the  commonwealth.     Art.''sian  wells,  whieh 
in  other  localities  are  phenomenal  and  rare,  are  in  this  city  quite 
common  place  affairs.     Afcn  bore  into  the  earth  from  ninety  to 
one  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  and  the  answering  stream   gushes 
forth  abundaiitl}-  from  the  underground  river  which  rejoices  to 
come  into  the  sunlight.     There  are  numerous  artesian  wells,  and  in 
that  respect,  as  well  as  many  others,  the  city  is  happily  circum- 
stanced.    Fond  du  L-.tc  is  the  county  seat  of  the  county  of  the 


;;  11 


:*     -. 


.1    ■: 


iii|iMi».- 


tToz    rr 


■11  !; 


536 


TuTTLK's   CkXTENNIAL  XOjiTIIWEST. 


same  name.  The  city  has  good  schoold,  M'hieli  arc  well  graded 
and  cxcellentl}'  managed,  the  buildings  being  ver}--  creditable  to 
the  community,  and  the  attendance  such  as  to  warrant  the  as- 
sumption that  the  childrcii  and  their  teachers  are  on  the  best  pos- 
sible terms. 

OsiiKOSii  owes  her  greatness  to  the  lumber  trade  wliieh  first 
called  attention  to  the  unrivalled  facilities  offered  in  this  location 
for  building  up  an  industrial  center.  The  vitality  of  the  city  has 
been  pretty  severely  tested  of  late  years,  by  two  desolating  con- 
flagrations, which  left  the  sawdust  covered  roads,  blackened  path- 
ways, intersecting  the  funeral  pyres  of  an  apparently  ruined  peo- 
ple, but  on  botli  occasions  the  people,  hardly  pausing  to  consider 
the  force  of  their  calamities,  have  lifted  their  sails  aloft  to  the 
winds  of  commerce,  and  Oshkosh  is  now  more  prosperous  than 
ever  before.  Winnebago  county  has  its  seat  of  administration  in 
Oshkosh,  and  there  are  manj^  public  buildings  which  contribute 
to  the  architectural  beauty  of  the  spot.  The  city  is  growing  very 
rapidly  and  tb.e  location  is  very  beautiful,  as  it  occupies  both 
sides  of  the  Fox  river,  at  the  point  where  that  stream  enters  lake 
"Winnebago,  which  gives  it  much  value  as  a  .ship[)ing  place  for  the 
agricultural  produce  of  an  extensive  and  fertile  country.  The 
streets  cross  each  other  at  right  angles  on  a  rising  ground,  which 
slopes  gradually  to  the  banks  of  the  river  and  the  lake,  hence  the 
drainage  of  the  inhabited  area  falls  toward  the  water  level  con- 
tinually. The  frontage  of  water  is  further  improved  just  above 
the  town,  by  the  river  expanding  into  the  dimensions  of  a  lake 
known  as  lake  Bulle  dcs  }rorU's.  Tlie  oriihaiis  of  soldiers  of 
+bis  state  whose  lives  were  spent  in  the  service  of  the  coun- 
try are,  since  the  abandonment  of  the  home  at  Madison,  main- 
ly cared  for  in  O.shkosli,  under  the  supervision  of  trustees, 
who  are  customarily  military  men.  and  thus  deeply  interested  in 
the  furtherance  of  the  objects  of  their  trust.  Many,  who  have 
come  to  ages  in  which  they  can  shift  for  them.selvcs,  have  found 
jn'ofitable  avocations  under  the  auspices  of  the  institution,  and 
over  the  others  a  fatherly  care  is  being  exercised,  wliicii  reflects 
credit  upon  the  state,  and  upon  the  gentlemen  who  have  distin- 
guished themselves  by  their  faithfulness.     From  personal  observ- 


m 


PiiiNciPAL  Cities  of  Wiscoxsm. 


537 


ation,  it  bocomes  our  duty  to  sny  what  is  licrc  noted  in  regard  to 
this  work  of  justice,  mercy  and  sound  polic}'-,  in  an  age  when  it 
is  too  mucli  the  custom  of  pohticians  to  seek  for  themselves,  and 
to  confer  upon  their  friends  ofBces  of  trust,  tlie  duties  of  which 
are  neglected  from  the  first,  and  the  titles  worn  as  a  merely  hon- 
orary badge  which  carries  with  it  no  responsibility.  The  second 
lunatic  asylum  built  b}^  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  is  located  here, 
and  tlic  surgeon  superintendent.  Dr.  Kemper,  is  one  of  the  ablest 
young  men  in  the  state,  in  his  particular  line  of  study.  In  the 
prosecution  of  his  analyses  of  manifestations  of  mania,  seeking  to 
connect  such  facts  with  the  ph3'sical  features  of  the  brain,  tho 
painstaking  student  has  accumulated  a  wonderful  mass  of  evi- 
dence, which  will  enable  him,  when  future  years  have  multiplied 
the  foundations  of  theorv,  to  construct  sound  and  rational  e.\- 
planations  of  the  phenomena  of  insanity,  and  by  such  works,  to 
help  toward  devising  means  of  cure.  The  doctor  has  procured 
apparatus  for  photographing  the  brain,  where  post  mortem  exam- 
inaiions  are  possible,  under  a  large  Jiiagnifying  power,  without 
distorting  in  any  respect,  the  lesions  and  ulcerations  of  brain 
cells,  which  accompany,  if  they  do  not  produce  frenzy,  and  all 
the  eccentricities  which  have  too  often  been  manifest  in  the  lives 
ot  men  of  genius  ;  and  such  an  application  of  science  and  art  to 
the  best  work  po.ssiblc  for  humanity'-  deserves  high  encomium. 
Madness  or  insanity  was,  among  some  of  the  eastern  nations,  an 
evidence  of  favor  from  on  higli,  and  the  men  who  were  hy  such 
an  afHiction  prevented  from  caring  for  themselves,  found  in  the 
reverent  care  of  the  sane  and  healthy,  abundant  compensation,  so 
far  as  mere  physical  necessaries  were  concerned,  and  their  words, 
where  any  sense  at  all  could  be  made  out  of  them,  were  read  by  the 
light  of  subsequent  events,  until  they  seemed  prophetic.  Among 
other  races,  insanity  was  ascribed  to  possession  by  evil  spirits  and 
diemons,  sometimes  evil  and  sometimes  good  —  only  of  late  years 
has  demon  been  made  to  carry  a  signification  entirely  evil  and 
devilish  —  and  in  that  case  also  madness  secured  exceptional  at- 
tention. The  value  which  was  attached  by  the  people  to  the  tes- 
*'  ionics  of  men  so  afTlicted  has  attracted  the  notice  of  every 
baulcnt  of  the  scriptures.  When  civilization  spread  throughout 
Europe,  it  became  the  custom,  possibly  learned  in  part  from  the 


u  I  ) 


■  \\  I. 
in 


■I! 


■ 

1-^'^ 

; 

•iPP! 


538 


TuTTLBfs  Centennial  Northwest. 


customs  in  Palestine  during  the  crusades,  to  pet  and  pamper  the 
more  harmless  lunatics,  in  the  castles  and  houses  of  the  great, 
whore  they  were  accustomed  to  amuse  their  maslcrs  and  the 
guests  that  came  to  share  the  hospitalities  of  the  day.  The  poor 
creatures  were  privileged  to  say  what  they  pleased,  none  taking 
offense  at  the  vagaries  of  the  insane,  and  sometimes  where  the 
mania  was  only  temporary,  very  shrewd  censures  were  launched 
against  the  vices  of  the  day,  by  the  insane  plaything  of  the  hour. 
Fools  who  wore  the  guise  of  insanity  were  next  in  vogue,  and 
Shakspcre  has  made  the  whole  world  intimate  with  their  modes  of 
operation,  in  the  picture  that  IJamkl  drew  of  the  amuscur  of  his 
father's  court,  when  taking  in  his  hand  the  skall  of  the  ancient 
favorite  who  had  "  carried  him  upon  his  back,"  and  "  whose  lips 
be  had  kissed  he  knew  not  how  oft,"  he  said  : 

"  Ala3  poor  Yorick ! 
I  knew  liim  well,  Horatio; 
He  was  a  fellow  of  infinite  jest, 
^k  Fitted  to  keep  the  table  in  a  roar." 

The  profession  became  so  lucrative  and  pleasant,  that  as  we 
have  seen  in  the  world  admired  picture  of  Touchslone,  "  the  mel- 
ancholy Jacques  "  in  "  the  forest  of  Ardennes  "  cried  "  Motley's 
the  oidy  wear,"  and  petitioned  to  be  made  court  fool,  that  he 
might  purge  the  world  of  its  faults  and  vices.  In  actual  legisla- 
tion we  find  the  Scotch  parliament,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  mak- 
ing it  a  pci^al  offense  for  any  man  to  feign  madness  and  folly  as 
a  means  of  livelihood.  In  England,  at  that  time,  "  poor  Tom's  a 
cold,"  when  heard  in  the  streets,  meant  that  some  of  the  least  vio- 
lent of  the  insane  class  were  allc  v^^ed  to  roam  the  streets,  begging  in 
that  and  similar  ways,  for  the  poor  demented  creatures  confined  in 
bedlam.  Further  on,  there  was  a  series  of  attempts  to  scourge  the 
devil  out  of  the  insane  by  floggings  and  other  inhuman  torments, 
which  were  commonly  resorted  to  in  dealing  v.'ith  violent  cases  of 
dementia,  and  the  heart  sickens  at  the  record  which  leads  us  up 
to  the  wiser  and  more  christian  methods  of  our  own  time.  When 
we  reflect  that  such  genius  as  that  which  shone  in  the  "  Drapier 
Letters,"  in  "  Gulliver's  Travels,"  and  in  the  other  works  of  Dean 
Swift,  ended  in  the  asylum  for  the  insane;  and  that  the  gentle 
Charles  Lamb  was  once  an  inmate  of  such  an  establishment,  to 


PiiiNciPAL  Cities  of  Wisconsin. 


639 


(1  pamper  tlic 

of  the  great, 

;tcr3  and   the 

\y.     The  poor 

I,  none  taking 

|ios  where  the 

ere  launehed 

tof   tlie  hour. 

n  vogue,  and 

Itheir  modes  of 

•museur  of  his 

^f  the  ancient 

d  "  whose  lips 


int,  that  as  we 
tone,  "  the  mel- 
I'ied  "  Motley's 
t  fool,  that  he 
actual  Icgisla- 
ccntury,  raak- 
;ss  and  folly  as 
"  poor  Tom's  a 
if  the  least  vio- 
ots,  begging  in 
ires  confined  in 
to  scourge  the 
man  torments, 
'iolent  cases  of 
cli  leads  us  up 
1  time.  When 
1  the  "  Drapier 
works  of  Dean 
iiat  the  gentle 
ablishment,  to 


which  he  had  so  often  to  escort  his  sister  Mary,  it  makes  us 
specially  tender  toward  those  who  suffer  in  illustrating  the  narrow 
limits  which  lie  between  the  brightest  manifestations  of  intellect, 
and  the  worst  vagaries  of  the  insane. 

"  Great  wits  to  madness  uearlj'  arc  allied, 
And  thin  partitions  do  their  bounds  divide." 

Dr.  Walter  Kemper,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  much  valu- 
able information  on  the  subject  of  the  brain  in  health  and  in  de- 
mentia, will  yet  be  heard  from  as  ranking  among  the  ablest  men  in 
his  noble  profession,  and  Oshkosh  is  honored  in  the  retention  of 
such  a  man  in  the  asylum,  which  gives  good  care  to  the  insane 
and  suffering. 

The  county  court  house  and  jail  in  Oshkosh  can  hardly  be  said 
to  be  charming,  but  the  building  is  very  fine,  and  the  eloquence 
of  the  city  fathers  can  sometimes  be  heard  to  good  effect  within 
the  walls  devoted  to  county  government.  In  the  city  proper  this 
is  the  principal  building,  and  it  shows  to  great  advantage,  sur- 
rounded as  it  is  by  so  many  edifices  of  wood.  Nearly  all  the 
business  premises  and  residences  in  Oshkosh  are  built  of  lumber, 
in  the  production  of  which  the  city  amas-ses  fortunes  for  busy  cap- 
italists and  adventurers  every  year.  The  river  and  lakes,  by 
which  the  c 'ty  stands  connected  with  the  ocean  and  the  whole 
world,  are  not  the  only  means  of  transport  available  here,  as  thi- 
plaee  has  a  very  busy  station  on  the  Wisconsin  division  of  the 
Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad,  and  the  northern  terminus 
of  the  Oshkosh  and  Mississippi  branch  of  the  Milwaukee  and  St. 
Paul  Eailroad  is  here  located.  The  distance  from  Fond  du  Lac 
is  but  small,  yet  the  two  cities  are  not  rivals  ;  they  rather  flourish 
side  by  side  than  compete  with  each  other.  There  are  no  less 
than  thirty  steam  saw  lumber,  lath  and  shingle  mills  in  Oshkosh, 
and  other  manufactories  which  increase  in  magnitude  continually, 
and  there  is  an  intention  manifest  to  make  the  city  consist  of 
stone  buildings  instead  of  wood,  in  the  developments  of  the  next 
few  year.«.  The  change  will  be  in  every  sense  wise  and  econom- 
ical. Lines  of  steamers  start  from  this  point  during  the  season 
when  the  lakes  are  open,  and  an  extensive  shipyard  is  located 
here  to  furnish  vessels  for  that  service.     The  work  is  already  as- 


\H]. 


I  ,■• 


i  ! 


V\ 


\\\  i 


A..: 


I   i  I- 


|I|IJP<J!|IIITI 


aass 


m^mm 


'M 


%     ' 


.{.iciiJ'    ;? 


I 


610 


TuTTLrfs  Centennial  Nosthwest. 


suming  large  proportions,  and  many  hands  are  employed,  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  course  of  the  next  decade,  such 
enterprises  will  be  much  more  numerous  and  extensive.  The 
city  has  many  other  industries  which  should  be  enumerated,  but 
we  must  content  ourselves  by  naming  only  a  few  of  the  principal, 
among  which  we  find  planing  mills,  sash,  door  and  fence  factories, 
foundries,  machine  shops,  agricultural  implement  works,  flouring 
mills,  breweries  and  tanneries.  Immense  shipments  of  grain  arc 
made  from  this  port  annually,  and  still  it  is  evident  that  the  ca- 
pacity of  the  surrounding  country  for  production  has  not  been  ex- 
hausted. The  farms  which  were  under  the  old  system,  supposed 
to  have  been  brought  up  to  the  highest  points  of  excellence,  have, 
in  many  cases,  passed  into  the  hands  of  men  possessed  of  much 
greater  capital  than  the  original  owners,  and  in  their  hands  high 
farming  has  proved  an  admirable  .speculation,  beneficial  to  the 
parties  concerned  and  to  the  state  at  large.  The  population  of 
O-shkosh,  in  the  year  1860,  was  a  little  more  than  six  thousand 
souls;  but  within  the  ten  years  next  ensuing,  that  number  more 
than  doubled,  as  in  the  year  1870.  when  the  last  census  was  taken, 
there  were  12,063  inhabitants.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  after 
each  confiau-ration,  there  has  been  a  rush  of  builders  in  stone  and 
wood  toward  the  burnt  district  from  all  parts  of  the  state,  and  as 
a  rule,  the  men  so  attracted  remain,  in  a  very  large  proportion, 
transformed  from  transient  to  permanent  residents,  by  the  pros- 
pect of  remunerative  labor.  The  city  has  a  mayor  and  council 
governing  the  place  under  the  provisions  of  the  city  charter,  and 
as  a  whole  the  administration  is  economical  and  effective.  The 
school  system  is  well  managed,  there  are  many  public  schools 
well  graded,  and  the  teachers  are  able  and  efficient.  Many  of  the 
most  respected  citizens  are  men  to  whom  the  advantages  of  early 
training  were  n'^t  extended,  and  they  are  naturally  very  desirous 
tliat  their  sons  and  daughters  .should  escape  from  the  disqualifica- 
tions under  which  they  have  been  conscious  of  laboring  all  their 
lives.  Oshkosh  generally  is  sound  on  all  such  matters,  and  the 
people  are  very  fond  of  the  innocent  amusements  of  the  day,  con- 
sequently most  of  the  shows  and  theatrical  companies  that  travel 
through  the  state  find  their  advantage  in  visiting  this  city  of  the 
river  and  lake.     When  0.shkosh  makes  her  contribution  to  the 


1  ployed,   but 
dc'cralc,  such 
nisive.     The 
mcratcd,  but 
lie  principal, 
ice  factories, 
ks,  flouring 
of  grain  are 
t  that  the  ca- 
not  been  ex- 
2m,  supposed 
ellence,  have, 
sed  of  much 
r  hands  high 
leficial  to  the 
lopulation  of 
six  thousand 
number  more 
us  was  taken, 
fact  that  after 
in  stone  and 
state,  and  as 
;e  proportion, 
,  by  the  pros- 
r  and  council 
■  charter,  and 
'ective.     The 
iblic  schools 
Many  of  the 
ages  of  early 
v^ery  desirous 
!  disquali flea- 
ring  all  their 
ttcrs,  and  the 
the  day,  con- 
2s  that  travel 
is  city  of  the 
bution  to  the 


Principal  Cities  of  Wisconsin. 


541 


great  centennial  show  in  Philadelphia,  she  will  figure  as  a  city  of 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants,  and  worthy  both  by  courage  and 
inventive  skill  to  double  her  population  in  every  decade.  There 
are  many  churches  in  Oshkosh,  and  .some  of  tlicni  are  very  fine; 
but  the  prevalence  of  wooden  buildings  detracts  from  the  splen- 
dor of  such  edifices.  Immediately  before  the  last  conflagration, 
one  of  the  churches  had  just  caused  to  be  erected  a  magnificent 
organ,  to  lead  and  train  the  voices  of  the  people,  in  their  songs  of 
adoration  to  the  Most  High,  and  there  is  much  willingness  on  the 
jiart  of  the  wealthier  class  to  contribute  toward  such  objects. 
Many  of  the  preachers  are  men  of  exceptional  talent,  and  their 
congregations  bear  testimony  to  their  usefulness.  There  are  seven 
new.spapcrs  published  in  the  city,  and  it  is  worthy  of  mention 
that  the  best  of  them  come  out  all  the  more  brilliantly  after  every 
bapieme  defeu,  but  the  proprietors  are  not  anxious  for  a  baptism 
of  fire  too  often.  The  water  supply  of  the  city  is  good,  and  the 
citizens  have  all  the  advantages  of  gas  in  their  streets  and  build- 
ings.    There  arc  some  very  handsome  residences  in  Oshkosh. 

Janesville  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  Rock  county,  and,  as 
seen  by  the  traveler  when  approaching  the  place  on  the  Chicago 
and  Northwestern  Railroad,  the  beauty  of  the  site  cannot  fail  to 
make  a  favorable  impression.  The  city  stands  on  both  sides  of 
Rock  river,  rising  by  gradual  ascents  from  the  banks,  until  the 
bluffs  are  reached,  which  in  some  places  tower  above  the  river 
fully  one  hundred  feet.  The  city  is  the  point  of  intersection  for 
the  Monroe  branch  of  the  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Railway  with 
the  Chicago  and  Northwestern,  and  the  depot  is  quite  an  exten- 
sive affair,  including  all  the  buildings,  accommodations  and  stor- 
age incidental  to  division  stations.  Rock  county  is  largely  agri- 
cultural, and  although  there  are  many  stations  upon  the  several 
lines  within  distances  of  a  few  miles,  the  average  of  shipments 
from  Jancsville  is  very  considerable.  Tiie  Corn  Exchange,  in 
the  market  ])lace  is  not  si)acious,  an.d  it  certainly  is  not  orna- 
mental, but  it  is  well  attended,  and  the  members  are  very  influen- 
tial men,  able  to  assume  the  full  responsibilities  of  large  transac- 
tions, and  swaying  the  affairs  of  the  city  by  their  counsels  and 
deliberations.     The  members  of  the  exchange  are   among   the 


i:. 


n^ii: 


it 
■»1" 


iiilM 


^\m 


mmgmmt. 


iiiiiii. 


542 


Ti'ttlf:'s  Ckxtexxial  Xorthwest. 


most  hospitable  people  in  tlie  state,  and  they  extend  the  ad- 
vantages of  their  institution  to  every  person  whose  appearance, 
or  whose  introduetions  warrant  the  belief  that  lie  is  worthy  of 
attention.  The  quantity  of  grain  shipped  from  this  point  is  very 
considerable,  and  live  stock  secures  a  fair  share  of  attention. 
Some  of  the  residents  in  the  city  and  suburbs  have  given  much 
care  to  the  development  of  a  first-class  trade  in  horses,  and  hun- 
dreds of  high  steppers  are  shipped  from  this  place  to  Chicago 
and  the  east.  The  local  and  general  trade  of  Janesville  aggre- 
gate immensely,  and  for  many  years  the  growth  of  the  city  was 
very  rajjid,  but,  after  the  rebellion  had  been  quelled,  things  were 
for  a  long  time  vcrjf  slow,  properties  could  hardly  be  sold  at  any 
price,  and  rents  fell  almost  to  zero.  Notwithstanding  all  these 
discouragements,  the  pioneers  of  earlier  progress  did  not  despair, 
and  when  an  opportunity  occurred  to  launch  out  into  manufac- 
tures on  a  considerable  scale,  the  requisite  capital  was  contributed 
to  establish  a  cotton  mill  and  a  shoe  factory  v/hich  have  com- 
pletely changed  the  aspect  of  the  place.  House  properties  will 
now  sell  at  very  fair  figures,  buildings  are  once  more  in  progress, 
and  rents  bear  a  fair  proportion  to  the  capital  invested.  The  tone 
of  society  in  Janesville  is  very  good,  and  the  degree  of  musical 
cultivation  displayed  in  many  of  the  evening  parties,  for  whi'Mi 
the  place  has  become  noted,  shows  that  the  men  who  mould  the 
mind  of  a  community  have  used  their  powers  with  good  effect 
here.  The  spectacular  opera  of  Esther  was  produced  in  Janes- 
ville by  local  talent  only,  and  the  performance  commanded  and 
deserved  high  praise.  Other  pieces  are  produced  every  year  Vjv 
similar  means,  and  in  that  way  the  musical  taste  of  the  popula- 
tion goes  on  improving.  Places  of  amusement  are  well  frequented 
in  the  city.  Myers'  Opera  House  being  a  place  of  fashionable  re- 
sort, well  adapted  for  theatrical  performances,  and  Lappin's  Hall 
and  the  Apollo  being  much  used  for  the  social  parties  in  connec- 
tion with  the  churches,  and  for  lectures  which  claim,  the  attention 
of  the  literary  public.  The  men  whose  names  are  identified  with 
the  places  of  recreation  mentioned  were  among  the  earliest  to 
build  handsome  and  substantial  blocks  on  the  town  site,  and 
their  investments  are  almost  certain  to  make  fortunes  for  their 
descendants.     The  population  of  Janesville  in  the  year  1800  was 


PiiixciPAL  Cities  of  WiscoNsiy. 


643 


pnd    the  ad- 
Inppoarance, 
lis  worthy  of 
lioint  is  very 
pf   attention, 
[given  much 
s,  and  liun- 
to  Cliicajjo 
ivillc  aircrrc- 
lie  city  was 
things  were 
sold  at  any 
ng  all  these 
not  despair, 
to  mannfac- 
contributed 
1  have  com- 
■operties  will 
!  ill  progress, 
'd.    The  tone 
13  of  musical 
es,  for  whioii 

0  mould  tho 
good  efrect 

id  in  Jancs- 

manded  and 

■cry  year  by 

the  popula- 

1  frequented 
liionablo  re- 
appiii's  Tlall 
iS  in  connec- 
he  attention 
intified  with 

i  earliest  to 
vn  site,  and 
OS  for  their 
ar  1860  was 


7,703,  and  the  war  record  of  the  succeeding  ycnrs  was  very  cred- 
itable to  the  city,  hundreds  being  sent  to  the  front  upon  every 
call  for  help,  and  very  many  leaving  their  whitened  bones  on 
southern  battle-fields,  as  a  mute  protest  against  the  wrong  which 
they  had  fought  and  died  to  efTacc.  "When  the  census  was  last 
taken,  in  1870,  there  were  8,739  souls;  and,  considering  the  pro- 
gress made  since  that  time,  it  may  be  fairly  assumed  that  the 
population  iipproaches  twelve  thousand.  Many  of  the  private 
residences  in  Janesville  are  very  fine,  and  the  hospitalities  of  the 
city  are  proverb'al.  Politics  are  fought  out  to  the  bitter  end 
every  time  among  the  contending  parties,  but,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  marked  characters  on  either  side  who  liav^  the  malison 
of  all  good  men,  the  bitterest  contests  end  in  the  lion  lying  down 
with  the  lamb,  and,  before  the  tyjwgraphical  rooster  has  done 
crowing,  conquered  and  conquerors  have  shaken  hands  across  the 
sanguinary  chasm,  agreeing  to  be  good  friends  and  neighbors 
until  the  next  time.  Speaking  of  polities  and  roosters,  triumphs 
and  defeats,  leads  us,  almost  neecssaril}',  to  speak  of  newspapers, 
of  which  there  arc  six  published  in  the  city  —  one  daily,  the  rest 
semi-weekly  and  weekly.  These  represent  all  shades  of  political 
opinion  with  much  vigor  and  effect,  and  the  average  contributions 
to  their  several  columns  will  bear  comparison  with  similar  effu- 
sions in  most  papers,  not  actually  metropolitan.  Afost  of  the 
great  lecturers  that  visit  the  Northwest,  visit  Janesville,  and  upon 
such  occasions  the  beauty  and  fashion  of  the  city  come  out  in 
force,  filling  the  capacious  Opera  House  with  audiences  seldom 
demonstrative,  but  always  full  of  appreciation  for  the  best  points 
made  by  the  best  writers  and  thinkers  of  the  day.  There  are 
man}'  lectures  delivered  in  the  city  every  season,  and  the  North- 
western Lyceum  ]5ureau,  under  whose  direction  Horace  Greeley 
made  his  grand  lecturing  tour  in  the  Northwest,  has  its  head- 
quarters here  under  first-class  management.  Some  of  the  churches 
are  occasionally  thrown  open  for  lectures,  but,  customarily,  there 
is  one  evening  in  each  week  appropriated  by  each  of  the  princi- 
pal churches  for  church  socials,  which,  when  added  to  the  regu- 
lar congregational  and  business  meetings  in  that  connection,  leave 
but  little  time  for  anything  besides.  The  social  gatherings  of  the 
several  churches  are  prodigious  affairs,  full  of  hilarity,  and   con- 


If 


m-llili.-J--.l,lUi-llliJ 


'■.  ■■  i' 

i  1  .  K  i 

i' 

±. 

Ljr'i 

sSSSSkSSSm 


wh    1 


li! 


I    ;  !:i 


!  t , 


'>\\ 


M^ 


644 


Tuttle's  Ckstesnial  Korthwest. 


tributing  in  various  ways  to  the  funds  of  tlic  institutions  with 
wliicli  they  arc  connected.  The  best  possible  feeling  subsists  be- 
tween the  several  congregations,  and  occasionally  all  the  churches, 
except  tlic  Catholic  and  the  Episcopal,  join  in  what  are  known  as 
Union  services  for  some  common  aim.  Many  of  the  churches 
are  handsome,  probably  the  best,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Catholic,  was  the  Congregational  church,  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1875,  but  it  is  being  rapidly  rehabilitated.  The  second 
M.  E.  church  stood  next  in  point  of  beauty  and  comrnodious- 
ness,  and  happily  it  still  remains.  The  church  came  near  being 
lost  to  the  congregation  in  con.scquence  of  the  decline  in  the 
value  of  city  property,  and  the  consequent  paucity  of  funds  in 
hands  willing  to  assist;  but  the  pastor  of  the  church,  a  young 
man  of  earnestness  and  power,  made  special  appeals  to  men  of 
every  shade  of  religious  .thought,  and,  before  lis  pastorate  came 
to  an  end,  the  building  stood  clear  of  debt,  in  first-class  repair, 
and  better  fitted  for  the  work  of  the  Gospel  than  at  any  previous 
time  in  its  history.  The  Baptist  church  is  a  very  handsome 
building,  and  it  has  a  very  rich  congregation.  The  Catholic 
church  is  a  very  fine  structure,  having  in  coiincetion  therewith  a 
seminary  for  young  ladies,  but  the  progress  of  the  institution  is 
not  published  to  the  world.  Closely  related  to  tuc  oj)erations  of 
the  churches,  the  Y.  M.  A.  have  a  flourishing  .society  in  Janes- 
ville,  connected  with  wlii>.li,  in  addition  to  devotional  services, 
there  is  a  good  library  and  reading  room,  where  books  of  refer- 
ence may  be  consulted,  and  current  literature  exchanged  for  the 
delitrht  of  fireside  circles,  during  the  long  cvcninp;s  of  winter. 
The  men  who  run  the  institution  deserve  much  praise  for  the 
energy  with  which  they  keep  their  little  society  abreast  of  the 
times,  and  persistenily  olTer  to  young  men  inducements  which 
must  have  the  effect,  in  many  cases,  of  preserving  youth  from  the 
evil  consequences  of  bad  company.  A  telegraph  institute  in  this 
city  attracts  large  numbers  of  young  men  as  students,  and  most 
of  these  are  identified  with  the  Y.  'M.  A.  during  their  term  of 
study  until  ready  to  go  out  on  duty. 

The  .schools  of  Jancsville  have  hail  the  advantage  of  first  class 
teachers  in  all  grades,  although  very  many  of  the  young  men 
and  women  who  have  served  in  that  capacity  could  have  earned 


itutiotis  with 

^  subsists  bc- 

tlie  cliurches, 

luo  known  as 

tlio  churches 

lion    of    the 

as  destroyed 

Tiie  second 

commodious- 

i(>  near  being 

cclino  in  the 

y  of  funds  in 

H'ch,  11  young 

Is  to  men  of 

)astorate  came 

it-chiss  repair, 

i  any  previous 

:!ry  handsome 

iThe   Catholic 

on  therewith  a, 

:  institution  is 

!  operations  of 

;iety  in  Janes- 

ional  services, 

lOoks  of  refer- 

langed   for  the 

igs   of  winter. 

praise   for  the 

:ibreast  of  the 

ements  whiclx 

'^outh  from  the 

istitute  in  this 

ents,  and  most 

their  term  of 

;e  of  first  class 
le  young  men 
i  have  earned 


VmscirAL  CiTiKs  of  Wisconsin. 


545 


more  money  hy  the  same  amount  of  attention  and  skill  in  almost 
any  other  profession.  The  high  school  is  a  very  eommanding 
structure  surmounted  by  a  dome  on  the  highest  land  within  tlie 
city  limits.  The  several  floors  of  the  mai^sive  edifice  are  devoted 
to  tlie  several  grades  of  tuition  to  which  the  high  school  is 
devoted,  and  until  lately  the  head  master  was  one  who  iiad 
obtained  his  own  oduoation  in  the  same  instituti(ni.  The  man- 
agement is  certainly  first  class,  and  the  school  board  is  composed 
of  men  whose  hearts  are  entirely  in  their  work.  There  are 
several  ward  schools  which  are  run  in  connection  with  the  high 
school,  and  the  system  of  grading  applies  to  all  alike.  Some 
few  men  object  to  expcnditiire  for  the  purpose  of  educating  the 
children  of  the  poor,  but  the  majorit}'  can,  of  course,  see  that 
there  is  no  object  in  which  money  can  be  more  wisely  s{)ent  than 
in  training  the  rising  generation  to  make  the  best  of  their  God 
eiven  faculties.  But  for  the  education  cf  "Watt  the  steam  engine 
might  even  now  be  only  an  interesting  model  for  a  polytechnic, 
and  all  the  millions  that  owe  their  bread  to  that  aid  to  industry 
must  have  been  erased,  humanly  si)caking,  by  th'-  onstantly 
recurring  famines  and  plagues  which  told  of  a  population  that 
had  passed  the  limits  of  subsistence.  The  steam  engine  drains 
our  mines,  improves  marshes  and  morasses  into  farms,  and  plows 
the  earth  as  well  as  the  ocean,  drawing  nations  closer  together, 
exchanging  products,  so  that  wealth  is  practically  increased,  and 
in  ten  thousand  ways  the  great  civilizcr  makes  room  and  pro- 
vision for  additional  millions  on  the  globe,  and  all  these  grand 
results  come  from  the  operations  of  science  and  education  ;  who 
then  shall  say,  that  the  money  expended  in  training  and  expand- 
ing the  minds  of  youth  is  not  the  very  best  outlay  in  which  we 
can  indulge.  There  are  several  private  schools  in  the  city,  but 
they  are  not  of  any  great  extent. 

The  city  is  governed  l)y  a  mayor  and  council,  and  on  the 
whole  the  alTairs  of  the  community  are  very  well  managed, 
although  there  are  suspicions  of  log  rolling  occasionally,  but 
l>raetically  the  taxpayers  have  no  reason  to  complain.  The  city 
is  lighted  with  gas  of  very  fair  quality,  but  the  water  supply  of  a 
place  so  populous  must  very  soon  demand  attention.  The  Holly 
f^ystem  of  water  works  has  been  advocated  by  some  of  the  fore- 
85 


II: 


,  i     ■ 
.  1 

■i  '■■  ■ 

,,        '1; 

■   f 

i '  1 ' 

:  1 

m. 


546 


Tl  TTl.hfs   CeSTKSXIAL  XonTlUf'KST. 


most  cili/.oiis,  and  may  bo  cari'icd  out  eventually,  but.  n  con- 
siilorablo  outlay  and  much  tiuiu  were  lost  in  boring  on  the  agri- 
cultural society's  fairground  for  water,  and  some  persons  have 
not  lost  faith  in  artesian  opcrationa  for  the  city  even  now.  Tho 
water  of  Hc^ek  river  is  very  good  when  it  is  secured  at  sonic  dis- 
tance above  the  center  of  population,  and  it  is  evident  tiiat  the 
Jlolly  system  will  be  evi'utually  resorted  to,  if  such  disasters  as 
that  which  destroyed  the  Congregational  church  arc  to  bo  avoided 
in  the  future.  "Letting  well  alone"  is  very  good  policy  some- 
times, but  not  when  the  water  supply  of  a  jxjpuloui:  city  is 
involved  in  the  t)peration.  The  destruction  of  the  asylnin  for 
the  blind  at  Janesville,  two  years  since,  was  an  event  whieh  no 
supply  of  water  in  the  city  could  have  prevented,  and  as  it  was, 
the  two  ciricicnt  fire  compatiies,  with  first  class  steam  engines, 
did  their  best,  but  it  is  necessary  always  to  bo  prepared  to  make 
the  best  fight  possible,  where  nothing  but  a  supply  of  water  may 
be  required  to  extinguish  the  destroyer.  Tiie  asylum  is  now 
being  rebuilt  by  the  state  under  local  supervision,  and  when 
finished,  the  edifice  will  be  a  great  ornament  to  the  locality. 
The  number  of  children  and  youths  of  both  sexes  taught  in  the 
institution,  and  the  methods  used  l)y  tutors,  some  of  whom  are 
blind,  make  the  asylum  at  all  times  worthy  of  a  visit. 

Among  oilier  public  buildings,  the  county  court  house  takes 
high  rank  ;  it  stands  in  a  very  large  enclosure  fronting  Main 
street  and  Court  street,  where  trees  are  planted  from  time  to  time, 
and  in  which  a  grove,  from  the  earliest  days  of  the  settlement,  has 
been  the  scene  of  fourth  of  July  celebrations,  and  the  jn-rotcchnio 
display  that  is  considered  an  indispensable  incident  on  such  occa- 
sions. The  i)ark  is  quite  a  spacious  affair,  and  the  court  house- 
is  a  very  handsome  building  of  stone  with  balustraded  steps 
leading  up  to  the  suites  of  rooms  devoted  to  the  county  treasurer, 
recorder  and  all  other  ofileials.  The  upper  story  is  ai)portioned 
to  judiciary  proceedings,  and  the  vast  hall  is  used  for  all  political 
gatherings  which  discuss  the  affairs  of  the  })ublic  from  any  stand 
point  of  party.  Some  very  exciting  scenes  have  been  witnessed 
in  that  hall,  but  usually,  even  the  politicians  of  Janesville  are 
philosophers  and  philanthropists,  so  that  nobody  gets  hurt.  The 
cotton   mill,   recently  erected   at  Janesville,   is  a  large  pile  of 


PmsciVAL  Cities  of  Wisconsin. 


547 


but.  n  con- 
1^  on  the  agri- 
persons  liuvo 
M  now.     Tho 
at  sonio  (lis- 
cnt  tliat  the 
h  disasters  as 
to  bo  avoided 
]ioliey  sonic- 
ulous  city  ia 
K!  asyhun  for 
vent  which  no 
and  as  it  was-, 
•;teani  engines, 
pared  to  make 
{  (>[  water  may 
isyluni  is  now 
ion,  and  when 
|to  the  locality. 
s  tauglit  in  the 
e  of  wbom  arc 
isit. 

irt  house  takes 

fronting  Main 

m  time  to  tunc, 

!  settlement,  has 

the  pyrotechnic 

it  on  such  occa- 

the  court  liousu 

lustraded  steps 

ounty  treasurer, 

T  is  apportioned 

for  nil  political 

from  any  stand 

been  witnessed 

f  Janesvillc  arc 

gets  hurt.     The 

a  hvrgc  pile  of 


building  adapted  for  extensive  operation?,  and  tho  macliincry 
and  workmanship  employed  are  so  good  that  one  firm  in  Chicago 
has  bargained  to  take  all  the  cotton  cloth  that  can  be  made  in  the 
mill.  The  hands  have  been  at  work  full  time  from  tho  finst 
start,  and  tiie  capitalists,  wlio  went  into  the  .speculation  to  benefit 
the  city  only,  arc  happy  in  discovering  that  they  made  a  good 
investment  for  the  benefit  of  their  (jwn  fund.s.  So  mote  it  be  to 
the  end  of  the  chapter.  A  woolen  mill  was  cstabli.sluid  in  Janes- 
villa  many  years  ago,  but  for  some  cause  the  management  never 
succeeded  in  making  the  works  pay  until  they  were  so  fortunate 
ns  to  employ  a  Scotchman  who  had  had  experience  in  Australia, 
and  from  that  time  until  now  the  works  have  stood  upon  a  paying 
basis,  employing  a  large  number  of  hands  at  good  wages,  buying 
largely  in  the  wool  market  and  .sending  cloth  of  a  cheap  grade  all 
over  the  union.  There  is  a  woolen  mill  devoted  exclusively  to 
the  manufacture  of  tweeds  and  shirtings,  mainly  of  wool,  in  tho 
lieart  of  the  city,  using  the  water  power  of  Rock  river,  and  the 
goods  manufactured  there  will  bear  comparison  with  the  best  of 
their  kind  anywhere,  considering  prices,  but  the  dyeing  operations 
of  the  establishment  arc  open  to  improvement.  It  is  very  prob- 
able that  what  is  now  an  individual  enterprise  will  be  converted 
into  a  larger  work  under  the  auspices  of  a  company,  in  which 
ca.sc,  the  reputation  of  the  Wheeler  mills  will  go  far  and  wide 
through  ine  union.  There  is  a  shoe  factory  recently  established 
in  Janesvillc  and  large  numbers  of  both  sexes  are  employed  in 
attending  to  the  wants  of  men,  women  and  children  so  far  as 
their  understandings  arc  concerned.  The  institution  has  been  a 
success  from  the  beginning.  There  are  other  important  works 
■which  stamp  a  nanufacturing  character  upon  Janesvillc.  In  the 
Harris  and  Dot_^  works  the  wants  of  the  agricultural  community 
arc  the  basis  n\  a  which  the  companies  work.  The  Harris  works, 
as  they  arc  called,  arc  run  by  a  wealthy  company  upon  a  founda- 
tion made  by  a  working  man  whoso  name  is  given  to  the  works. 
His  ingenuity  and  persevcran.  i  attracted  the  attention  of  capi- 
talists elsewhere,  and  he  was  irivitcd  to  transfer  his  skill  and 
industry  to  other  centers,  but  the  people  were  too  wise  to  allow 
the  charming  of  other  cities  to  stand  between  tlicni  and  their 
opportunity.     Lands  were  given,  capital  was  subscribed  and  the 


■'  *!    -l; 


gpwg=jaaagBfCWW! 


548 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


works  daily  increasing  in  efficiency  are  always  working  full  time 
to  supply  local  demamls  which  are  supplemented  by  orders  from 
Europe  occasionally,  so  excellent  are  the  productions  of  the  com- 
pany. The  Doty  works  are  great  employers  of  labor  also,  and 
Janesville  occupies  a  very  good  position  as  a  manufacturing 
center.  The  business  men  of  the  city  are  courageous  and  intelli- 
gent, their  city  is  beautiful,  they  deserve  success,  and  they  are 
very  likely  to  secure  their  deserts. 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 


PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  MINNESOTA. 


St.  Paul  —  Minneapolis  —  Wiuona —  Du  Luth. 


St.  Paul  stands  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
six  miles  below  the  point  where  the  Minnesota  cmjitics  itself  iiitD 
the  mightier  stream,  almost  at  the  head  of  navigation,  and  about 
two  thousand  and  eighty  miles  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  From 
this  point  vessels  of  small  tonnage  ply  upon  the  Mississippi,  but 
the  larger  steamers  seldom  pass  beyond  this  city.  The  site  of 
St.  Paul  was  probably  visited  in  1G80,  by  Father  Hennepin,  a  Jes- 
uit priest,  who  accompanied  Daron  La  Salle  in  his  vo3-ago  into 
Illinois  in  1079,  and  then  placing  himself  and  party  under  tlie 
guidance  of  some  friendly  Indians,  accompanied  them  to  their 
lodges,  one  liundrcd  and  eighty  miles  above  the  rapids,  now 
known  as  St.  Anthony's  Falls.  The  Saint  was  honored  by  the 
worthy  Pcrc,  when  his  name  was  thus  conferred  upon  the  natural 
beauty  which  had  no  counterpart  in  his  career,  as  St.  Anthony 
could  not  be  tempted  to  a  fall,  even  when  Satan  assumed  tlic 
guise  of  a  lovely  woman ;  the  anchorite  was  too  mucli  engrossed 
in  his  literary  studies  to  be  allured  by  such  vanities,  and  lyrical 
history  says  that 


"The  good  Saint  Anthony  kept  his  eyes 
Firmly  fixed  upon  his  book." 


PjiiNciPAL  Cities  of  Minnesota. 


519 


ing  full  time 
orders  from 
of  the  com- 

(or  also,  and 

uiufacturiiig 

and  intelii- 

Ind  thej  are 


ssippi  rivor, 
ios  itself  into 
1,  and  about 
xico.     From 
<sissippi,  but 
The  site  of 
iiepin,  a  Jcs- 
voyage  into 
i  under  the 
cm  to  their 
i'.')])ids,   now 
ored  by  the 
the  natural 
't.  Anthony 
'sumed   tl;o 
h  engrossed 
and  lyi-ical 


Settlement  did  not  result  from  the  visit  of  Pere  Hennepin ;  his 
ideas  went  far  beyond  material  possession  of  the  soil,  and  at  that 
era  it  is  not  c-as}^  to  imagine  how  a  colony  could  have  been  sup- 
ported, in  a  military  sense,  if  the  attempt  had  been  made.  The 
area  now  embodied  in  the  state  of  Minnesota  was  Urst  visited  by 
a  Canadian  Frenchman  named  Du  Luth,  in  the  year  1678,  and 
his  name  is  borne  by  the  city  at  the  western  extremity  of  lake 
Superior.  The  name  of  the  state,  Minnesota,  signifies  in  the  In- 
dian tongue,  "Sky  Colored  Water."  The  French  king  claimed 
possession  of  the  whole  territory  in  1680,  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  any  material  change  was  worked  i'n  soil  or  productions  by 
that  briUiant  exploit.  Seventy-seven  years  later  one  Jonathan 
Carver  visited  this  spot,  and  made  a  treaty  with  the  Indians, 
which  sought  the  advanta";es  of  trade  rather  than  those  of  colo- 
nization,  and  from  that  time  a  natural  cave,  which  was  made  use- 
ful by  the  white  man  and  his  assistants,  has  been  known  as  Car- 
ver's Cave,  but  the  cave  dweller  was  not  properly  a  .settler.  After 
the  date  of  Carver's  treaty,  it  is  probable  that  trading  operations 
were  carried  on  regularly  for  many  3'ears,  but  nothing  is  definite- 
ly [mown  on  the  subject.  The  men  who  establi.shed  a  trade  in 
tho.se  days  were  not  solicitous  of  competition;  they  fitted  out 
their  own  vessels,  hired  their  own  voyageurs,  were  their  own 
bankers,  and  kept  their  own  counsel.  The  new.spaper  prcsfj  of 
the  day,  with  such  men  as  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  James,  his 
brother,  for  printers  and  editors,  were  too  apt  to  be  at  war  with 
the  Mather  family,  for  the  right  of  free  speech,  to  comprehend 
tliat  the  furtherance  of  commercial  growth  formed  part  of  the 
duty  of  the  printed  sheet:  but  in  any  case  they  would  have 
obtained  no  information  as  to  his  commercial  relations  from  Mr. 
Carver ;  he  was  carving  his  own  fortune  in  his  own  way.  M. 
Peri-ault,  who  took  possession  of  the  country  for  the  king  of 
France  in  1689,  built  a  fort  on  the  west  shore  of  lake  Pepin,  but 
there  arc  no  better  records  concerning  him  and  his  operations 
which  throw  any  further  light  upon  St.  Paul  city  historically. 
Aicer  the  priests  nnd  the  military  and  the  traders  had  each  in 
turn  examined,  and  in  some  degrees  possessed  the  land,  the  set- 
tlers very  slowly  came  upon  their  tracks,  for  society,  except  in 
rare  cases,  will  extend  her  attcnncv  with  great  caution.     In  the 


i    .-VB.  r 


,:  t 


jmem^if 


V.^':: 


f 


!::tg 


Ih-.: 


')r  ' 


•'--♦t-- 


550 


TuTTLEfs  Centennial  Nortuwest. 


m  yili 


year  1837,  Pierre  Parent  bought  tlie  area  upon  which  the  first 
settlement  was  afterwards  laid  out,  but  peo2)le  were  moving  up 
the  Mississippi  very  slowly.  Had  John  Law's  Mississipjii  Com- 
pany, which  was  incorporated  u  Fi'anco  in  1717,  been  cari-ied 
into  ,  igorous  work,  it  is  jiossilile  that  he,  resuming  the  task 
which  Colbert  and  Sully  had  initiated,  woflld  have  directed  the 
energies  of  the  nation  toward  colonies,  manufactures  and  com- 
merce, with  corresponding  developments  among  courtiers,  kings 
and  people,  which  would  have  saved  Europe  from  the  era  of  rev- 
olution inaugurated  in  1789,  in  France,  and  never  yet  concluded. 
The  will  of  the  great  financier  was  thwarted  by  the  ignorance 
and  frenzy  of  all  classc=;,  and  what  sliould  have  been  develop- 
ment proved  to  be  bankruptcy,  hence  the  slow  movements  and 
tentat'"e  experiments  of  France  o  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri, 
which  continued  far  into  the  eighteenth  century,  came  to  nothing 
in  the  end ;  and  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  the  nineteenth  century 
was  far  advanced  before  there  were  more  than  three  white  resi- 
dents on  the  site  of  St.  Paul.  Two  years  later  there  must  have 
been  more  people,  as  in  18-10,  Pere  Gaultier  built  a  church  whieli 
gave  to  the  site  on  which  it  stands,  and  to  the  city  which  now 
llouris'.es  around  that  spot,  its  present  appellation,  St.  Paul.  In 
the  year  intervening,  the  purchaser  of  the  location  had  laiil  of!  a 
town  and  offered  it  for  sale.  There  were  fifty  peojilc  in  the  local- 
ity in  184:8,  and  in  one  year  after  the  town  lots  were  sold,  in 
18-19,  the  population  had  increased  to  five  hundred,  one  year  had 
multiplied  the  population  by  ten,  reckoning  all  accretions,  as 
well  as  the  natural  increase.  The  next  year  changed  the  num- 
bers to  eleven  hundred,  the  next  decade  to  ten  thousand  four 
hundred,  the  next  to  twenty  thousand,  and  at  this  moment  there 
cannot  be  less  than  thirty  thousand  souls  in  St.  Paul.  In  the 
year  1849,  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Minnesota  was  located  at 
St.  Paul,  but  the  incorporation  as  a  city  was  not-  reached  until 
1854.  The  city  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  Ilamsay  county,  and  the 
port  of  entry  for  a  yearly  extending  commerce.  The  situation 
of  the  city  is  very  charming;  Ijoked  at  from  the  river,  it  apjiears 
to  climb  the  blufl's  which  gradually  rise  from  the  banks  of  the 
Mi.ssissipi<i  to  the  level  of  the  prairie  beyond,  but  upon  further 
inspection  it  is  found  that  the  city  is  built  upon  three  terraces, 


■l 


PiiiNciPAL  Cities  of  Minnesota. 


551 


ill  tlie  first 
I  moving  up 
|ssipj)i  Cdiu- 
I)ccn  carried 
Big  the  task 
■directed  the 
ks  find  com- 
lirtier.s,  kings 
lie  era  of  rev- 
it  concluded. 
lie  ignorance 
ecu  develop- 
)vernent3  and 
md  Missouri, 
10  to  nothing 
::entli  century 
•ee  white  rcsi- 
re  must  have 
church  whioli 
y  which  now 
St.  Paul.     In 
had  laid  oft"  a 
e  in  the  local- 
were  sold,  in 
one  year  had 
accretions,  as 
ged  the  num- 
liousand   four 
"noment  tiiere 
Paul.     In  the 
'as  located  at 
reached  until 
unty,  and  the 
The  situation 
,^er,  it  appears 
banks  of  the 
upon  further 
hroo  terraces, 


the  first  being  the  levee,  which  confines  the  great  stream  to  its 
adopted  channel ;  the  second,  a  plateau,  was  at  one  time  the  bot- 
tom of  the  stream,  and  is  now  the  second  bottom ;  the  third  is 
the  prairie,  crowning  bluffs  of  limestone  and  white  sand,  upon 
which  arc  built  a  number  of  private  residences  vvhich  complete 
the  adornment  of  a  site  naturally  beautiful.  The  white  li  nestone 
which  is  seen  in  the  bluffs  in  some  places,  supplies  an  excellent 
building  stone,  which  hardens  upon  exposure,  although  quite 
soft  when  first  quarried,  and  the  use  of  that  material  in  many  of 
the  business  blocks  and  private  houses,  gives  to  St.  Paul  a  pecu- 
liarly handsome  appearance  architecturally.  The  city  shows 
every  feature  in  its  construction  to  the  best  advantage  in  the  vast 
amphitheatre  formed  by  the  terraced  bluffs,  which  it  is  gradually 
filling,  so  that  it  runs  over  at  the  top.  The  largest  and  the  old- 
est settlement  in  ^finnesota  is  quite  a  charming  place,  apart  from 
the  business  attractions  which  it  possesses,  for  men  who  want  to 
sit  in  the  very  lap  of  fortune.  The  streets  have  their  lines  of 
shade  trees,  which  give  to  some  jwrtions  of  the  area  an  air  of 
forest  like  seclusion,  and  the  residences  of  the  wealthy  are  em- 
bowered ill  living  green  during  the  vernal  seasons.  The  streets 
cross  each  other  at  right  angles,  and  the  several  terraces  are 
graded  in  a  manner  wdiich  secures  good  drainage  and  easy  com- 
munication between  the  various  planes  of  the  city. 

The  amount  of  business  done  in  St.  Paul  may  be  estimated  in 
part  from  the  fact  that  during  the  season  there  are  fifty  steamers 
passing  and  repassing  between  this  port  and  Dubuque,  La  Crosse 
and  St.  Louis,  and  that  in  addition  to  such  means  of  transit  there  are 
perfect  railroad  connections  with  all  parts  of  the  union.  The  city  is 
the  northwestern  terminus  of  the  Saint  Paul  and  Chicago  railroad, 
the  northern  terminus  of  the  Mih»'aukee  and  St.  Paul,  the  north- 
eastern terminus  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City,  the  eastern  termi- 
nus of  the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific,  the  southeastern  terminus  of  the 
St.  Paul  branch  of  the  Northern  Pacific,  the  southern  terminus  of 
the  Lake  Superior  and  Mississippi,  and  the  western  terminus  of 
the  West  Wisconsin  railroad.  With  such  facilities  for  travel  and 
traffic,  the  city  forming  the  center  of  a  very  fertile  country,  in  which 
the  first  fruitfulness  of  the  soil  is  not  yet  exhausted,  yet  in  which 
large  capital   is  being  employed,  to  develop  the  latent  qualities 


'  M  .1 


Ul 


Zo2 


Ti'TTLhfs  Cr:xTEX\rAr.  XouTinvKftT. 


1:  'i- 


I  |||i|;  ;  h ' 


S; 

'If- 

IP 

i  i   1 

i 

ii 

""'■■-■,                                                                                                                  I 

j:  '    '            '                                                                             : 

I:--           •                   III 
i,'i"    -1':                                                '■ 
'ii'i  '.     i           ■>      .   .                    i 

of  tlic  cnrtli ;  tlic  merely  agricultural  resources  of  the  country  woukl 
justify  the  expectation  of  much  more  considerable  growth  than  is 
yet  f(Mind  in  the  beautiful  city.  Added  tu  the  advantages  of  situa- 
tion which  have  been  hinted  at,  which  make  St.  Paul  one  of  the 
'busiest  ports  on  the  ujipcr  ^Mississippi,  the  manufactories  already 
established  in  the  locality  are  numerous  and  extensive,  but  yet 
evidently  only  the  beginnings  of  more  considerable  prosperity. 
Among  the  works  which  we  find  in  full  operation,  employing  a 
number  of  hands  which  goes  on  increasing  every  year,  there  arc 
many  steam  saw  mills  and  flouring  mills,  planing  mills,  brass  and 
iron  foundries,  and  establishments  of  great  extent  for  the  manu- 
facture of  boots  and  shoes  for  the  million,  which  consume  im- 
mense quantities  of  native  leather.  There  are  numerous  other 
industries  which  employ  thousands  in  the  aggregate,  but  it  would 
require  a  directory  to  give  each  deserving  [jcrson  and  comi)any 
an  adequate  notice.  Tlie  main  portion  of  tlie  business  of  the  city 
is  transacted  on  the  first  terrace  above  the  levee,  the  second  bot- 
tom of  the  river,  and  the  staff  employed  in  maintaining  the  com- 
mercial relations  of  this  rising  metropolis  represents  a  large  aggre- 
gate of  salaried  people  contributing  in  no  small  degree  to  the  gen- 
eral and  local  business  of  St.  Paul.  Schools  have  commanded 
much  attention  from  the  jity,  the  county,  and  the  state.  The  gen- 
eral interests  of  education  were  committed  to  the  charsre  of  the 
secretary  of  state,  until  the  year  1867,  when  a  state  superinten- 
dent of  instruction  was  appointed,  and  since  that  time,  the  system 
has  been  administered  by  count}'^  superintendents  acting  under 
the  su[icrvision  of  the  chief,  and  cooperating  with  boards  of 
trustees  in  every  school  district.  There  are  2,626  .school  districts, 
and  4,111  teachers,  providing  forthe  educpMonal  wants  of  110,590 
pupils,  besides  which  there  are  fifty  private  schools  with  fair  aver- 
age attendances.  The  appropriation  for  .school  purposes  in  the 
state  of  Minnesota  in  tlu  year  1870  amounted  to  $857,816.  The 
collegiate  institutions  of  Minnesota  are  fairly  represented  in  this 
city,  and  there  is  some  expectation  that  the  wants  of  the  farming 
community  will  be  provided  for  by  the  establishment  of  an  agri- 
cultural college  similar  to  that  in  I,ansing,  Michigan,  in  which 
every  pupil  must  work  his  own  grounds,  earn  his  own  keep,  and 
live  upon  the  results  of  his  labors,  so  that  be  becomes  practically 


Principal  Cities  of  Mixnesota. 


553 


an  try  would 
wth  tlian  is 
gcs  of  situa- 
1  one  of  ilie 
ics  already 
ive,  but  yet 
prosperity. 
Mnplo^'ing  a 
ar,  there  arc 
.«,  brass  and 
or  tiic  nianu- 
:;onsunie  im- 
lerous  other 
but  it  would 
nd  company 
ss  of  the  city 
3  second  bot- 
ling  the  eoin- 
:i  large  aggrc- 
ee  to  the  gea- 
eommanded 
te.    The  gen- 
charge  of  the 
3  supcrinten- 
e,  the  system 
acting  under 
h   boards   of 
lool  districts, 
Its  of  110,590 
ith  fair  aver- 
rposes  in  the 
)7,816.     The 
3ntc(l  in  this 
the  farming 
t  of  an  agri- 
m,  in    which 
ni  keep,  and 
s  practically 


as  well  as  theoretically  an  agriculturist,  !^[any  of  the  colleges 
established  to  aid  in  forming  and  instructing  the  farminjj;  class 
have  failed  to  render  practical  service,  although  the  least  clTicient 
must  do  some  good.  The  developments  of  agriculture  during  the 
last  fifty  years  have  owed  to  science  and  to  mechanical  improve- 
ments a  complete  revolution,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact 
that  the  imjilcments  and  machines  used  in  husbandry  at  the 
present  time  have  cost  no  less  than  $500,000,000,  merely  to  sup- 
ply the  demand  in  the  United  States.  There  was  a  time  when 
machinery  was  thought  to  be  the  enemy  of  man  ;  when  steam  en- 
gines were  first  manufactured  by  Boulton  and  Watt  in  Birming- 
ham. English  workmen  destJ'ovcd  both  engines  and  manufactories 
by  fire  on  many  occasions,  and  when  agricultural  machinery  was 
introduced,  the  rustic  population  in  the  same  country  co.abined 
to  burn  up  the  ricks,  granaries  and  residences  of  the  innovating 
class,  but  the  progress  of  events  has  proved  that  the  machinery 
which  aids  human  labor  lifts  the  laborer  and  the  workman  into 
comparative  afiluence.  Within  the  last  twenty -ears  in  this  coun- 
try, the  quantity  of  manual  labor  re(iuisite  for  producing  and  at- 
tending to  crops  of  the  same  extent  and  greater  value  has  been 
reduced  one-third,  and  at  the  same  time  the  wages  paid  to  men 
employed  have  been  doubled  in  nearly  every  case,  as  a  consequence 
of  the  supe.  "or  facilities  acquired  bj'  the  modern  agriculturist.  It 
has  been  asserted  that  but  for  .ne  introduction  of  machinery  to 
the  harvest  fields  during  the  rebellion,  it  would  have  been  impos- 
sible for  the  north  to  have  sent  into  the  field  the  millions  of  men 
■who  were  demanded  to  settle  that  terrible  strife,  without  absolute 
ruin  to  the  agricultural  interests  of  this  continent,  so  that  it  would 
appear  that  the  invention  of  improved  reapers,  mowers  and  rakers, 
assisted  materially  in  putting  an  end  to  negro  slavery.  The  num- 
ber of  hands  dispensed  with  from  the  farms  all  over  the  union, 
must  find  more  lucrative  employments  elsewhere,  or  else  ther-e 
would  be  a  decrea.se  of  the  sums  paid  for  wages,  instead  of  such 
an  increase  as  we  have  seen,  and  all  the  time,  thousands  who 
were  laborers  only  and  under  the  old  regime  must  have  remained 
laborers  to  the  end  of  the  chapter  are  now  becoming  owners  of 
estates,  farming  the  illimitable  prairies,  and  making  food  for  the 
millions  that  will  come  to  build  cities,  mine  our  coals,  and  our 


NT 


yi 


imil 
Hi 


554 


Tutti.e's  Centexktal  Northwest. 


iron  ores,  and  carry  manufacturing  industries  and  inventive  skill 
to  their  furtlicst  limit.  The  men  who  are  to  run  our  agricultural 
colleges  must  come  to  their  work  with  the  full  knowledge  that 
the  lads  whom  they  are  to  make  into  first  class,  eucrgeiie,  prac- 
tical, scientific  farmers,  will  be  called  upon  in  addition  to  all  their 
other  labors,  to  hold  the  V)alancc  of  justice  between  all  classes  in 
this  community,  and  to  cleanse  the  Augean  stable  at  Washing- 
ton, which  might  well  seem  a  labor  demanding  Ilorcules.  The 
farmer  class,  joining  with  the  intelligent  handicraftsmen  in  the 
cities,  have  it  in  their  power  to  mould  afresh  the  lax  public 
opinion  of  the  day,  and  to  make  it  impossible  fo'  a  class  of  men 
to  live  in  luxury  in  Washington  and  elsewhe.e,  as  factors  of 
bribery  and  im{)r'>per  influences,  in  the  lobbies  of  congress,  and 
of  every  legislature.  The  function  of  the  agricultural  college  is 
more  important  than  that  which  belongs  for  the  i)resent  to  any 
other  educational  institution,  and  it  is  well  that  in  St,  Paul,  as  well 
rs  in  other  large  cities,  the  matter  is  being  considered  by,  good 
men  and  true.  The  public  buildings  of  St.  Paul  are  not  splendid, 
especially  the  capitol,  which  is  an  edifice  of  brick,  very  plain  and 
unattractive,  but  sufiiciently  commodious  for  all  purpo.ses,  its  di- 
mensions being  one  hundred  and  forty-three  feet  by  fifty.  The 
state  arsenal  is  much  more  showy  and  elTective  ;  the  opera  house 
gives  evidence  that  the  jilcasure  loving  people  of  St.  Paul  have 
fully  digested  the  old  saw  : 

"All  work  and  no  i)lay, 
Makes  Jack  a  dull  boy." 

The  interests  of  learning  are  akso  cared  for  among  the  adult  pop- 
ulace of  the  city  as  may  be  seen  upon  a  visit  to  the  athajneum 
which  has  a  fair  librar}'  available  for  the  use  of  members  and 
makes  some  provision  to  supply  the  pojnilar  demand  for  lectures 
of  an  amusing,  attractive  and  instructive  kind.  The  material  il- 
lumination and  cleansing  of  the  city  and  its  people  have  been 
cared  for  by  the  establishment  of  gas  works  and  water  works 
which  answer  every  demand  admirably.  Newspapers  are  numer- 
ous and  good,  there  being  in  all  twenty-one  published  in  the  city, 
the  major  portion  in  Knglish,  but  the  German  and  Swedish  sec- 
tions of  the  population  are  also  considered  in  the  supply.     Ilotcls 


PRiyciPAL  Cities  of  Minnesota. 


555 


ciitive  skill 

agricultural 

jwlcdge  that 

[crgctic,  prac- 

)n  to  all  their 

all  classes  iu 

it  Washiiig- 

rcules.     The 

suieu   iu  the 

r,   VAX  public 

class  of  men 

as  factors  of 

congress,  and 

iral  colle2;e  is 

resent  to  any 

^aul,  as  well 

:i'e(l  by  good 

not  splendid, 

I'cry  plain  and 

irposes,  its  di- 

by  fifty.     The 

le  opera  house 

St.  Paul  have 


the  adult  pop- 
the  athaineuni 
members  and 
id  for  lectures 
he  material  il- 
plc  have  been 

water  works 
ersarc  numer- 
icd  in  the  citv, 

Swedish  scc- 
pply.     nolcls 


in  St.  Paul  are  luxurious  and  well  managed,  quite  a  large  section 
of  the  people  preferi'ing  hotel  life  to  the  cares  of  housekeeping. 
Churches  are  plentiful,  and  souic  of  them  very  handsome  indeed. 
There  are  two  asylums  in  the  city,  and  they  are  exceptionally 
well  managed,  and  the  same  must  be  said  of  the  fine  hospital 
which  is  in  every  sense  a  credit  to  the  community.  The  State 
Reform  School  is  located  in  St.  Paul  in  which  all  the  failures 
that  have  misused  or  avoided  their  chances  in  every  other  way 
are  taken  hold  of  by  the  strong  hand  of  authority  to  be  made 
useful  in  some  degree  during  the  terms  for  which  they  are  com- 
mitted to  duress,  and  it  is  said  that  some  good  is  being  eilected  by 
such  means.  There  are  very  many  fine  carriage  drives  in  and 
around  the  city  of  St.  Paul. 

Minneapolis. —  The  second  city  in  the  state  of  Minnesota  oc- 
cupies both  banks  of  the  Mississi])pi  river,  is  the  seat  of  justice 
for  Hennepin  county,  which  was  named  in  remembrance  of  the 
missionary  who  was  probably  the  first  wdiite  man  to  see  the  falls 
of  St.  Anthony.  The  part  of  Minneapolis  which  stands  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  river  was  once  known  as  the  town  of  St.  An- 
thony ;  but  there  are  bridges  now  uniting  the  eastern  and  western 
sections  of  a  city  which  will  become  much  more  extensive.  The 
city  stands  abreast  of  the  falls  about  ten  miles  northwest  from  St. 
Paul,  and  is  a  manufacturing  center  of  very  great  importance,  as 
the  water  power  available  as  driving  power  for  mills  a>id  factories 
is  immense.  The  manufactures  of  the  city  are  estimated  to  ex- 
ceed eleven  million  dollars  annually,  and  it  is  claimed  that  since 
the  returns  were  made  ui)on  which  those  figures  are  founded, 
very  considerable  additions  and  improvements  have  been  made. 
Mouldings,  doors,  sashes  and  lumber  are  among  the  largest  items 
in  the  manufactures  of  the  city;  and  besiiKs  these  there  are  cast- 
ings, woolen  goods,  flour,  paper,  agricultural  implements,  and  a 
host  of  items  which  defy  emuneration.  The  saw  mills  alone  are 
said  to  produce  over  eighty  thousand  feet  of  lumber  per  year,  and 
they  employ  a  large  average  of  labor.  The  population  in  the 
year  18G0  was  5,821,  and  at  tlie  last  census,  the  result  of  ten  years' 
growth  showed  an  increase  of  18,070  ;  consequently  it  is  probable 
that  at  the  present  time  the  population  of  Minneapolis  is  about 


■i,i 


I.* 


!■  ■ 


fimsmmut 


I  ill! 


'1 


ii.a- 


I!  i  '     ''. 


V.l 


I 


^■.  ■' 

u 


553 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


25,000  souls.  There  are  no  loss  than  fourteen  newspapers  pub- 
lished in  the  city,  the  major  part  being  devoted  to  the  Knglisli 
speaking  pojjulation,  but  the  German  and  Norwegian  eiti/.ens 
have  each  their  organs  in  the  press.  There  arc  some  very  line 
hotels  in  Miiineapoli.s,  and  the  publie  buildings,  chiefl}'  those  be 
longing  to  the  county,  are  decidedly  ornamental.  Tlie  .schools 
are  well  managed  by  boards  of  trustees,  and  the  attendance  of 
children  is  decidedly  good  ;  but  still  a  large  average  of  cliildren 
are  never  seen  in  any  institution  of  the  kind.  Tliere  are  many 
private  schools  well  conducted.  The  bridges  across  the  river  are 
very  line  structures.  The  churches  are  numerous,  elegant,  and 
well  attended.  The  private  residences  of  the  citizens,  the  orna- 
mentation of  the  city,  and  the  excellent  grading  of  the  streets, 
make  the  city  a  very  desirable  residence.  The  railroad  connec- 
tions of  the  city  are  with  the  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis;  the  St. 
Paul  and  Pacific ;  the  Minneapolis  and  St.  Louis,  and  the  ^Nfin- 
ncapolis  and  Duluth  Kailroad.s.  The  surrounding  country  is  very 
fertile,  the  farming  class  enterprising  and  intelligent,  and  the  ship- 
ments of  produce  from  this  point  are  considerable,  and  annually 
on  the  increase. 

WlxoXA  city  is  the  county  seat  of  AVinona  county,  and  is  lo- 
cated on  the  southwestern  bank  of  the  Mississippi  river,  one 
hundred  and  three  miles  .southeast  of  St.  Paul,  and  three  hun- 
dred and  seven  miles  west  of  Chicago,  having  excellent  railroad 
communications,  by  which  it  is  connected  with  those  cities  and 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  union.  Winona  contains  the  western 
terminus  of  the  La  Crosse,  Trempealeau  and  Prcscott  Railroad, 
and  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Winona  and  St.  Peter  Railroad  ; 
and  the  city  represents  so  vast  an  area  of  agricultural  land,  that 
its  shipments  of  farm  produce  are  very  large.  Usually,  when 
land  is  first  settled  in  this  country,  the  new  comers  having  no 
stock,  nor  other  facilities  for  enriching  the  soil,  pursue  an  ex- 
haustive system,  which  leaves  the  land  completely  impoverished 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  especially  where  the  proper  rota- 
tions of  crops  are  no^  followed ;  but  around  Winona  that  system 
does  not  obtain,  exclusively,  and  there  are  some  very  beautiful 
estates  which  are  farmed  as  well  as  any  land  in  the  world,  conse- 


in* 


spapcrs  piib- 

tlic   F-nglish 

Liian   citizens 

me  very  line 

fly  tliose  be 

Tlie  schools 

ttondancc  of 

3  of  children 

re  arc  many 

ihc  river  are 

,  elegant,  and 

en«,  the  orna- 

f   the  streets, 

Iroad  connec- 

polis;  the  St. 

uid  the  Min- 

ountry  is  very 

and  the  ship- 

and  annually 


it}-,  and  is  lo- 
ipi  river,  one 
id  three  hun- 
?llcnt  railroad 
osc  cities  and 
i  the  western 
;ott  Railroad, 
tcr  Railroad  ; 
ral  land,  that 
rsnally,  when 
rs  having  no 
)ursue  an  ex- 
impoveriihed 
proper  rota- 
a  that  system 
cry  beautiful 
world,  conse- 


PiiixciPAL  Cities  ur  Mixxl-sota. 


667 


quently  tlie  city  will  long  continue  to  be  the  largest  wheat  mar- 
ket in  the  state  of  Minnesota.  The  shipping  of  cereals  will  of 
course  only  continue  in  and  from  any  city — unless  it  is  metro- 
politan like  Chicago,  New  York,  and  other  such  vast  congregations 
of  humanity  —  until  the  population  can  divert  the  stream  to  the 
maintenance  of  its  own  busy  hive,  engaged  in  lucrative  manu- 
factures, and  every  year  the  necessity  to  employ  manual  labor  on 
the  farm  is  being  confined  within  narrower  limits,  by  improve- 
ments- in  machinery.  Twenty  years  ago  many  persons  thought 
that  the  ultima  thuk  of  inventive  skill  had  been  reached,  and  many 
of  the  old  school  protested  vigorously  against  such  revolutionary 
innoviHions;  but  if  any  first  class  farmer  of  the  present  day 
should  be  ofTered  a  complete  set  of  the  agricultural  implements 
then  in  use,  free  of  cost,  on  condition  that  he  would  use  them 
exclusively  on  his  farm,  he  would  decline  the  offer  with  thanks, 
or  if  he  persisted  in  their  use,  he  would  be  beaten  out  of  the 
market  by  the  better  machinery  of  competitors.  Winona  has 
already  entered  upon  its  manufacturing  stage  of  growth,  and  will 
increase  very  rapidly  within  the  next  ten  years  without  special 
effort.  The  site  was  first  settled  in  the  year  1851,  and  in  the 
sixth  year  after  its  birth,  in  the  year  1857,  it  was  incorporated  as 
a. city.  When  the  first  census  was  taken,  in  the  year  1860,  there 
were  2,46i  persons  congregated  in  the  infant  city,  and  ten  years 
later,  when  the  last  census  was  taken,  in  1870,  the  number  had  in- 
creased to  7,192.  The  present  population  of  W^inona  cannot  be 
less  than  from  ten  to  eleven  thousand,  and  the  city  has  the  aspect 
of  a  busy  and  prosperous  center.  Lumber,  timber  and  limestone 
are  among  the  i^hipments  from  the  city.  The  factories  established 
in  the  place  consist  of  planing  mills,  saw  mills,  iron  works,  car- 
riage making  establishments  and  plow  manufactories,  besides 
numerous  smaller  branches  of  great  importance  in  the  aggregate. 
There  are  three  newspapers  published  in  Winona,  and  they  enjoy 
a  good  circulation  throughout  the  county,  being  tolerably  well 
supported  by  advertisers  and  readers.  The  average  of  the  mat- 
ter published  is  good  family  reading.  The  state  normal  school 
is  located  at  Winona,  and  as  a  rule  the  attainments  of  students 
therein  will  bear  comparison  with  the  best  schools  in  the  union, 
however  long  established.     The  management  of  the  institutioa 


'Fin, 


:'i. 


'ti, ;) 


n  t 


1 

■ 

■ 

s 

'|;f 

P 

'    " 

i 

558 


Tuttle's  Centessial  NonTinvKST. 


has  licon  very  rnnch  improved  witliin  tlie  last  five  years,  and  the 
good  feeling  whieli  subsists  between  professors  and  pnpils  is  an 
augury  of  still  belter  results.  Tlio  public  school  system  in  Wi- 
nona is  of  course  a  part  of  the  larger  sclieino  provideil  for  the 
whole  state,  and  the  graded  schools  answer  admirably.  The  high 
school  is  quite  a  hands(jme  building,  and  the  management  of  tho 
schools  is  very  good.  Tiie  state  normal  school  deserves  mention 
as  one  of  the  public  buildings  in  Winona.  There  are  some  very 
creditable  private  schools  in  the  city,  and  the  attendance  of  chil- 
dren in  the  several  establishments  brings  the  population  fully  up 
to  the  average  in  that  regard.  The  county  buildings  are  located 
in  Winona,  and  there  are  numerous  churches,  well  supported  in 
nearly  every  instance,  many  of  the  structures  being  ornaments 
to  the  rapidly  growing  city. 


m 


;?!,1' 


I'j:  V 


■>•«...;■ 


''m 


'•)• 


DiT  LuTH  was  named  after  the  first  white  man  known  to  have 
entered  the  state  of  Minnesota,  or  rather  the  area  now  comprised 
in  that  state.  M.  Du  Luth,  a  Frenchman,  was  in  this  territory  the 
year  before  Pere  Ilennejiin  visited  and  namerl  the  falls  of  St, 
Anthony,  in  company  with  the  friendly  Tudiann,  whom  he  had 
accepted  as  his  guides,  from  the  area  now  known  as  the  state  of 
Illinois.  Du  Luth  is  the  seat  of  justice  lor  St.  Louis  county,  and 
it  is  located  at  the  western  extremity  of  lake  Superior,  tsvelve 
hundred  and  thirty  five  miles,  by  the  lakes,  west  of  the  city  of 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.  The  Jesuits  deserved  much  j)raise  for  their  cour- 
age and  constancy,  in  isolating  them.selves  from  civilized  society, 
more  than  two  hundred  years  ago,  when  only  to  cross  the  ocean 
was  an  act  of  heroism  in  a  Frenchman,  with  his  constitutional  b.orror 
of  the  maladi  du  mcr,  in  pursuing  the  forlorn  hope  of  converting 
the  Indian  races.  The  worth}'  fathers  were  geographers  as  well  as 
missionaries,  as  their  contributions  in  the  form  of  good  maps 
amply  prove,  and  altogether  in  that  era  they  were  valuable  mem- 
bers of  the  community.  The  city  of  Du  Luth  is  picturesquely 
situated  on  a  hill,  whence  a  beautiful  view  of  lake  Superior  can 
be  obtained,  and  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Louis  river  helps  to  make 
the  outlook  more  charming.  The  growth  of  the  city  has  been 
and  still  is  extraordinary.  Seven  years  ago  a  dense  forest  cover- 
ed the  ground,  where  the  busy  hive  of  industry  is  now  planted, 


■cars,  and  the 

pupils  is  an 

stoin    in  "\Vi- 

iilcd   for  tlic 

y.     The  liigh 

foment  of  the 

'rves  mention 

[ire  some  very 

ilance  of  chil- 

;ition  fully  up 

gs  are  located 

supported   in 

ng  ornaments 


vnown  to  have 
low  comprised 
3  territoiy  the 
lie  falls  of  St. 
whom  he  had 
as  the  state  of 
lis  county,  and 
perior,  twelve 
of  the  city  of 
for  their  cour- 
k'ilizcd  society, 
'OSS   the  ocean 
tulioiKil  horror 
i  of  converting 
hers  as  well  as 
of  good  maps 
.'al liable  mem- 
picturosqMcly 
Superior  can 
lelps  to  make 
city  has  been 
0  forest  cover- 
now  planted, 


VmscivAJ.  CiTiKs  OF  loyrA. 


55 


9 


and  in  one  year  from  that  time  when  the  census  was  compiled  in 
1870,  there  were  3,131  inhabitants  in  the  place,  and  their  intel- 
lectual vitality  was  attested  by  the  flourishing  condition  of  four 
newspapers.  The  centennial  year  will  probably  close  on  a  popu- 
lation of  nearly  ten  thousand  souls,  in  the  rapidly  developing  city. 
The  eastern  terminus  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  is  located  in 
Du  Luth,  and  tlic  Lake  Superior  and  Mississippi  Railroad  has  hero 
u  thriving  station.  Mining  enterprise  in  the  Lake  Superior  coun- 
try will  tend  tt)  develop  Du  Luth  for  very  many  years  to  come,  as 
there  are  never  ending  stores  of  mineral  wealth  to  be  unearthed 
in  ulnujst  every  section  of  that  grand  Iioking  coast.  There  are 
many  churches  in  active  operation  here,  some  of  them  quite  hand- 
some, and  several  schools  have  been  established  almost  from  the 
beginning,  but  more  are  required. 


CHAPTER   XLIV. 


TRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  IOWA. 


Dcs   Moines  —  Davenport  —  Dubufpie —  Burlington 

IJlufis. 


Keokuk  —  Council 


Des  MoiXES  was  orginally  famous  as  a  fort,  and  was  long 
known  as  Fort  Des  !Moines,  having  been  selected  by  officers  of 
the  United  States  army,  as  an  eligible  site  on  which  to  establish  a 
permanent  military  post,  to  preserve  peace  among  the  Indian 
tribes,  and  to  prevent  incursions  of  white  settlers  into  their  terri- 
tory. After  the  Black  Hawk  war  and  the  contingent  purchase 
from  the  Indians  of  part  of  their  claims  in  what  is  now  known  as 
the  state  of  Iowa,  had  been  sup])lcmcnted  by  additional  pur- 
chases to  the  extent  of  $1,000,000,  the  red  man  was  cleared  from 
the  territory,  and  at  the  time  fixed  for  entering  upon  and  settling 
the  country,  the  scene  around  Fort  Des  Moines  was  exciting  in 
the  extreme.  The  signal  gun  fired  at  Fort  Dcs  ^[oines  at  midnight 
preceding  the  11th  day  of  Oct.  1845,  was  repeated  by  hun- 
dreds  of   signal   men,   stationed  in  a  cordon  along  the  frontier 


.•!■ 


I. 


M 


II 


500 


TvTTufs  Ci:\Ti:yxrAL  NoiiTinvKST. 


jf  tin!  land  oi  proiiiiso,  and  thereupon  every  man  within  roach  of 
the  sound  starteil  on  foot,  on  horsebaek  or  in  whatever  eon- 
veyanee  lie  iio.ssossed,  to  stake  out,  mark,  blaze,  or  in  some  other 
way  indieate  tin:  lot  upon  which  it  was  his  intention  to  l(;eato 
a  claim.  !^[o.st  of  the  .settlers  were  providetl  with  pitch  pine 
and  other  torches,  and  the  work  was  accomplisheil  in  a  very  sys- 
tematic way,  so  that  in  the  end  when  the  lands  were  reguhirly 
surveyed  and  legal  titles  could  be  obtained  by  the  population  so 
hastil}^  spread  (jvcr  the  land,  very  few  disputes  arose  as  to  pre- 
emptions and  in  the  only  case  in  which  one  settler  attem[)ted  to 
take  advantage  of  another,  the  primitive  claim  committee  made 
it  so  warm  for  the  intruder  that  he  was  compelled  to  come  t(> 
terms  and  foreswear  coveting  the  property  that  was  not  his  own. 

The  steamer  Jone,  with  Capt.  James  Allen  in  conunanJ,  was 
the  first  steamer  that  ever  ascended  the  Des  Moines  river,  and 
the  captain  made  his  debarkation  at  the  mouth  of  the  llaccoon 
river,  on  the  site  of  Des  ^^oines,  in  May,  18-i;].  The  troops  built 
a  fort  there,  and  for  more  than  two  years  were  ''  monarchs  of  all 
they  surveyed  "  in  tin.'  newly  purchased  territory.  In  the  year 
1850,  there  were  oiilv  fi'vc  hundred  and  fifty-two  people  on  the 
ground,  but  the  ailvatiiages  of  the  situation  were  beginning  to  bo 
appreciated,  and  in  Kt'tiJ,  the  census  showed  an  increase  to  nearly 
four  thou.sand.  Tlie  last  census,  in  1870,  enumerated  over  twelve 
thousand,  and  nujre  than  twice  that  number  will  soon  be  the 
estimated  population  of  the  city,  lirooklyn,  now  a  beautiful 
suburb  iii  l>es  Moines,  was,  in  ISIO,  a  vigorous  rival  for  the 
honor  of  being  the  county  seat,  but  Polk  county  went  for  Des 
Moines  hy  a  considerable  majority,  and  nine  years  later,  in  1855, 
the  state  cajntal  was  located  at  this  point,  the  geographical  center 
of  the  state.  The  Des  Moines  river  would  have  been  made 
navigable  by  improvements  to  the  point  where  the  city  stands 
but  for  tlie  rapid  development  of  railroads  immediately  after  the 
city  rcse  into  notice,  and  now  the  accommodation  in  tliat  respect 
is  so  conii)lete  that  the  river  can  be  given  up  to  the  furtherance 
of  manufactures  without  loss,  'i'herc  are  no  less  than  six  lines  of 
railroad  comi)cting  for  the  carrying  trade  of  the  city  :  the  Chicago, 
Rock  Island  antl  Pacific;  the  Des  Moines  and  Fort  Dodge;  the 
Keokuk  and  Des  Moines;  the  Des  Moines,  Indianola  and  Mis- 


tliin  reach  of 
latcvcr  coii- 
II  .soiiu!  other 
I'll  to  locate 
'  pitch  pino 
III  a  very  sys- 
lu  regularly 
liopuhiiioii  so 
.se  as  to  pre- 
attorn |;tcil  to 
iiiittee    iiKulo 
I  to  conic   t(> 
let  his  own. 
jnimanj,  was 
cs  river,  and 
the  llaccoon 

0  trooj)s  built 
)narchs  of  all 

In  tiie  year 
)eopIe  on  the 
ginning  to  bo 
.'asc  to  nearly 
d  over  twelve 
soon  be  tlic 
V  a  beautiful 
rival  for  the 
vent  for  Dcs 
Iter,  in  18o5, 
phical  center 
i  been  made 
3  city  stands 
tely  after  the 
that  respect 
furtherance 

1  six  lines  of 
the  Chicago, 

Dodge;  the 
la  and  Mis- 


M 


i^^'^ 


i^m 


^^ilN* 


, 

1 

V      -      .          ,j. 

% 

rmm. 


mmmt 


PnixciPAL  Cities  of  Iowa. 


561 


^li 


■-r:/ 


f 


} 


souri  ;    the  Des  Moines  and  Minnesota  ;   and  tlie  Dcs  ^Moines, 
Winteiset  and  Sovth western.     Besides  these  lines,  all  of  wliieh 
are  in  full  working  order,  there  are  otlicr  lines  which  are  now  rcady 
or  wliich  soon   will   be  ready  to  eommenee  operations.     "  The 
situation  of   Des  Moines  is  picturesque,   occupying  chiefly  the 
vr\lley  and  slopes  of  the  hills  on  bcLh  the  east  and  west  sides  of 
the  river,  the  hills  swelling  into  a  grand  semicircle  of  bluffs,  which 
sweep  the  horizon  on  nearly  all  sides.     From  these  bluffs  fine 
views  are  obtained,  and  on  their  sides  and  summits  are  man}'  of 
the  most  costly  and  elegant  residences  of  the  cit}*.     From  the 
western  extremity  to  Capitol  '^^ill  on  the  cast,  the  sweep  is  grand 
and  imposing,  and  is  best  witnessed  from  the  elevations  of  Park 
Hill,  south  of  the  Raccoon  river  —  a  poirt  commanding  a  view  of 
the  entire  cit}'.    The  city  is  not  compact  except  in  its  business  por- 
tion, but  scattered  over  considerable  territory,  the  corporation  limits 
extending  two  and  a  half  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  four  and 
a  half  miles  from  cast  to  west      The  traveler  is  apt  to  be  deceived 
in   the  number  of   inhabitants,   a;^  many  of  the  residences  are 
scattered  far  back  on  the  wooded  hills,  v.'here  Lhey  are  invisible 
from   the  business  part  of  the  city."'     The  level  portion  of  the 
town  plat  suffices  for  all  the  business  requirements  of  the  present 
day,  and  there  will  be  space  enough  to  accommodate  the  demands 
of  commerce  when  the  city  and  the  state  possess  ten  times  their 
present  population.     The  distance  of  Des  Moines  from  Chicago 
by  railroad  i.-^  just  357  miles ;  from  Council  BlufTs  and  the  city  of 
Omaha,  l-i2  miles;  and  from  Keokuk,  161 ;  Davenport  is  just  17-1 
miles  from  this  city;   thus,  "die  situation  of  Des  Moines,  as  to 
commercial   advantages,   compares  favorably   with   any  city  in 
Iowa.     Although  it  has  not  the  river  navigation,  like  the  cities 
along  the  eastern  border,  yet,  its  location  is  central,  in  the  midst 
of  a  large  area  unoccupied  by  any  rival  city,  and  in  one  of  the 
richest  agricultural  districts  in  the  country.     Besides  its  railroad 
system  —  becoming  more  and  more  the  rival  of  water  navigation 
every  year,   and  destined  at  no  very  distant  day  to  supersede  it 
almost  entirely  —  gives  it  great  ^.ommercial  advantnges,  the  roads 
centering  here  and  radiating  into  all  parts  of  the  country  cast, 
west,  north  and  south.     While  Dcs  Moines  has  a  just  pride  in 
being  the  seat  of  government  of  a  state  which,  in  comparatively 


I'    M 


rl  ?' 


•w(Jfc(»a5^Kj*».-r^  -ijer,- J- 


562 


TUTTL.^'S   CeXTL'XXIAL  XoiiTIlWEST. 


few  3'cai-?,  lias  attaincl  to  the  ranlc  of  third  in  agricultural  im- 
portance in  the  union,  yet  he-  growth  and  stability  by  no  means 
depend  upon  the  location  of  the  capital,  and  the  advantages 
■  derived  fiom  the  business  which  it  creates  and  fosters.  She  has 
resources  of  her  own,  derived  from  the  rich  surrounding  '  ountry, 
the  agricultural  and  mineral  wealth  of  the  viciuit.  a;  ler 
facilities  and  advantages  for  manufacturinrj." 

Tlie  public  buildings  of  Des  Moines  are  vv..y  fine  ;  the  Lnitcd 
States  court  houac,  post  office,  opera  house  and  many  of  the  bufi- 
ness  blocks  arc  very  handsome,  the  hotels  of  the  citv  being  s'iceial 
features  of  which  the  people  are  justly  proud.     The  streets  are  well 
laid  out,  and  the  aspects  of  the  business  thoroughfares  te.-tify  to  a, 
very  large  amount  of  trade.     The  river  flows  through  the  heart 
of  the  city,  the  rivals  of  earlier  days  having  becoinc  one  by  com- 
mercial and  manufacturing  extension,  and  the  beautiful  stream  is 
crossed  upon  four  costly  bridges,  600  feet  in  length,  ^.hile  the 
Raccoon  river  has  two  bridges,  affording  to  South  Des  Moines  and 
the  ricli   ,-'rairies  beyond  easy  communication  with  the  various 
parts  of  the  cit}'.     "  Owing  to  the  location  of  the  capitol,  the  east 
side  is  scaiely  less  important  than  that  west  of  tlie  river,  and  ""' 
the  future  developuient  and  growth  of  the  city,  it  will  all  become 
one  compi-ct  mass,  with  its  continuous  streets  joined  by  bridges 
on  both  sides.     The  principal  streets  running  east  and  west  arc 
laid  ont  in  this  manner,  and  arc  numbered  from  tlie  river  each 
way,  east  of  the  river  being   East  Court  avenue.  East  Walnut 
street,  etc.,  and  vice  versa.'''     Des  Moines  is  divided  into  two  dis- 
tricts for  school  purpo.ses,  east  and  west,  and  each  district  has  its 
independent  school  board.     The  west -rn  distr-'   .  th  t  is  to  spy 
the  site  of  Fort  Des  Moines,  has  four  school  buildings  in  all.  <■■)•: 
taining  twenty-eight  rooms,  and  seats  for   1,716  pupils.        !' ■ 
number  of  children  of  school  age  is  2,728.     The  enrolled  is  l,7yi', 
or  6-1  1-5  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  <1  ;ible,  a  considerably 
larger  per  cent,  than  is  found  in  m('>,  vi  tlu'  .  i'ios  of  the  United 
States,  except  Boston  and  San  Francisco,  vv!.;;    the  per  centago 
is  95  and  81  respectively.     The  value  of  .school  propert}-  in  the 
west  district  is  ,$210,290.     Tlic  number  of  schools  is  twenty-four, 
viz. :     one  ungraded  school, .thirteen  primary  schools,  nine  gram- 
mar schools,  and  one  high  school.     The  teachers  employed  are 


;ultaval  im- 

)y  no  means 

advantages 

;.     She  lias 

ng  rountry, 


t, .     a 


tliG  U  nitcd 
of  the  UavA- 
being  i?]'Ocial 
reets  are  well 
■s  testify  to  a 
iA\  the  heart 
one  by  cona- 
iful  stream  is 
th,  ^,hilc  the 
;s  Moines  and 
1  the  various 
pitol,  the  east 
river,  and  '-' 
ill  all  become 
cd  by  bridges 
and  west  are 
lie  river  each 
East  Walnut 
into  two  dis- 
listrict  has  its 
,!i  t  is  to  spy 
1CC3  in  all.  '■•!; 
pupils.       Tc- 
rolled  is  l,75ii, 
a,  considerably 
of  the  United 
r;  per  cenlage 
)roperty  in  the 
is  twenty-four, 
als,  nine  gram- 
employed  are 


Principal  Cities  of  Iowa. 


568 


t\\  enty-seven  —  four  males  and  twenty-three  females.  The  course 
of  study  ill  all  grades  is  thorough  and  progressive,  and  in  the 
high  school  extends  through  four  years,  embracing  the  languages, 
natural  pliilosophv  -^nd  the  higher  mathematics.  Brooklyn,  or 
Kast  Des  Moines  District,  has  two  brick  school  buildings,  and  a 
third  is  about  to  be  erected.  Tne  schools  arc  prraded,  embracing 
primary,  intermediate,  grammar  and  high  schools.  The  building 
crntaining  the  high  school  is  an  elegant  three-story  brick  struc- 
ture, and  cost  the  district  about  $30,000,  inclusive  of  furniture. 
The  number  of  children  of  school  age  in  the  district  is  1,570. 

Des  IMoines  is  the  center  of  a  fine  farming  country,  and  ship- 
ments are  very  large  from  that  source;  but  manufactures  arc  the 
chief  reliance  of  the  capital.  There  are  thrcr  immense  packing 
houses  in  the  city,  eighteen  hotels,  six  banks,  one  woolen  tnill, 
one  oil  mill,  two  stoneware  factories,  two  large  establishments  for 
the  manufacture  of  school  furniture,  five  machine  shops  and  foun- 
dries, three  plow  manufactories,  one  of  which  manufactures  fifteen 
hundred  plo\^s  every  year,  a  brass  foundry,  two  boiler  factories, 
several  planing  mills,  four  carriage  manufactories,  two  extensive 
marble  works,  a  weight  and  scale  factory,  a  paper  mill,  a  spice 
mill,  and  flouring  mills  in  abundance.  The  Holly  systen".  of 
water  works  is  operated  in  Des  ^loincs,  and  the  j^eople  are  well 
served  ;  the  city  is  lighted  with  gas,  and  the  railroad  corporations 
are  expected  to  make  gr.>at  improv-'ments  in  their  depot  accom- 
modations very  soon.  K.any  of  the  private  residences  in  De3 
Moines  arc  very  elegant. 

The  capitol  building  is  estimated  to  have  cost  considerably 
more  than  .$3,000,000.  The  old  state  house  was  a  very  plain  but 
commodious  structure,  and  the  wealth  of  the  state  could  well  ex- 
pond  itself  in  such  an  edifice  to  adorn  a  capital  on  which  nature 
had  been  so  lavish.  There  are  twenty-three  churches  in  De.s 
Moines,  and  almost  every  great  variety  of  Christian  denomina- 
tion is  represented  in  the  host  of  worshipers.  The  number  of 
ne'vspa])ers  and  publications  in  the  city  is  lej^on,  and  many  of 
the  papers  are  above  the  average  in  point  of  merit  and  beauty  in 
jiroduction.  There  are  fourteen  standard  newspapers,  besides  a 
number  of  periodicals  and  occasional  publication!^.  The  Des 
Moinci.  university  is  an  institution  under  the  auspices  of  the 


'! 


0    !>. 
.1  1 


!       >        'I 


564 


Tuttle's  Centennial  NonrinvEST. 


If--; 


;ij; 


t¥'*''"''' 


U'i 


11 


mu 


Baptists,  although  it  was  first  built  and  conducted  by  the  Luther- 
ti.'s.  It  is  a  very  flourishing  establishment.  There  is-  a  literary 
a£..c  a  in  Des  Moines,  which  opens  its  library  and  reading 

rooni  the  public  on  every  working  day,  and  the  building  is 
much  frequented.  The  citizens  have  opened  i.n  olfice,  under  the 
title  of  the  "  Citizens'  Association,"  for  the  purpose  of  affording 
information  to  new  comers,  and  to  serve  as  a  kind  of  registry  of 
Avants,  which  has  been  found  very  useful  already,  and  will  be 
still  more  so.  The  public  at  a  distance,  desirous  to  procure  relia- 
ble information  as  to  the  city,  can  procure  the  fullest  detail  on 
any  topic  under  that  heading  from  the  officers  of  the  association. 
There  is  also  a  society  of  old  settlers,  who  desire  to  preserve  the 
memories  of  the  earlier  days,  when  the  grounds  around  Fort  Des 
!Moines  were  still  warm  with  the  council  fires  of  the  red  men,  and 
only  a  few  special  favorites  among  white  men  were  permitted  to 
enter  the  much  cherished  region.  Where  the  city  now  sits  in 
beauty,  was  for  a  long  time  the  council  ground  of  the  tribe  of  Iowa 
Indians  who  have  left  their  name  and  their  ashes  as  almost  their 
only  mementoes  in  the  land.  Coal  is  one  of  the  produo':?  of  Iowa, 
which  will  help  still  further  to  enlarge  the  dimensions  of  the  cap- 
ital, and  the  exposures  of  stone  in  many  cases  have  led  to  the 
opening  of  quarries,  which  can  hardly  be  excelled  on  this  conti- 
nent for  beauty  and  fineness  of  texture.  The  water  powers  of 
the  Des  Moines  river  are  almost  without  limit,  and  the  farming 
community  on  both  sides  of  that  delightful  stream  have  an  extent 
of  country  which  can  hardly  be  surpassed  for  I'^riility  and  variety 
of  soil. 

DAVENrouT  is  the  principal  city  in  the  state  of  Iowa,  and  i.  e 
seat  of  justice  for  Scott  county.  It  stands  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Mississippi  river,  opposite  to  Rock  Island,  two  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  from  St.  Louis.  There  is  a  very  fine  bridge  connect- 
ing the  city  with  Rock  Island.  Back  of  the  city  a  very  hand- 
some bluff  rises  into  majestic  proportions,  giving  a  remarkable 
back  ground  to  Davenport.  The  upper  rapids  of  the  Mississijipi 
are  near  the  city,  and  the  water  power  thus  offered  for  the  use  of 
mankind  is  stupendous.  The  city  stands  on  n.  plain  inclined 
toward  the  river  sufficiently  for  drainage,  on  which  forest.-  of 


'%: 


4 


PltlS'CirAL   CiTIKS  OF  loWA. 


565 


y 


11 


ly  ilie  Lutlier- 

Q  is-  a  literary 

and  reading 

ic  building  is 

ice,  under  the 

0  of  affording 

of  registry  of 

and  will  be 

procure  relia- 

est  detail  on 

the  association. 

0  preserve  tbe 

ound  Fort  Des 

e  red  men,  and 

•e  permitted  to 

:ity  now  sits  in 

lie  tribe  of  Iowa 

[  as  almost  their 

mdue':?  of  Iowa, 

sions  of  the  cap- 

lave  led  to  the 

1  on  this  conti- 

?atcr  powers  of 

md  the  farming 

1  have  an  extent 

ility  and  variety 


)f  Iowa,  and  i.  e 
ic  right  bank  of 
vo  hundred  and 
;  bridge  coimect- 
lity  a  very  hand- 
ig  a  remarkable 
■  the  Mississippi 
3d  for  the  use  of 
a  plain  inclined 
which  forest.-   of 


timber  used  to  stand,  and  to  wiiich  other  forests  of  masts  may 
yet  come,  unless  railways,  in  course  of  time,  banish  all  desire  for 
river  navigation.  The  bottom  lands  between  the  bluffs  and  the 
river  vary  from  one  to  two  miles  in  breadth.  "At  a  point  about 
three  miles  above  the  city  the  bluffs  open  out  into  a  beautiful 
prairie  called  Pleasant  Valley.  Immediately  back  of  the  city  of 
Davenport,  the  slope  from  the  top  of  the  bluffs  to  Duck  creek  is 
one  of  uncommon  beauty  and  richness,  being  a  rolling  prairie 
covered  with  gardens,  orchards  and  fields,  in  the  highest  state  of 
cultivation.  Duck  creek,  rising  in  Blue  Grass,  about  ten  miles 
distant  from  the  city,  passes  through  the  whole  length  of  Daven- 
port township,  and  running  east  empties  into  the  Mississippi  about 
five  miles  above  the  city.  Its  course  is  up  stream,  parallel  with 
the  Mississippi  for  a  considerable  portion  of  its  length,  and  only 
one  or  two  miles  back  from  the  river."  The  underlying  forma- 
tion of  Davenport  is  white  or  light  gray  limestone,  which  crops 
out  on  the  river  bank  in  many  places,  and,  near  East  Davenport, 
presents  to  view  perpendicular  cliffs  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
feet  in  height.  Coriiel'ins,  agates  and  porphyry  in  various  forms 
are  found  in  and  mixed  with  the  dehrits  of  this  formation.  Look- 
ing at  the  amphitheater  of  hills  enclosing  the  city,  and  contem- 
plating the  city  itself  with  its  immense  business  houses,  tall 
chimneys  and  busy  thoroughfares,  it  presents  every  aspect  of  a 
prosperous  commercial  and  manufacturing  city.  It  is  regularly 
laid  out,  with  broad,  ornamental  streets,  and,  besides  the  county 
buildings  and  the  city  hall,  contains  many  substantial  and  ele- 
gant edifices,  among  which  is  one  of  the  finest  opera  houses  in 
the  west.  The  population  of  Davenport  in  1840  was  600;  in 
1850,  1,848;  in  1860,  11,267;  in  1870,  20,038;  and  is  now  about 
28,000.  The  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  and  the  Daven- 
port and  St.  Pi\ul  llailroads  pass  through  the  city.  The  old 
bridge  connecting  Davenport  with  Rock  Island  has  recently  been 
replaced  by  one  of  wrought  iron,  resting  on  massive  piers  of  stone, 
which,  besides  a  rail  track,  has  accommodations  for  carriages  and 
pedestrians.  It  vvas  built  partly  by  the  United  States  and  partly 
by  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  at ;, 
cost  of  $1,000,000.  Davenport  has  all  the  improvements  of  a 
modern  city  —  gaslight,  water  works,  and  several   miles  of  street 


>■]■'. 


Ii  r 


566 


TuTTLE's  CEXl'EXyiAL  XoBrilWEST. 


ruihv;)}'.  She  lias  an  iinmen.sc  water  power,  and  is  one  of  ihc 
largest  grain  depots  of  the  U])per  Mississippi.  Where  Davenport 
now  stands  a  claim  was  made  in  the  year  1833,  but  the  partners 
in  the  venture  quarreled  and  eventually  sold  their  joint  iiitere^sts 
to  a  third  party  for  a  mere  bagatelle.  The  purchaser  having  in- 
duced others  to  take  an  interest  in  his  venture,  a  town  was  pro- 
jected on  the  site,  and  in  the  following  year,  1830,  the  town  was 
laid  out,  but  the  first  four  years  of  its  life  only  found  and  at- 
tracted a  little  population  of  four  hundred.  Col.  Davenport, 
who.^e  name  is  perpetuated  in  the  appellation  of  the  city,  was  an 
Englishman  who  very  early  in  life  identified  himself  with  this 
country,  and  rose  to  military  rank  in  actual  service,  fighting  the 
battles  of  the  union,  lie  was  a  man  much  respected  by  all  good 
citizens,  but  his  death  was  tragic  in  its  features,  as  in  his  old  aire 
Le  was  inurdered  in  his  own  house  on  Rock  Island  by  several 
desperadoes,  whose  designs  he  had  frustrated  some  time  before. 
*'  From  1805  to  1815  he  was  attached  to  the  army.  lie  was  with 
Gen.  Wilkinson  at  the  Sabine  during  the  tnjuble  with  Aaron 
Burr,  and  in  the  war  of  1812,  in  the  defense  of  Fort  Eric  and  at 
the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane.  lie  accompanied  the  first  expedi- 
tion (1805)  which  ascended  the  Mississippi  to  pacificatc  the  hostile 
Indians,  and  assisted  in  founding  Fort  Armstrong  on  Kock  Isl- 
and. In  1818,  he  settled  upon  the  island,  where  he  resided  till 
bis  death.  He  was  a  partner  in  the  American  Fur  Company  till 
its  withdrawal  from  the  Mississippi,  after  which,  till  he  rctire(l 
I'roni  business,  he  carried  on  the  trade  alone  with  the  Indians.  lie 
"v\'as  a  man  of  excellent  character,  generous  and  whole-souled,  and 
had  an  eventful  experience  in  frontier  life."  The  town  of  Daven- 
j)ort  was  incorporated  by  a  special  act  of  the  legislature  in  the 
year  1838,  and  in  the  same  year  the  first  brick  house  in  the  city 
■was  erected.  In  the  year  18-10,  the  place  had  become  of  sufli- 
cient  importance  to  be  nominated  for  the  assembly  of  the  firs', 
whig  convention,  and  the  bands  of  music  present  on  that  occasion 
did  not  all  of  them  contribute  harmony  to  the  scene.  Four  years 
later  the  first  steam  mill  was  erected  at  this  point,  and  in  the  year 
1853,  express  and  telegraph  offices  were  in  full  work  in  the  busy, 
thriving  town.  One  firm,  in  1851,  in  the  city  of  Davenport,  ran 
a  bu!?iness  which  aggregated  over  $700,000  within  the  year.  Their 


ono  of  tliG 
Davenport 
10  ])artiiers 
iiit  i!itere:^ts 
having  la- 
wn was  ])Vo- 
10  town  was 
and  and   at- 
I)avcnp(.'i't, 
city,  was  an 
.;lf  with  this 
fisfhtinsx  the 
I  by  all  good 
1  his  old  ago 
d  by  several 
time  before. 
He  was  with 
with   Aaron 
;  Eric  and  at 
first  expcdi- 
xtc  the  hostile 
on  Kock  Isl- 
le  resided  till 
Company  till 
ill  ho  retired 
!  Indians.  lie 
Ic-soulcd,  and 
wn  of  Daven- 
latiire  in  the 
so  in  the  eity 
ome  of  sufli- 
y  of  the  firs'. 
that  occasion 
I.    Four  years 
id  in  the  year 
V  in  the  busy, 
lavcnport,  ran 
10  year. 


Their 


PniNciVAL  Cities  of  Iowa. 


567 


flour  mills  turned  out  o^.O  barrels  in  a  day,  and,  in  the  preceding 
y  r,  the  i>roprietors  of  the  Albion  mills,  being  multifarious  in 
their  operations,  packed  11>,000  hog.s.  Thus  the  city  was  built 
up  by  first  class  energy  from  almost  the  beginning,  and  it  has 
never  gone  back  upon  its  record.  Davenport  has  eight  public 
school  houses,  many  of  which  are  costly  and  commodious  build- 
ings, supplied  with  able  and  efficient  teachers.  The  schools  are 
under  the  nianagcment  of  a  city  superintendent  and  a  board  of 
education,  and  are  graded  in  primai'y,  intermediate,  grammar  and 
high  school  departments.  In  no  city  west  of  tie  Mississippi,  are 
the  public  schools  in  a  better  condition  than  in  Davenport.  Pains 
have  been  taken  to  elect  men  to  regulate  the  schools  who  are  in- 
telligent and  of  high  moral  character.  There  are  many  deservedly 
popular  select  schools,  yet  the  interest  in  the  common  schools  of  the 
city  lias  gradually  incrca.sed  in  proportion  to  the  efficiency  of  their 
management,  and  experience  demonstrates  the  advantages  of  a 
free  school  system,  open  to  all  classes,  in  which  the  rich  and 
the  poor  alike  have  the  o])portunities  of  an  education.  Tlie 
newspaper  interest  in  Davenport  is  very  strong,  as  there  arc  sev- 
eral really  excellent  journals  representing  the  views  of  their  re- 
spective parties  with  that  smartness  and  admirable  elTect  which 
belongs  specially  to  the  press  of  the  union.  The  city  has  many 
important  manufactories,  and,  a  fine  quality  of  stone  coal  having 
been  found  here,  many  of  the  works  are  run  by  steam  in  prefer- 
ence to  water  power.  Cotton  cloth,  and  a  very  fine  quality  of 
woolens  are  manufactured  here.  The  rapids,  which  extend  along 
the  Mississippi  for  about  twenty  miles  above  Davenport,  seriously 
impede  the  navigation  of  the  river  during  the  sea.son  of  low  wa- 
ter. There  are  many  churches  in  Davenport,  some  of  them  occu- 
pying beautiful  edifices  and  representing  every  shade  of  religious 
thought,  from  the  Catholic  and  Episcopalian  to  the  Svvcdenborgian 
and  Unitarian.  Griswold  college  is  one  of  the  most  flourishing 
institutions  here,  and  the  Catholic  college  is  also  a  success. 

DriU'QUE  is  a  very  flourishing  city,  and  commercially  it  takes 
the  lead  of  the  whole  state.  The  first  settlement  at  this  point  was 
made  by  a  colony  of  miners  from  Prairie  du  Chicn  under  Ju- 
lian Dubuque  in  178S  — one  hundred  and  fifteen  years  after  the 


•    fHl 


;1       J 


<n 


¥ 

i 
.,  i: 


f       t! 


1^ 


I;  Mi 


fil    'i*     '     I  '1. 


4*  r 


fl'^  'i 


n    I ' 


t 


668 


Tuttle's  Cijxtenxial  Northwest. 


cliscovei'j  during  the  famous  voyage  by  Marquette  and  Joliet.  Tlie 
territory  now  belonging  to  Iowa  was  a  part  of  the  Spanish  prov- 
inee  of  Louisiana,  and  the  northern  portion  of  the  present  state 
.■was  occupied  by  the  Fox  Indians.  From  the  chiefs  and  braves 
of  these  Indians,  in  council  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  September  22, 
1788,  Julicn  Dubuque  obtained  a  permit  to  work  the  lead  mines, 
and  in  that  year  sent  here  nine  Frenchmen  as  miners.  The 
mining  territory  claimed  by  Dubuque,  as  shown  by  a  petition  to 
Baron  Carondelet,  governor  of  Louisiana,  for  a  confirmation  of  his 
purchase  from  the  Indians,  in  1795,  was  about  seven  leagues  along 
the  Mississippi,  extending  from  the  Little  Maquokcta,  several 
miles  north  of  the  city,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tetes  des  Morts,  then 
known  as  the  Mcsquabysnonques,  several  miles  below.  The  dis- 
tance between  these  points  is  about  sixteen  miles.  The  claim  ex- 
tended "  three  leagues"  in  width  from  the  river,  including  the 
prairie  and  blufls  on  which  the  city  is  situated,  and  nearly  all  the 
lead  bearing  land  in  the  vicinity.  On  the  petition,  a  mining  priv- 
ilege was  granted  to  Dubuque,  Scpteinber  10,  179(5,  whicli,  how- 
ever, was  never  confirmed  by  the  Spanish  government.  Dubuque 
lived  on  good  terms  witli  the  Indian.^,  acquired  great  influence 
over  them,  was  a  patriarchal  chief  in  his  colony,  collected  a  num 
ber  of  French  and  half-breeds,  built  a  furnace  for  smelting  lead, 
a  horse  power  mill,  and  carried  on  trade  with  the  Indians  in  the 
sale  of  goods  obtained  in  exchange  for  lead  at  St.  Louis.  Julicn 
Dubuque  died  in  the  year  1810,  at  the  early  age  of  45,  and  the 
inscription  on  his  tombstone  described  him  as  "a  miner  of  the 
mines  of  Spain."  Before  his  death  he  had  deeded  about  twenty 
thousand  acres  of  his  grant  to  M.  Auguste  Choteau,  of  St.  Louis, 
with  whom  probably  he  had  long  been  in  business  relations,  but 
there  was  no  immediately  beneficial  result  for  the  grantee.  For 
the  next  fifteen  years  little  was  done  by  the  French  miners, 
.ilthough  many  remained  in  the  vicinity  nearly  twenty  3-ears. 
The  settlement  was  broken  up  in  the  fierce  Indian  wars.  But  the 
Indian  owners,  sometimes  driven  away  by  their  enemies,  the 
Sioux,  at  length  gained  strength  enough  to  maintain  their  posi- 
tion, and  carried  on  mining  to  a  conside'-\ble  extent.  They 
claimed  that  Dubuque  had  only  a  life  i;. wrest  in  the  privilege 
they  had  granted  him.     In   mining  circles  the  operations  of  Du- 


PiiiycTP.tL  Cities  of  Iowa. 


569 


Joliet.  Tlie 
banish  prov- 
present  state 
and  braves 
|j)ternbcr  22, 
lead  mines, 
[liners.     The 
a  petition  to 
nation  of  his 
leagues  along 
kcta,  several 
5  Morts,  then 
w.     The  dis- 
'he  claim  ex- 
ncl tiding  the 
nearly  all  the 
mining  priv- 
,  which,  how- 
t.     Dubuque 
rcat  influence 
Iccted  a  num 
^melting  lead, 
ndians  in  the 
louis.     Julien 
)f  45,  and  the 
miner  of  the 
about  twenty 
(jf  St.  Louis, 
relations,  but 
p'antee.     For 
ench  miners, 
wenty  years, 
irs.     But  the 
cricmics,   the 
in  their  posi- 
tent.      They 
the  privilege 
ations  of  Du- 


buque had  not  been  forgotten,  but  the  Indians  guarded  the  mines 
with  such  scrupulosity,  that  white  men  could  hardly  efTcet  a  land- 
ing to  examine  the  old  workings,  which  were  for  a  long  time  cov- 
ered with  grass.  The  Great  Spirit  was  said  to  have  cautioned 
them  against  allowing  the  mines  to  be  worked,  and  the  general 
government  did  not  encourage  incursions  into  Indian  territory. 
In  the  year  1830,  the  Lc  ,worthys  crossed  the  Mississippi  to  Du- 
buque in  canoes,  swimming  their  horses,  and  they  found  the 
region  abandoned  by  the  Indians,  whose  tracks  were  yet  fresh. 
Indian  traders  were  the  only  white  men  near  them  on  this  side  of 
the  Mississippi  between  Des  ^[olne.s,  and  Astoria  on  the  Colum- 
bus river.  The  last  vestige  of  the  Dubuque  party  had  departed 
some  time  before.  The  stalks  of  the  last  year's  corn  waved  over 
the  present  site  of  Dubuque,  and  for  miles  on  cither  side.  The 
village  of  Indians,  which  had  subsisted  for  many  years  at  the 
mouth  of  Catfish  creek,  had  been  broken  up  for  some  mysterious 
reason,  and  the  remains  of  the  old  wigwams  alone  told  of  the  gen- 
erations of  red  men  that  had  come  and  gone.  There  were  the 
wrecks  of  furnaces  in  which  the. feasts  of  the  tribes  had  been  pre- 
pared on  great  occasions,  and  in  a  council  room  which  had  wit- 
nessed many  gatherings  to  discuss  the  relative  merits  of  war  and 
.peace,  there  were  rude  paintings  intended  to  delineate  and  immor- 
talize the  deeds  of  their  braves.  Such  a  memento  of  the  pictured 
literature  of  the  tribes  should  have  been  preserved,  but  unfortu- 
nately some  Goths  who  visited  the  place  in  the  year  of  the  Lang- 
worthys  arrival,  either  by  accident  or  design,  destroyed  the  coun- 
cil house  by  fire.  The  miners  assembled  at  Dubuque  were  out- 
side the  territory  of  the  United  States  in  1830,  and  they  formed 
a  commonwealth  for  mutual  protection,  under  which  the  rights 
of  individuals  were  defined  and  protected,  and  an  arbitrator  ap- 
pointed to  determine  all  matters  in  dispute.  The  mines  proved 
very  remunerative,  but  the  adventurers  were  not  allowed  to  en- 
joy the  results  of  their  enterprise,  as  the  lands  on  which  they 
were  trespassing  belonged  to  the  Sac  and  Fo.x;  Indians  under 
treaty,  and  complaints  having  been  made  to  the  government,  the 
wai"  department  issued  orders  to  Col.  Zaehary  Taylor,  then  sta- 
tioned with  a  force  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  to  drive  off  the  intruders. 
Col.  Taylor  had  no  option  but  to  obey,  and  after  a  notice  cour- 


'■"!• 


670 


TuTTLifs  Centennial  Noutiiweht. 


I'l  ;i' 


1.' 


1    .  u 


l/'1ll 


i     '! 


I  <     I 


f    ,,- 


teously  aciit  liad  been  found  inoperative,  the  tronjw  crossed  the 
river,  and  tlie  miners  of  course  retreated,  leaving  tlie  main  results 
of  tlicir  labors  to  be  appropriated  by  the  Inilians,  who  eontinued 
to  work  the  mines  under  the  protectir'n  of  a  military  force.  It  is 
estimated  that  tlic  red  men  carried  away  about  $20,U(iU  worlli  oi 
lead  from  the  reopened  workings,  being  assisted  in  their  opera- 
tions by  settlers  and  traders  on  the  Wisccjii.-'in  side  of  the  river. 
This  continued  until  tlie  end  of  1831,  but  in  ,JniH<,  1832,  the 
troops  wci'c  required  for  other  and  more  eongonial  work,  being 
recalled  into  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  to  fight  the  Indians,  and  prt)- 
tect  the  settlements  which  were  menaced  by  the  Black  Hawk  war. 
After  the  close  of  that  campaign  the  Black  Ilawk  purchase  opened 
up  part  of  Iowa  to  settlement,  but  a  remote  day  was  named  for 
taking  possession,  and  pending  that  time  the  Langworthys  and 
some  others,  having  resumed  their  work,  were  once  more  dispos- 
sessed by  the  military.  When  at  length  the  government  permit-, 
ted  the  mines  to  be  worked,  an  agent  was  appointed  to  inspect 
the  operations  of  the  miners,  and  to  collect  a  royalty  or  tax  upon 
their  winnings.  The  unfairness  of  a  special  tax  upon  an  industry 
so  full  of  risk  and  toil,  the  men  engaged  in  which  industry  were 
also  bearing  the  same  burdens  p.s  the  rest  of  the  communitv  in 
addition,  caused  so  much  dis-^atisfactioii  that  after  about  ten  3'ear3 
agitation  the  royalty  was  abandoned. 

Permanent  settlement  commenced  in  1833,  when  five  hundred 
persons  came  to  Dubuque,  about  one-third  of  the  number  coming 
from  Galena,  and  in  the  following  year  the  nai/ic  now  borne  by 
the  city  was  adopted  in  honor  of  the  first  comer  in  1788.  ]\rany 
of  the  settlers  first  attracted  to  Dubuque  were  men  accustomed 
to  kill  at  sight,  and  for  some  time  lynch  law  prevailed.  Gam- 
bling and  drinking  were  the  amusements  for  Sunda}',  and  the 
quarrels  arising  over  dice  and  cards  were  settled  bypist<;l  bullets. 
Ofllenders  were  dealt  with  by  vigilance  committees,  and  these  self- 
constituted  courts  of  justice  ajiportioned  punishments  from  flog- 
ging for  minor  misdeeds,  to  hanging  for  assaults  on  life,  doing,  on 
the  whole,  u  work  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  citizens,  until 
more  regular  authority  could  be  established  ;  but  in  the  year  1836, 
when  the  territorial  government  of  Wisconsin  was  inaugurated, 
the  more  distant  and  less  vigorous  administration  of  Michigan  was 


'if.i., 


I'lnS'CIl'AL   ClTlEU   OF  loM'A. 


>7l 


crossed  the 
main  results 
ID  coiiiiiiu(;(i 
force.  It  is 
M)0  worlii  of 
tlieir  openi- 

lof  the  river. 

I|ie,  1832,  tl!(3 

work,  being 
uis,  iiiid  2)ro- 
V  Hawk  wai-. 
•liasc  opened 
IS  named  for 
wortlijs  and 
more  disj)os- 
rncnt  permit-. 
'd  to  inspect 
or  tax  u})on 
I  an  industry 
ndustry  wcro 
ommunity  in 
:>ut  ten  years 

five  hundred 
nhcr  coming 
)vv  borne  by 
788.     .Afany 

accustomed 
iled.  Gam- 
ay,  and  the 
stol  bullets. 
J  these  solf- 
s  fi'om  flc)"- 
G,  doing,  on 
i^cns,  niitil 

year  183G, 
laugurated, 
ichigan  was 


rej)laccd  by  efTective  rule.  Tiic  first  term  of  court  in  Dubuque 
was  held  in  .Nfay,  IS37,  and  a  silver  qmirler  was  the  seal  used  on 
tlie  occasion.  The  fourth  of  July,  ISoO,  was  celebrated  in  Du- 
buque with  great  cdft,  because  it  eommemoratcd  the  political 
birth  of  Wisconsin  territory,  as  well  as  the  grand  declaration,  and 
twelve  days  later  a  public  dinner  was  given  to  Gov.  Dodge,  in  tho 
same  city.  Dubuque,  the  commercial  metropolis  of  Iowa,  was,  in 
those  days,  ambitious  to  ije  made  the  capital  (;f  Wisconsin.  The 
site  on  which  Dubuque  is  built  is  a  plateau  or  table-land,  which 
rises,  gradually  from  the  river,  and  at  the  average  di.stance  of  half 
a  mile,  swells  into  a  semi-circular  range  of  blufls,  which  rise 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  river.  While  tho 
business  portion  of  the  city  is  situated  on  the  plateau,  and  is  com- 
pactly and  substantially  built,  containing  costly  and  elegant  blocks 
and  one  of  the  finest  streets  in  the  state,  the  most  attractive  part, 
fine  residences,  gardens  and  ornamented  grounds,  extend  up  the 
sides  and  over  the  blufTs,  presenting  a  picturesque  and  beautiful 
appearance.  Improvements  in  the  way  of  decoration  and  grading 
have  not  only  enlarged  the  area  of  land  in  front  of  the  city,  but 
have  adiled  an  artistic  effect  to  the  general  a.spcct  of  the  place. 
Tlie  low  iands  near  the  river  have  been  raised  at  considerable 
cost,  a  large  portion  of  which  has  been  borne  by  the  railroad  com- 
panies, making  room  for  a  suitable  location  for  their  business  and 
buildings.  Tlie  principal  streets  of  the  city  are  nearly  in  line 
with  the  cardinal  points  of  the  compass.  Dub'  ,c  contains 
about  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants,  and  possesses  the  institu- 
tions, comforts,  social  appliances  and  business  facilities  which 
characterize  any  city  of  similar  dimensions.  The  growth  and 
progress  of  Dubuque  city  from  the  eHorts  of  a  few  lead  miners 
scarcely  more  than  forty  years  ago,  to  its  present  status  among 
the  flourishing  commercial  centers  of  the  west,  must  be  a  matter 
of  interest,  not  on'y  to  the  present  population,  but  to  the  public 
generall3^  We  can  not  of  course  go  into  details.  The  most  that 
we  can  do  is  to  give  a  brief  outline  of  important  facts.  Dubuque, 
the  seat  of  justice  for  Dubuque  county,  was  not  able  in  1850  to 
provide  food  enough  for  its  own  population,  nor  was  the  county 
self-sustaining  in  that  respect.  Now  the  shipments  from  Dubuque 
are  over  100,000  barrels  of  fiour,  2,000,000  bushels  of  wheat,  500,- 


1 

i 

1 
i 

^ i'.^^=i' 

«»MH 


\"Hf 


■.I. 


^..h 


672 


Tvtti.k's  Ckstessial  Nohtuwest. 


m- 


m  ■ 


-Mm  :>•■■ .  ■ 


iUHk-^^-i 


I 


VLill 


m 


i 


mu 


i>?« 


i^i-^' 


.1^1! 


P*! 


I 


J  J 


000  bushels  of  oats,  and  nearly  100,000  buslicis  of  barley  l)cr  an- 
Mitn.  The  immense  corn  crop  is  converted  into  animal  products 
at  greater  profit  than  by  shipment  of  grain.  Twenty  million 
pounds  of  drcsscil  jiork,  30,000  live  hogs,  and  10,000  head  of  cat- 
tle, are  about  average  yearly  shipments  of  these  products.  The 
ilnaneial  revulsion  of  1837  did  not  all'ect  JJubucjue.  Its  resource 
was  lead,  produced  steadily  by  the  rr"-  .-s  and  th<  smelting  fur- 
naces. This  product  commanded  cash  m  the  in..rkctsof  St.  Louis 
or  New  Orleans.  In  American  mining  districts  paper  n^'^ney  is 
received  cautiously;  and  the  de[)reeiated  bank  note  cu  -y  of 
the  eastern  states  was  despised.     Gold  and  silver  were  ^  .'in 

cipal  forms  of  money,  and  so  continued  for  twenty  years.  The 
financial  crisis  of  1857  had  a  more  di.'^astrous  cfTect.  The  west  at 
that  time  was  flooded  with  nearly  worthless  paper  money.  Du- 
buque, in  18ou,  had  one  wagon  shop;  but  so  great  was  the  .subsc- 
fpient  deve!o[)ment,  that  in  1809,  eighteen  wagon  and  carriage 
manufactories  emjjloycd  150  men,  and  sold  over  5,000  vehicles. 
The  mill  of  thirty  years  ago  has  been  succeeded  by  a  dozen  lum- 
ber mills,  flouring  mills,  manufactories  of  wooden  ware,  planing 
mills,  iroti  foundries,  machine  shops  and  other  branches,  to  such 
an  extent  that  Dubuque  now  ships,  with  few  exceptions,  all  the 
articles  required  in  practical  agriculture,  household  economy,  and 
other  practical  industries  ;  and  the  manufacturing  interests  of  Du- 
buque amount  by  assessment  to  $1:,000,000.  There  is  a  fine 
packing  house  in  the  city,  in  which  four  hundred  hogs  can  be 
dressed  daily. 

The  city  has  been  much  aided  by  the  extension  of  the  iron 
roads  over  the  country.  The  first  railroad  which  reached  the 
shore  opposite  Dubuque  was  the  Illinois  Central,  in  1855;  but 
the  Illinois  Central  railroad  company  did  not  bridge  the  river  in 
accordance  with  the  terms  on  which  the  munificent  land  grant  of 
1850  was  accepted,  and  the  building  of  the  bridge  was  delayed 
ten  years,  until  another  corporation,  the  Dubuque  and  Dunleiih 
bridge  company  a.«sumed  the  work.  The  bridge  was  com})leted 
in  18G5.  The  main  bridge,  1,700  feet  long,  cost  $750,000,  and  is 
built  entirely  of  iron  and  stone.  The  first  railroad  westward  was 
the  Dubuque  and  Sioux  City,  commenced  in  1856,  and  since  ex- 
tended to  the  Missouri  river.     The  Dubuque  and  Southwestern 


Principal  Cities  of  Tow  a. 


lai'Icy  per  an- 
lii.'il  j)r()(lucts 
|onty  iriillioii 
Iicad  uf  cat- 
Inluctd.  Tho 
ItH  resource 
Ksiiic'ltiiig  fur- 
|.sof  St.  Louis 
[jier  IP  Micy  is 
(;i  ■>'  of 
cro  ^  .•in 

years.     The 
Tiiu  west  at 
liDMcy.     Du- 
r'as  tin;  subsc- 
aud  carriage 
000  vehicles, 
a  dozen  lum- 
ware,  planing 
iclies,  to  such 
)tions,  all  the 
iJoonomy,  and 
terests  of  J)u- 
ore  is  a  fine 
liogs  can  be 

of  the  iron 
reached  tlie 
n  1855 ;  but 
■  tlie  river  in 
and  grant  of 
rt'as  dehiyed 
id  Dunleith 
5  comj)]ctcd 
',000,  and  is 
Jstvvai'd  was 
d  since  ex- 
luthwestern 


673 


now  connects  l)ul)n(iu(;  witli  Cedar  Hapids.     The  Chicago,  Clin- 
ton and  Dubuque  road,  and  tho  Chicago,  l)ubu<iucaiid  ]\rinnosota, 
center  in  this  city,  and  give  it  railroad  facilities  equal  to  theden)and.s 
of  its  large  and  increasing  business.     Tho  citizens  arc  agitating  the 
subject  of  building  a  narrow  gauge  road  from  Dubuiiue  to  Mil- 
waukee.    By  the  appropriation  of  a  scries  of  springs,  issuing  from 
a  tunnel  dug  to   drain  a  lead   mine,  Dubuque  has  a  systt-i  of 
water  works  unsurpassed  by  any  in  the  country.     Tho  watiT  is 
clear  as  crystal  and  abundant.     The  st'    im,  nearly  a  hund'":a  feet 
above  the  level  of  Main  street,  has  hc<\\  enclosed,  a  reservoir  con- 
structed to  supply  water  for  extra  occasions,  and  pipes  laid  to  every 
part  of  the  city.    Tho  head  is  such  that  the  water  is  u.sed  as  a  motive 
power,  being  applied  lo  a  turbine  water  wheel,  about  six  inches 
in  diameter,  and  several  printing  presses  arc  run  in  this  manner. 
The  supply  is  sullicient  for  other  works,  in  addition  to  the  de- 
mands already  made  upon  it.     In  1857,  the  free  school  systena  of 
the  city  was  inaugurated  ;  buildings  were  erected  for  twenty-four 
teachers  and  twelve  hundred  pupils.     In  1858,  a  third  building 
was  added,  and  since  that  time,  tho  free  high  .school.     The  num- 
ber of  pupils  enrolled  is  about  4,000,  and  tho  public  school  prop- 
erty is  worth  about  $250,000.     Tho  schools  are  graded,  culminat- 
ing in  a  high  .school  de})artment.     This  has  a  cabinet  of  geological 
and  other  specimens.     There  arc  several  private  and  parochial 
schools,    receiving   a    large   share   of    discriminating   patronage. 
Among  these  arc  St.  Jo.soph's  and  St.  Mary's  Academics,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Catholic  church ;    the  German  Tiicological 
Seminary.     Tho  churches  of  tho  city  are  numerous  and  handsome, 
and   the  press  exceedingly  high  toned.     The  principal  public 
buildings  of  Dubuque  are  the  City  Hall,  the  United  States  Cus- 
tom House,  the  Episcopal  Seminary,  and  tho  Market  House.    The 
public  schools  are  very  handsome  buildings. 

Burlington"  is  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  about  250  miles  above  St.  Louis,  210  miles  from  Chicago. 
It  occupies  the  valley  and  slopes  of  the  hills  at  the  mouth  of 
Hawkoye  creek,  the  bluffs  rising  in  some  places  two  hundred  feet 
In  1837,  the  town  was  incorporated.  During  the  last  few  years, 
Burlington  has  made  rapid  growth.     The   Mississippi  river  is 


i!  jiiiil  IJJBI    IBBg^lpw 


mmtmmm 


wijjii... 


ui 


Tv itch's  C J:\TEKKIJL  KoliTinVEST. 


1  tied  by  a  railroad  bridge ;  and  tiic  city  has  railroad  connec- 
tions north,  south,  oast  and  west.  An  extensive  section  of  coun- 
try, well  improved,  must  remain  tri'outary  to  Burlington.  By  the 
census  of  1871^,  the  city  had  a  population  of  20,150  Its  estimated 
population  now  is  25,(X")0.  Burlington  is  natura'ly  well  sitnaccd 
for  becoming  a  commercial  and  manufacturing  citv.  "\Vithline9 
of  railroad  in  every  direction,  bringing  the  proilucts  of  near  and 
distant  portion.';  of  the  country;  with  the  ^ri?;-issippi  ready  to  float 
such  products  as  seek  a  southern  or  northorn  market;  with  a 
.'calth  of  timber  suited  to  manufacturing  purposes;  with  inex- 
haustible coal  deposits  withm  ea.s}' reach,  and  the  great  south  and 
west  as  unfailing  markets  for  manufactured  articles  or  general 
merchandise,  a  promising  future  is  opened  before  the  city  ;  and 
it  is  not  unreasonable  to  expect  great  progress.  The  city  is  well 
supplied  with  schools,  under  the  management  of  well  qualified 
teachers.  Burlinglon  University,  undc  •  the  control  of  the  Baptist 
Ciiurch,  occupies  a  handsome  range  of  buildings  on  the  h'll  rising 
in  the  vestern  part  of  the  city.  The  city  has  twenty  churches, 
some  of  ti.'jm  beautiful  buildings.  This  is  the  seat  of  justice  f'>r 
De.*^.  Moines  county;  and  the  railroads  which  serve  the  city  ;uo 
the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quiney;  the  Burlington  and  .Mi.s- 
souri  River;  and  the  Burlington  and  Cedar  Rapids.  Burlington 
ranks  as  the  third  city  in  Iowa,  looking  at  its  conunercial  import- 
ance; and  for  beauty  of  appearance  and  position  it  is  hardly  sur- 
passed in  the  state.  The  country  which  surrounds  Burlington  is 
called  the  Garden  of  lov/a."  The  city  is  illuminated  w'tli  gas, 
and  many  excellent  newspapers,  besides  a  ma3'or  and  council. 
The  first  settlement  dates  from  1883,  and  throe  years  later  it  was 
made  the  capital  of  Wisconsin  territory.  When  Iowa  was  organ- 
ized in  the  year  1838,  the  seat  of  government  was  located  here, 
and  so  continued  until  tlie  following  j'oar,  when  Iowa  City  bo- 
came  the  capital,  and  held  it  until  the  supei  i(^r  attractions  of  Des 
^[oines  City  prevailed.  The  county  buildings,  the  churches,  tho 
university  and  thy  schools,  with  many  very  hanch-omc  business 
blocks,  make  up  a  very  line  architectural  appearance  for  liurling- 
ton. 

Keokuk  is  partially  the  seat  of  justice  for  Lee  county,  Iowa, 


I 


Finxcir.iL  Cities  of  Iowj. 


nd  conncc- 

;;  of  coun- 

1-     By  the 

's  estimated 

sitiinrcd 

^Vith  lilKS' 

f  near  and 
dy  to  float 
et;  with  a 
■with  incx- 
; south  and 
oi-  general 
city:  and 
•ity  i.s  well 
1   qualified 
the  Baptist 
!  h'll  I'isino- 

o 

Y  churches", 

justice  fn- 
he  city  a,o 
'1  and  Mi.s- 
lUirlingtoii 
ial  iiiiporf- 
lardly  sur- 
I'Hngton  is 

w-th  gas, 
d  council. 
Iter  it  was 
vas  orffati- 
ited  here, 
I  City  be- 
:i.s  of  Des 
'■clie.-!,  tlio 

business 

Burlins:- 


ty,  Iowa, 


I 


sharing   that  honor  with   Fort  Madison,  and   is  considered  the 
fourth  city  ii;  the  state.     Keokuk  lies  on  ths  western  bank  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  about  two  miles  above  the  mouth   of  the  Des 
Moines,  at  the  foot  of  the  lower  rapids,  which,  during  the  seasons 
of  low  water,  interfere  very  materially  with  river  navigation  be- 
yond the  site  of  the  city.     The  construction  of  a  canal,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  general  government,  will  almost  entirely  remedy  the 
inconvenience  and  loss  incidental   to  the  rapids,  and  open  an  im- 
mense area  of  country  to  navigation  by  the  larger  class  of  steam 
vessels.     The  rapids  are  twelve  miles  in  extent,  the  descent  with- 
in tliat  area  being  no  less  than  twenty-five  feet  over  successive 
ledges  of  limestone  rock,  which  will  afford  unrivalled  water  power 
for  almost  any  number  of  mills  and  factories  along  the  banks  of 
the  mighty  stream.     The  rapids  are  not,  in  a  commercial  sense, 
an  unmixed  evil  for  Keokuk,  as  the  city  is  now  the  h^ni  of  navi- 
gation for  large  vessels,  and  all  the  cargoes  thus  brou'ght  are  un- 
shipped here  for  land  transport  and  distribution;  but  wher  tran- 
sit shall   become   possible  without  disturbing  cargoes,  and  the 
vessels  on  the   upper  Mississippi  can  come  to  the  port  without 
difiiculty,  the  comnierce  of  this  little  center  of  trade  and  manu- 
factures must  become  more  widely  benclicial.     Lee  county  has  its 
commr  ■'iial  center  in  Keokuk,  and  that  area  is  exceedinirlv  fertile, 
hence  there  is  a  large  quantity  of  produce  annually  shipped  by 
river  and  railroad.     The  money  va''ie  of  the  farms  of  the  county 
iu  the  year  1870,  amounted  to  $7,7ud,725.     In  the  same  year,  tlio 
farm  products  of  the  count}-,  in  luding  additions  to  stock,  were 
estimated  as  closely  approximating  to  $2,000,UOO,  and  the  manu- 
facturing wealth  uroduced  in  the  same  area  during  the  same  time 
amounti'd  to  $2,G23,l.!'o.     Fort  Madison,  the  county  seat  proper, 
is  twenty-four  miles  from  Keokuk,  but  its  population  is  not  nearly 
so  large  as  tlia*^  of  the  commercial  center,  although  it  has  much 
commerce  and  some   manufactures.     The  county  is  well  settled, 
and  agriculture  commands  first  class  skill  in  every  department ; 
the  increase  of  stock  within  the  last  few  years  has  been  very  con- 
siderable, and  miieh  care  is  bestowed  by  stock  raisers  on  the  most 
valuable  breeds  of  animals.     The  Keokuk  Medical  College,  estab- 
lished man}'  years  since  in  this  city,  has  been  alma  male/  to  some 
of  liie  ablest  physicians  and  surgeons  in  Iowa  and  the  neighbor- 


F3gr_^».j»»-K»«»..«pga.iiiJ.i  i-mim.wwwwww 


11 


•11  MIS 


576 


Tuttle's  Centennial  NonTinrEST. 


'M  •  ■ 


I 


il 


ing  states,  the  library  and  museum  in  connection  tlicrevvith  are 
very  complete  and  valuable  aids  to  the  mastery  of  physiology  and 
pathology,  and  the  faculty  comprises  several  of  the  brightest 
lights  of  the  medical  profession.  The  college  is  very  well  sus- 
lained,  and  its  growing  rejjutation  will  increase  the  average  of  its 
attendants.  The  inllucncc  of  the  college  is  very  perceptible  in 
the  intellectual  vitality  of  Keokuk,  and  it  conduces  very  materi- 
ally to  the  improvement  of  school  training  in  every  branch.  In 
the  year  18-i7,  ten  years  after  the  city  had  been  first  laid  out,  there 
were  just  (340  inhabitants;  but  soon  after  that  time  there  was  a 
very  rapid  increase  in  numbers  and  importance,  so  that,  in  the 
year  18(J0,  the  population  numbered  8,136,  and  in  1870,  when  the 
last  census  was  tak-cn,  there  were  12,700  iidiabitants  in  Keokuk. 
There  arc  now  probably  about  18,000.  Tlie  city  occupies  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  state,  and  it  is  built  at  the  foot  and  on  the 
summit  of  a  beautiful  limestone  bluff,  which  afTords  excellent 
building  stone,  of  the  sort  whicli  hardens  after  being  quarried, 
and  is  found  c.xccedi:  gly  durable.  The  streets  are  broad  and 
regular,  containing  many  handsome  residences  and  business  blocks. 
The  medical  college  is  cjuitc  an  (vrnament  and  attraction  to  the  lo- 
«>ality.  Keokuk  contains  a  seminary  k  c  ladies,  which  deserves 
liigh  commendation  ;  there  are  also  man}'  private  academics,  and 
the  public  school  building  cost  $13,500.  There  arc  twc.ve 
churches  in  the  city,  some  of  them  conspicuously  handsome. 
The  name  Keokuk,  signifying  "  the  watchful  fo.x,"  was  adijpted 
in  honor  of  a  distinguished  Indian  chief,  who  was  the  friend  of 
whitj  settle  .  during  the  Black  Hawk  war,  and  who  deposed  the 
rash  and  treacherous  Black  Hawk  from  his  leadership  of  the 
braves  after  his  ill  omened  hostilities  came  to  an  end.  lie  ranks 
among  the  most  extraordinary  men  that  have  come  to  the  front 
among  tlie  Indian  tribes,  and  the  Sac  Indians  gave  him  great  rev- 
erence. The  trade  of  Keokuk  extends  along  the  Des  Moines,  as 
well  as  along  the  ^lississippi,  and  the  manufactures  of  the  city  are 
making  rapid  advances.  There  are  now  steam  flouring  mills  in 
constant  work,  foundries  that  employ  numerous  wo-kmcn  in  all 
departments  of  that  avocation,  lumber  yards,  planing  mills,  brick 
yards  and  valuable  quarries,  in  addition  to  numerous  industries, 
small  in  themselves,  but  large  in  the  aggregate.     Pork  packing  i3 


1 


■■ 


icrcvvith  are 
[siology  and 
e   brightest 
•y  well  sus- 
eragc  of  its 
recptible  in 
eiy  niateri- 
raiicli.     In 
l!tl  out,  there 
ere  was  a 
-liat,   in   the 
0,  when  the 
in  Keokuk, 
'ceupies  the 
ai,J  on  the 
Is  excellent 
iig  quarried, 
broad  and 
iness  blocks. 
on  to  the  lo- 
ch deserves 
idcmics,  and 
arc   twc.ve 
handsome. 
I'as  adopted 
he  friend  of 
deposed  the 
'hip  of  the 
He  ranks 
to  the  front 
1  great  rev- 
Moines,  as 
tlie  city  are 
ig  mills  in 
lien   in  all 
nills,  brick 
industries, 
packing  is 


} .  ■ 


w 

> 

1 

lis   .'    1 

« '  1 

'  ■  \ 
\ 

1 

Hllffi! 

1 

1 

I!'- 

. 

r  •■■I 


Pbixcipal  Cities  of  Iowa. 


577 


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, ,  .  ■■'■^'^ 

^= 

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P 

^^^5ir 

iSv^^l 

"'^y;.#^M 

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^ 

m 

^:  :==.  ir  ■:  ^s  a  :b=r= 

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a 

r^^     —    .. ..—  .  1^'..- — 

rT.-,    A^  '■==='.     -  v-^— ^ 

g=^ 

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^^^V 

q 

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3 

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^ 

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11 

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i 

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1 

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1 

"     -"      T'- 

being  extensively  carried  on  in  Keokuk,  and  hrewdries  arc  nu- 
merous. The  state  university  deserves  praise,  if  only  for  its  med- 
ical department;  but  apart  from  that  feature,  it  is  a  very  admir- 
able establishment.  Keokuk  is  sometimes  mentioned  as  "  the 
Gate  City  of  Iowa,"  frt)n:i  its  position  commanding  thegreat  rivers 
of  the  state.  Tlic  water  powers  of  the  city  are  largely  used,  but 
that  wondrous  aid  to  man's  exertions  will  be  still  more  largely 
availed  of  in  the  future  as  the  capital  cmploj'ed  in  manufactures 
is  increased.  The  city  is  lighted  with  gas,  and  is  governed  by  a 
mayor  and  council.  The  public  schools  are  graded  and  well 
taught,  under  a  board  which  lias  displayed  an  intellectual  interest 
in  tuition.  There  arc  six  newspapers  published  in  the  city,  and 
their  tone  on  the  great  questions  of  the  day  bespeaks  the  high 
character  of  the  city  and  county  in  which  they  circuUte.  Many 
of  the  editorials  would  do  honor  to  metropolitan  journals,  and 
the  advertising  columns  show  that  they  are  in  great  favor  with 
the  trading,  manufacturing  and  commercial  public.  A  very  fine 
bridge  crosses  tlic  ^lississippi  at  this  point,  for  railroad  and  high- 
way x;se,  2,300  feet  in  length. 

Couxciii  Bluffs  was  long  known  as  Kancsville,  and  is  the 
capital  of  ruUawattamic  county,  Iowa.  The  city  lies  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Missouri  river,  about  three  miles  east  of  the  stream,  at 
the  foot  of  very  high,  precipitous  blufls  which  arrest  the  atten- 
tion of  the  traveler  coming  cast  from  the  Golden  Gale  or  bound 
for  California.  The  railroad  facilities  of  this  city  are  unbounded, 
and  the  authorities  of  the  city  and  of  the  county  have  at  various 
times  displayed  great  enterprise  in  contributing  to  the  capital 
stock  of  railroad  companies  which  have  appeared  likely  to  facili- 
tate the  advancement  of  their  locality  in  a  commercial  sense.  In 
the  summer  of  ISOi,  the  year  after  the  Louisiana  purchase  had 
been  completed  with  Napoleon,  the  explorers  Lewis  and  Clarke 
ascended  the  ^Missouri  river  and  held  a  council  with  the  Indians 
on  the  Nebraska  side  of  the  river,  about  twenty  miles  above  the 
site  of  Omaha.  That  point  was  known  as  Council  Bluffs  for 
many  years  after  l'\irt  Calhoun  was  established  there,  but  the 
name  of  Council  Bluffs  was  adopted  by  the  settlement  which  had 
been  known  as  Kancsville,  quite  late  in  the  history  of  this  cen- 
87 


V^ 


i;i'! 


i .  1  ■ 


l! 


678 


Tuttle's  Centesnial  Northwest. 


tmj.  Ill  tlie  year  1824,  there  was  a  trading  ])ost  on  the  blufls 
where  the  city  stand,-?,  near  the  large  spring  waw  known  as  the 
"Mynstcr,"  and  the  spot  was  designated  as  Hart's  Blull,  in  com- 
pliment to  the  trader.  The  v(v/agciir.s  tlien  traflicking  on  the  river 
were  the  employes  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  were  in 
no  way  interested  in  permanent  settlement.  Hart  lixed  his  trad- 
ing post  at  the  point  named  because  of  the  water  privileges  'af- 
forded by  the  excellent  spring  already  mentioned.  Tlie  same  at- 
tractions, and  the  great  variety  of  game  which  could  be  procured. 
on  the  spot,  seem  to  have  induced  a  permanent  settlement  before 
the  3'ear  1827,  and  near  the  foot  of  tlie  blufls,  where  the  splendid 
business  blocks  of  Broadway  now  stand,  the  Frenchman,  Francis 
Guittar,  used  to  find  his  breakfast  without  troubliiig  the  butcher. 
Deer,  elk  and  Buffalo  were  then  common  on  the  prairies,  and  In- 
dians remained  in  the  territorv  until  the  winter  of  1840-7,  when 
they  were  removed  to  reservations,  supposed  to  be  permanent,  in 
Kansas.  The  first  family  of  white  settlers  came  here  in  1838, 
when  Mr.  Hardin,  who  had  been  appointed  as  government  farmer 
among  the  Pottawattamie  Indians,  occupied  the  spot  now  known 
as  Hardin's  Bend.  The  farmer  was  preparing  the  way  for  the 
Pottawattamies,  who  were  to  follow  him  from  the  Platte  purchase 
in  Missouri.  This  gentleman  with  his  sons  remained  as  settlers 
when  the  Indians  went  towards  the  setting  sun,  and  many  agents 
and  traders  who  had  accompanied  the  red  men  from  Missouri 
state  remained  in  this  locality.  Two  comjianics  of  troops  came 
to  this  point  in  1839  and  built  a  block  house  on  the  bluff  in  the 
eastern  section  of  the  city,  where  the  Catholic  priests  soon  after- 
wards built  a  mission  house.  There  were  no  other  white  settlers 
until  the  year  1846,  when  the  place  was  suddenly  overrun  by 
Mormons,  wlio  had  been  driven  out  of  Nauvoo  upon  the  death 
of  their  prophet,  .Ice  Smith,  by  violence  at  the  hands  of  a  Gentile 
mob,  in  the  year  1844.  Some  of  the  saijits  endured  much  suffer- 
ing in  Iowa  and  elsewhere  on  their  way  from  Nauvoo,  and  Brig- 
ham  Young  made  his  way  to  the  spot  now  known  as  Florence, 
Nebraska,  but  then  called  "Winter  Quarters  by  the  saints.  This 
city  site  was  for  a  long  time  the  headquarters  of  the  Mormons, 
Orson  Hyde  being  in  command  of  the  f-ettlcment  after  Brother 
Brigh  ini  had  gone  off  with  other  leaders  towards  Salt  Lake. 
The  Mormons  carried  things  with  a  high  hand,  for  some  timoi 


P  RISC  I  PAL  Cities  of  Iowa. 


579 


n  tlic   blu/Ts 
11  own  as  the 
uir,  in  corn- 
on  tlic  river 
uid  were  in 
c;l  liiri  trad- 
rivilegcs  'af- 
iriio  same  at- 
bo  procured 
ment  before 
tlie  splendid 
man,  Francis 
the  butclier. 
iries,  and  In- 
SiG-7,  when 
)ermanent,  in 
ere  in   1838, 
irnent  farmer 
;  now  known 
:  way  for  the 
atte  purcliasc 
id  as  settlers 
many  agents 
om   Missouri 
troops  came 
bluir  in  tlio 
ts  soon  after- 
/hito  settlers 
overi'un    by 
n   the  death 
of  a  Gentile 
much  SLifTer- 
)o,  and  Brig- 
as  Florence, 
;;iints.     This 
e   ^foi'mons, 
fter  ]]rother 
Salt   Lake, 
some  time, 


over  the  Gentiles  who  came  to  settle  among  them,  and  when 
later  in  their  career  at  this  point  a  Methodist  preacher  denounced 
some  of  their  practices  and  doctrines,  B  )ther  Hyde  cursed  him 
from  the  altar,  and  expressed  an  opinion  ihat  the  man  would  lose 
his  life.  The  ^fethodist,  not  appalled  in  the  slightest,  called  on 
Mr.  Ilydn  and  told  him  that  he  (the  prophet)  should  be  held  re- 
sponsible should  his  words  be  verified  by  the  action  of  any 
of  his  deluded  followers.  The  statement  looked  so  much 
like  business  that  Brother  Hyde  took  off  the  curse,  withdrew  the 
pro[)hcc3',  and  the  rival  preacher  survived.  The  Mormon  settle- 
ment here  was  visited  by  Col.  Kane  of  Pennsylvania,  and,  in 
memory  of  that  event,  the  saints  called  the  place  Kancsville 
during  all  the  years  that  they  ruled  in  the  land.  The  name  con- 
tinued lon^  after  thev  were  gone.  Some  of  the  Mormons  made 
up  a  battalion  of  five  hundred  men  for  the  Mexican  war.  and  it 
is  claimed  *  nembcrs  of  that  warlike  array  found  the  first 

gold  in  Sacramento.  Tlic  Mormon  population  moved  off  slowly 
after  18i8,  but  there  were  six  thousand  live  hundred  here  in 
1840,  and  in  the  following  year  nearly  eight  thousand,  as  num- 
bers were  coming  in  from  nearly  all  parts  of  Iowa  en  route  to 
Salt  Lake  C'ty.  In  1852,  orders  ca-  t  for  all  the  faithful  to  as- 
semble in  Utah,  and,  as  the  time  drew  near  for  the  final  exodus, 
the  Gentiles  came  in  by  the  hundred  to  buy  the  farms  and  im- 
jirovements  of  the  departing  saints.  Some  of  the  Mormons  ab- 
jured Brigham  Young  and  held  on  to  their  improvements,  others, 
following  the  son  of  the  first  prophet,  held  on  to  the  Mormon 
bible,  but  foreswore  polygamy,  but  the  bulk  of  the  settlement 
went  on  to  Salt  Lake  City.  Kancsville  was  in  the  cour.se  of 
travel  when  the  gold  fields  of  California  were  opened  up  in  1840, 
and  some  of  the  roughest  specimens  of  humanity  that  ever 
swung  from  the  branch  of  a  tree  made  th.cir  abode  in  the  settle- 
ment, plying  their  trade  as  gamblers,  until  vigilance  committees 
were  organized  to  rid  the  city  of  their  presence.  Some  of  the 
wildest  scenes  ever  witnessed  on  earth  were  the  outcome  of  the 
orgies  of  such  desperadoes,  and  their  exeesse.s,  with  brief  inter- 
vals of  quiet,  were  tpread  over  some  years,  and  had  not  come  to 
a  conclusion  when  the  saints  made  an  end  of  their  tarrying. 

The  organization  of  the  county  took  place  in  1848,  and  all  the 
officials  were  Mormons,  from  the  postmaster  of  KanesvilU  to  the 


:!!■'• 


M 


\>\  > 


W'  il  • 


ifi      ;i 


,H- 


I 


I- 1 


580 


Tui'TLh^S  CENTh'KSIAL  NoRTHWEST. 


jiulgcs  for  the  district.     From  that  time  the  Gentile  popuhitiou 
went  on  improving,  and  the  gold  mania  increased  tlie  rush  of 
merchants  and  traders  to  this  spot.     During  the  years  1851-2-3, 
the  h;nds  were  surveyed  here,  and  a  land  oflice  was  opened  tc 
expedite  settlement,  after  which  time  a  feverish  era  of  land  spec- 
ulation followed,  continuing  and  increasing  until  1857,  when  the 
grand  crash  came,  and   many  who  had  never  dreamed  of  sj)eeu- 
lating  were  involved  in  the  general  ruin.     Settlement  had  become 
general  throughout  Pottawattamie  county  during  the  years  whoa 
the  Mormons  ruled,  and  the  next  hope  of  the  people,  after  the 
crash  of  1857,  was  that  railways  would  repair  all  damages.    That 
expectation  has  been  more  than  rcali;ied,  as  since  that  era  of  dis- 
may the  various  railroad  companies  desirous  to  reach  the  trade 
beyond  the  plains  in  Oregon,  Texas,  and  California,  have  multi- 
plied their  lines  of  communication,  converging  to  this  point  from 
all  parts  of  the  union  until  Council  Bluffs  seems  to  be  a  plexus 
of  iron  nerves  upon  which  the  welfare  of  the  whole  world  depends. 
Gradual]|f  a  scheme  was  matured  for  carrying  railroad  enterprise 
over  into  Nebraska;  a  trestle  bridge  was  constructed  over  the 
Missouri,   and   a   locomotive  engine,   thus  conveyed  acros^s  the 
mighty  stream,  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
which  has  since  made  the  whole  world  more  than  wise  about  con- 
gressioflw  doings.     With   the  nmltiplication  of  iron  roads,  the 
city  has  increased  in  wealth  and  population,  and  manufactories  of 
various  kinds  have  risen  into  immense  business  and  exemplary 
profit.     The  name  was  changed  to  Council  Bluffs  when  the  city 
■was  incorporated,  and  the  wealth  of  the  community  lias  been 
testified  by  many  operations  since   then  known  to  all  the  world, 
more  especially  in  reference  to  railroads.     The  bridge  over  the 
Missouri  at  this  point  is  a  very  fine  structure,  and  it  is  traversed 
by  millions  of  passengers  annually.     The  railroads  that  serve 
Council  Bluffs  are  the  Iowa  Division  of  the  Chicago  and  North- 
western ;  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  ;  the  Kansas  City, 
St.  Joseph's  and  Council  Bluffs;  the  Burlington  and  Missouri; 
and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  having  its  terminus  in  Omaha,  is 
connected  with  Council  Bluffs  by  the  fine  bridge  before  men- 
tioned.    There  are  other  roads  whicb  serve  to  increase  the  pros- 
perity of  the  evergrowing  city,  but  the  principal  only  have  been 


PnmciPAL  Cities  of  Kansas. 


population 
10  rush  of 
185 1-2-3, 
Is  opened  tc 
If  laiul  spec- 
|7,  when  the 
I'd  of  s])cou- 
|iad  becoino 
[years  whe.i 
[ic,  after  the 
^gos.     That 
t  era  of  dis- 
h  the  trade 
)ave  multi- 
point from 
bo  a  plexus 
•Id  depends. 
-1  cnter])ri.so 
cd  over  the 
across  the 
ic  Eailroad, 
'  about  con- 
roads,  the 
I  factories  of 
exemplary 
en  the  city 
■  lias  been 
the  world, 
c  over  tlio 
3  traversed 
that  servo 
lid  JS'orth- 
msas  Citv. 
Missouri  ; 
Omaha,  is 
fore  men- 
i  the  pros- 
lave  been 


581 


mentioned.  Bricks  and  lumber  were  the  first  articles  of  mcr- 
chandise  that  engaged  the  attention  of  the  people  of  Kanesville,  . 
and  that  branch  of  industry  i.s  still  prosecuted  with  success  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  city  of  Council  BIulTs,  but  so  many  other  import- 
ant works  have  been  added  that  these  lines  scarcely  cliallengo 
attention.  In  the  year  1800,  the  population  of  the  city  had  fallen 
from  Alorman  totals  to  2,011,  and  in  1870,  the  census  only 
revealed  an  enumeration  of  10,020,  but  the  number  must  now  be 
very  much  larger.  The  school  system  is  excellent,  the  churches 
are  numerous  and  well  supported,  and  many  of  the  buildings  are 
very  fine.  The  city  is  lighted  witli  gas,  and  well  governed  ;  tho 
press  is  influential  and  very  well  deserves  its  success.  The  state 
institution  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  is  located  here,  and  is  a  beauti- 
ful building,  and  the  court  house,  a  county  structure,  is  very 
handsome  indeed.  The  city,  once  rioted  over  by  some  of  the 
worst  specimens  of  border  ruffianism,  is  now  one  of  the  mosf 
orderly  and  prosperous  cities  of  the  union. 


CHAPTEK    XLV. 

PRINCIPAL  CITIES  OF  KANSAS, 
Topt'ka  —  Lcavcnworlh  —  Lawrence  — Atch'soii  —  Wyandotte. 

TorEKA,  signifies  in  the  Indian  tongue,  "  Wild  Potatoe,"  and 
of  course  that  valuable  article  of  food  is  not  verv  large  before 
cultivation  brings  improvements,  hence,  when  in  the  early  days 
of  the  settlement,  in  the  year  1855,  the  free  state  convention  was 
held  there,  the  proslavery  leaders  hoped  to  overwhelm  the  nas- 
cent capital,  and  the  cause  which  for  the  time  it  represented,  in 
one  torrent  of  ridicule,  by  rendering  the  name  into  "  Small  Po- 
tatoes." The  witty  efTervescence  died  out,  but  the  city  remained, 
and  the  cause  of  justice  and  freedom  flourished,  so  that  Topelca 
is  now  the  capital  of  a  free  and  prosperous  state  which  has  a  pop- 
ulation of  six  hundred  thousand,  with  abundance  of  fertile  land 
and  manufacturing  and  commercial  facilities  for  "  millions  yet  to 


m 


u 


.       I 


i      T 
!.      - 


mUmtsL.- 


f,\ 


r.' 


i ., 


M 


in  ' 

« 
I 

I 
n         '      » 


i-  -i 


f        ) 


I         I 


ti 


H 


'll 


I 


i 


ii! 


I ,) 


•<  "1 


ill 


582 


Tuttle's  C£\TIC\XUL  NoiiTinVEST. 


be."  Besides  being  tlie  capital  of  Kansas,  Topeka  is  the  county 
scat  of  Sliawiiee,  and  is  situated  on  the  Kansas  river,  (57  miles 
west  of  Wyandotte  and  21)  miles  west  of  Tiuwrenec.  Tlic  site  is 
very  fine,  occuj)ying  the  south  side  of  the  river,  willi  rectangular 
streets,  along  which  are  planted  handsome  business  blocks,  de- 
voted to  the  service  of  commerce,  and  beautiful  private  resi- 
dences embowered  in  groves,  which  attest  the  sound  judgment  of 
the  citizens.  Kansas  is  not  a  treeless  region,  nor  is  it  generally 
decimated  by  droughts  and  grasshoppers,  but  the  long  continu- 
ance of  prairie  fires  during  the  incumbency  of  the  Indians,  who 
were  lords  of  the  soil  until  ISS-A-o,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  ter- 
ritory much  later,  has  to  a  considerable  extent  denuded  the  coun- 
try of  forests  and  gr()ves,  and  therefore  it  was  at  one  time  much 
drier  and  more  subject  to  desolating  storms  than  it  has  been  of 
late  years.  When  settlement  commenced,  tree  planting  followed 
in.  a  measurable  degree,  and  would  have  been  prosecuted  on  a 
much  larger  scale  but  for  the  strife  on  the  question,  '' Bond  or 
Free? "'  which  for  many  years  combined  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
residents  to  drive  back  the  marauders  from  western  ^lissouri. 
Even  then,  although  the  work  of  tree  planting  was  tcmpovardy 
omitted  by  man,  nature  bountifully  supplied  his  place,  and  in 
thousands  of  places  self  planted  groves  came  into  existence,  as 
they  had  been  trying  all  along  to  do,  whenever  tlie  often  recur- 
ring fires  would  intermit.  The  trees  t/uus  springing  up  in  con- 
sequence of  settlement  offering  a  defense  against  conflagrations, 
and  in  consequence  also  of  the  v/ise  e.iergies  of  the  settlers,  have 
modified  the  climate  of  Kansas  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  rains 
which  come  are  better  distributed  throughout  the  year,  and  much 
more  moderate.  Mesquit  and  buffalo  grasses  are  giving  way 
slowly  to  blue  grass,  timothy  and  clover,  the  buffalo  wallows  are 
being  broken  up  for  cultivation,  springs  bubble  forth  by  the 
hundred,  in  districts  once  comparatively  waterless,  the  creeks 
which  seldom  run  more  than  a  few  months  of  the  year,  arc  now 
seldom  dry,  and  the  rivers,  once  in'.ermittent  to  a  degree  which 
made  them  valueless  for  mills  and  factories,  are  gradually  becom- 
ing constant  aids  to  human  enterprise.  With  so  many  incentives 
to  plant  trees,  we  need  not  wonder  that  the  residents  of  Topeka 
have  beautified  their  city  by  cultivating  in  many  spots  eloquent 


Pj{L\cii'al  Cities  of  Kashas. 


583 


tlio  county 
',  07  miles 
The  site  i>^ 
'ectangular 
blt)cks,  dc- 
|iv.ito  re.si- 
'ulgmcDt  of 
geiiernlly 
i,i,^  continu- 
(lians,  who 
of  the  tcr- 
the  coun- 
tiiiio  miuili 
Ki.s  been  of 
ig  followed 
:;uted   on  a 
,  ''  Bond  or 
'hole  of  the 
1   Missouri, 
ieinjxji'ai'ily 
nee,  and   in 
xistence,  as 
>ftcn  recur- 
up  in  con- 
iflagration.s, 
tilers,  have 
it  the  rains 
,  and  much 
giving  way 
r'allows  are 
th   by  the 
the   creeks 
I",  arc  now 
?rec  which 
lly  bceom- 
incentives 
3f  Topeka 
3  eloquent 


reminders  of  "  the  forest  primeval,"  an  1  certainly  tlieir  location 
is  well  worthy  of  all  the  pains  they  liav  ;  bestowed  upon  its  orna- 
mentation. Until  the  year  185-i,  when  the  Kansas-Nebraska  act 
passed  into  law,  this  territory  was  devoted  to  Indian  reservations, 
upon  which  no  white  man  could  settle  without  permission  ex- 
pressly given  by  the  red  men,  and  only  a  few  Indian  traders  and 
missionaries  cared  to  examine  the  beauties  of  the  soil,  climate 
and  i)osition.  When  that  bill  became  law  there  was  a  rush  to  pos- 
sess the  eountiy,  ^lissouri  and  the  south  on  the  one  part,  demand- 
ing the  territory  whereon  to  erect  a  slave  state,  the  Missouri  com- 
l)romise  having  been  repealed,  and  the  eastern  and  middle  states 
for  the  other  part  contending,  irrespective  of  alx)lition  sentiment, 
that  Kansas  should  be  admitted  to  the  union  as  a  free  state  only. 
A  colony  from  the  free  state  settlement  at  Lawrence  first  settled 
Topeka,  in  1854-,  and  an  offshoot  of  a  place  pronounced  "Pestife- 
rous," by  the  ])roslavcry  party  was  naturally  inclined  in  the 
same  direction.  From  the  first  moment  the  Topeka  men  looked 
to  empire  as  their  destiny,  and  their  expectations  have  been  fully 
reali/ced.  Tiic  state  house,  built  of  magesian  limestone,  is  the 
most  beautiful  object  in  the  charming  city,  and  the  money  ex- 
pended in  its  erection  has  been  very  well  bestowed.  There  is  no 
building  of  its  kind  in  the  west  with  which  the  capitol  at  Topeka 
may  not  compare  adv.mtageou.sly.  The  wants  of  the  state  for 
many  years  to  come  will  find  ample  acconimodation  in  its  fair 
proportion.s,  and  it  seems  to  have  especial  loveliness  in  the  fact 
that  it  crowns  the  triumph  of  right  principles  which  attained 
victory  through  manful  and  heroic  efforts.  The  city  rises  gradu- 
ally from  the  river,  and  is  well  drained,  the  roads  being  graded 
specially  to  secure  that  end.  Lincoln  College,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing educational  institutions  of  the  state,  will  hand  down  to  a 
remote  and  grateful  posterity,  the  name  of  a  truly  great  man,  and 
assist  to  develop  in  successive  generations,  wealth  of  mind,  the 
highest  form,  anil  the  most  enduring  which  can  be  assumed  by 
riches.  The  Episcopal  church  has  established  here  a  college, 
knt'vn  as  the  Topeka  Female  Institute,  wdiich  is  very  highly 
valued  and  much  availed  of,  irrespective  of  the  religious  views 
favored  by  the  founders,  as  with  the  exception  of  only  a  few 
bigots,  the  men  and  women  of  to-day  would  not  send  their  oppo- 


-xoMai-ijj, 


''^f 


}i'  i 


t  H 


684 


TuTTLE's   CEXTENNrAL  NonTIDrKST. 


nents  to  Tophct  for  opinion  sake,  nor  neglect  tlic  opportunity  for 

inteilcctiuil  and  moral  growtli,  because  they  cannot  swallow  a 

I)articulur  dogma.     The  value  of  niaiiliood  and  effort   is  being 

.  read  in  the  spirit  i)f  tliat  ealliolic  line  written  by  Alexander  Pope: 

"He  can't  be  wrong,  whoso  life  is  in  llic  right." 

The  United  States  land  ofTicc  IP  located  in  Topeka,  and  there 
are  many  important  mills  and  manufactories,  wMch  excrci.se  an 
important  iiilluenee  in  the  development  of  the  city.  Foundries, 
railroad  machine  shops  and  flouring  mills  are  among  the  princi- 
l)al  industries,  but  there  are  hundreds  of  profitable  avocations 
•which  are  building  up  the  wealth  of  this  pro.sperous  commercial 
center.  There  is  a  large  inland  trade  conducted  here,  and  the  fine 
qualities  of  the  agricultural  land  in  Kansas,  much  in  advance  of  the 
average  of  fertile  regions  throughout  the  union,  bring  vast  quan- 
tities of  produce  to  Topeka  for  shijjnient.  Coal  and  choice  build- 
ing stone,  with  deposits  of  kaolin  and  gypsum,  are  items  in  the 
wealth  producing  exports  of  this  city  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. The  railroad  lines  which  serve  the  city  and  district  are  the 
Kansas  Pacific,  and  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe,  by  which 
the  other  side  of  the  continent  is  made  conducive  to  the  pro.sper- 
ity  of  Kansas.  The  Santa  Fe  trade  is  a  very  large  item  in  the  ag- 
gregate of  business.  As  we  have  seen  the  first  settlement  was  made 
in  the  year  1851,  and  when  the  free  state  battle  had  been  won  in 
1860,  the  census  revealed  a  ])opulation  of  only  7oO  in  the  city 
just  resting  from  its  labors.  The  census  of  1870  showed  a  .seven 
fold  increase  within  ten  years,  the  numbci's  then  being  5,790, 
and  at  the  present  time  tliere  cannot  be  less  than  ten  thou.sand 
souls  in  Topeka.  There  are  numerous  churches  in  the  city,  some 
of  them  beautiful,  and  the  jjractical  cxemj)lifications  of  Christian- 
ity aifordcd  by  their  pastors  during  the  great  struggle  have  en- 
deared congregations  and  ministers  to  each  other.  The  school 
system  is  good  and  well  sustained,  and  there  are  eight  newspapers 
in  the  city,  all  bearing  evidence  of  mental  labor  and  devotion  to 
the  interests  of  the  commonwealth. 

Leavenworth  was  a  fort  long  before  ^lio  country  in  which  it 
stands  was  thrown  open  for  settlement,  and  when  the  territory  was 


Pniscii'AL  Cities  of  Kansas. 


585 


lortunity  for 
It  swalldw  a 
[rt  is  being 
[iiRlcr  Po^m : 


a,  and  there 
exercise  an 
Foundries, 
the  prinei- 
0  avocations 
eornrncrcial 
and  the  fine 
Ivance  of  tlic 
^  vast  qnan- 
clioice  buiUl- 
ileins  in  the 
unding  coun- 
striet  are  the 
Fc,  by  which 
i  tlie  prosper- 
tern  in  the  ag- 
ent was  made 
been  won  in 
)  in  the  city 
owed  a  seven 
being  5,790, 
ten  tliousand 
,he  city,  some 
of  Cliristian- 
iTgle  liave  en- 
The  school 
t  newspapers 
devotion  to 


(  in  wliich  it 
territory  was 


first  organized  a  portion  of  the  military  quarters  was  allotted  for  the 
use  of  the  governor,  Hon.  A.  II.  Keeder.  This  city,  or  rather  this 
fort,  for  at  the  time  it  was  a  fort  only,  was  the  base  of  supply 
from  wliich  tlic  forces  marched  into  Mexico  daring  the  Polk  ad- 
ministration, and  the  traders  bound  for  Santa  Fe  whose  caravans 
often  numbered   quite  an  army,  devoted  to  conuucrcc,  found  at 
tliis   point  a  good  byo  and  a  welcome.     The   first  band  of  emi- 
grants that  passed  over  the  Eooky  Mountains  into  Oregon  h.-.d 
many  friends  in  Fort  Leavenworth,  and  Mormons  and  gold  find- 
ers, who  in  succession  passed  over  the  so  called  "Great  American 
Desert,"  could  recall  tlic  civilities  and  aids  which  for  the  sake  of 
humanity  they  had  in   many  instanccii  found  at  the  fort.     When 
tlio  Nebraska-Kansas  act  came  into  operation  and  the  tide  of  set- 
tlement began  to  flow  this  way,  the  commandant  and  ofTicci's  of 
the  fort  laiti  out  a  town,  on  what  was  practically  an  Indian  reser- 
vation as  well  as  a  military  reserve,  and  the  irregularity  was  not 
fatal  to  tho'r  enterprise;  although  a  similar  movement  by  the  ofTi- 
ecrs  at  Fort  Scott,  when   the  city  of  Pawnee   was  founded,  was 
treated  as  a  gross  infraction  of  right,  and  the  settlement  was  de- 
stroyed  by  a  thousand  dragoons,  brought  from  Texas  for  that 
especial  work.     The  site  was  well  chosen  for  a  fort  in  the  first 
]:)^acc,  and  as  a  city  afterwards,  as  tlierc  is  a  natural  levee  of  rock 
which  forms  the  bank  of  tlie  river  Missouri  at  this  point,  and 
along  the  whole  of  the  city  front,  and  the  surrounding  country, 
now  one  of  the  best  settled  regions  in  the  state,  is  remarkably  fer- 
tile  anel   productive.     This   region   was   travelled    over   by  the 
French,  and  also  by  S[)anish  troops,  long  before   there  was  any 
prospect  of  civilization,  invading  and  possessing  the  land,  and  at 
several  times  within  this  century  there  were  expeditions  over  the 
grou»  .1  and  the  river,  as  well  as    trading  ventures  which  kept 
alive  the  interest  of  all  classes   in   the  locality,  but  tliere   were 
comparatively  few  persons  in  the  eastern  and  middle  states  who 
knew  that  the  country,  described  in  the  maps  as  a  desert,  was  gener- 
ally the  most  fertile  area  on   the  continent,  and  could   easily  be 
made  one  of  the  best  watered,  without  further  hydraulic   works 
than  tree  planting.     When  Mr.  Keeder  came  to  Leavenworth  to 
inaugurate  civil  government,  he  found   the  people  about  Fort 
Leavenworth   mostly   Missourians  in  their  instincts,  and   they. 


I 

I, . 


:  'it» 


!•■      (,-1 


: 


586 


Tuttle's  Cextenxial  Northwe.st. 


knowing  that  he  was  a  democrat,  who  had   been  appointed   to 
office  •/  their  friend,  president  Pierce,  coneliidcd  that  thej  could 
run  the  government,  using  the  Pennsylvania  ajjpoiiitce   as  their 
stalking  horse  inerel}'.     The  governor  could  not   ho  used  in  that 
way,  and  in  consequence  he  was  very  badly  abused  by  his  obtru- 
sive friends,  who  ass:tulted  him  in  his  office,  threatened  him  with 
assassination,  and  eventually  pro.-. ircd  his  removal  I'rom  the  terri- 
torial dignity  on   a  inunpcd  u{)  charge  of  irregularities.      The 
character  of  Jicavenworth  is  now  very  much  changed  for  the  bet- 
ter,   and   it   ranks   dcscrvingly   as   the   first   city    in    the  state. 
The  county  scat  of   Leavcnwortli  is  located  in   tlie  city  and   the 
county  buildings  are  noticeable  for  their  neatness.     The  railroads 
which  serve    tlie  city  and  county  are,  the    Kan.  ..s    Pacilic,   the 
Leavenworth,  Atchison  and  Northwestern,  and  tbo  Chicasro  and 
Southwestern.     The  distance  from  this   point  to   Kansas   City, 
.slissouii,  is   just   thirty-r/ne    miles.     The  quantity  of  ship[)ing 
effected  liere  by  the  railroads  and   by  steamers  on   the  viver,  is 
very  !;reat  indeed,  and  must  go  on  increasing  for  many  years,  as 
the  niireral  qualities  of  the  soil  cannot  readily  be  exhausted,  and 
the  intelligenv.'e  of  the  agricultural  popuhriun  in  Kansas  cannot 
be  satisfied  with  less  than  the  highest  deg:>'c  of  success.    Tlie  old 
fame  of   the  fort  as  a  base  of  supplies  stands  the  city  in  good 
stead,  and  ]'.ufco  .ireas  of  the  west  depend  upon   shipments  of  all 
kinds  from  this  commercial  metropolis.     The  schools  of  Leaven- 
worth are  famous  for  exceptional  excellence,  being  graded  in  a 
manner  calculated  to  procure  the  best  results  from  teachers  and 
pupils,  and  in  every  respect  well   inanaged  by  an  efficient  board. 
Besides  the  public  schools  v.'hicli  are  located  in  excellent  build- 
ings, thcic  are  numerous  ])rivate  schools  which  arc  deserving  of 
note,    two    commercial    colleges,  and    a    female    seminary    from 
which  some  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  th'!  west  have  ix'ccived 
tiicir  highest  polish.     There  is  also  a  medical  college  in  Leaven 
■worth,  w'dch  reclvons  among  its  professors  the  best  talent  procur 
able  in  the  west,  for  the  work  that  is  hcr(^  undertaken.     Tliere  is 
a  fine  theatre  here,  but  the   population   is   not  large  enough   to 
maintain  a  dnxmatic  com{)any  regularly^,  and  the  citizens  are  am- 
ply served  with  amr.semcnts   by  occasional  visitors.     The  regu- 
lar settlement  of  Leavenworth  only  dates  from  1854,  but  in   the 


■■ 


PinxcH'AL  Cities  of  Kansas. 


687 


^pointed   to 
tliej-  could 
tee  as  their 
isci]  ill  tliat 
)y  Ills  obtru- 
ed  liim  with 
)m  the  terri- 
•itica.      The 
for  the  bet- 
1    the  state. 
ity  and    the 
'he  raih'oads 
Paeilic,   the 
Cliicago  and 
uiisas   City, 
ol  shij)()irig 
the  -ivei',  is 
\uy  years,  as 
hausted,  and 
ansas  cannot 
'^ss.    The  oM 
-ily  in   good 
mients  of  all 
s  of  Lcaven- 
gradcd   in  a 
teachers  and 
icient  boan\ 
;Ilcnt  build- 
deserving  of 
linary    from 
ivc  received 
in  Leaven 
ilont  procur 
II.     There  is 
^  enoiigli   to 
^ens  are  am- 
Tiie  rogu- 
but  in   the 


year  IRGO,  tliere  were  7,429  persons  living  in  the  city,  and  dur- 
ing tlio  next  decade  that  number  increased  to  17,873  ;  the  present 
population  is  probably  little  short  of  twenty-five  thousand.  The 
city  carries  on  a  Very  jn'osperous  trade  on  the  Mississip[)i,  a.,  well 
as  on  the  Missouri  river,  and  there  is  almost  an  illiniitable  field 
for  further  growth.  The  city  has  flouring  mills,  saw  mills,  lum- 
ber yards,  brick  yards,  breweries,  a  machine  shop,  and  i'on 
furnaces.  Very  good  samples  of  brown  hematite  ore  have  beuu 
found  in  the  territory,  but  although  eoal  is  quite  abundant,  the 
localiod  of  iron  smelting  works  has  not  yet  been  thought  advis- 
able. Old  lead  workings  have  also  been  found,  but  the  mineral 
has  not  been  obtained  in  quantities  to  j)ay  for  working. 

The  churches  of  Leavenworth  are  very  noticeable  features,  as 
well  for  their  beauty  of  design  in  many  cases  as  f<jr  the  more  val- 
uable adornment  which  makes  the  pulpit  and  reading  desk  the 
cynosure  of  all  cj'cs.  ^fany  of  the  preachers  in  Leavenworth 
would  be  still  more  highly  valued  by  the  larger  populations  far- 
ther cast,  but  they  seem  to  have  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  terri- 
tory, and  as  Horace  Greeley  u.sed  to  advise  young  men,  to  be  con- 
tent to  '-grow  up  with  the  place."  The  city  is  not  narrow  and 
bigoted,  but  the  wide  philanthropic  s])irit  whicli  pervades 
the  sects  and  churches  here  gives  to  the  clergy  a  very  excellent 
opening  for  their  exertions,  and,  as  a  rule,  the  opportunity  is  well 
improve;).  There  is  a  mercantile  library  in  Leavenworth,  and,  Ol 
course,  it  is  not  exclusively  mercantile.  The  realms  of  fiction 
and  philosophy,  the  domains  of  history  and  science,  the  choicest 
spoils  from  tlic  literature  of  the  world  can  be  found  on  the  spa- 
cious book  shelves  of  this  excellent  retreat,  redolent  of  Russia 
leather  and  the  still  better  aroma  of  the  treasured  knowledge  of 
tiie  world.  A  man,  desirous  to  enjoy  life  wisely  and  well,  could 
hardly  find  a  more  likely  location  than  the  city  of  Leavenworth, 
where  the  river  and  the  railroads  olTer  him  facilities  for  business 
and  pleasure,  where  the  vast  stores  of  books  are  open  to  cultivate 
his  literary  proclivities,  where  the  hygienic  conditions  could 
hardly  be  improved,  where  the  churches  develop  his  esthetic 
nature,  the  theatre  and  halls  offer  him  amusement,  and  the  gen- 
eral tone  of  society  is  such  as  to  forbid  the  possibility  of  his  re- 
cailiii''  that  twenty  years  ago  this  site  was  often  the  scene  of  such 


■%->M»:j:-^^^^ 


)  i- 


!  i 


588 


TcTTLic's  Centexxjal  Northwest. 


rufTiaiiism  as  Iladcs  only  could  surpass.  There  are  sixteen 
newspapers  published  in  Leavenworth,  circulating  through  the 
county,  and  in  many  cases  far  beyond  the  state  in  whicli  thoy  are 
produced.  The  territory  was  at  one  time  disgraced  by  a  eeiisor- 
ship  of  the  press?,  which  would  have  rendered  progress  impo.'jsi- 
ble,  could  the  evil  sj-stem  have  been  sustained,  but  the  press  of 
Leavenworth  is  to  a  large  extent  master  of  the  situation,  exer- 
cising a  censorship  over  morals  and  manners  which,  in  the  main, 
is  highly  beneficial  The  city  is  about  forty-five  miles  north- 
east of  To[)eka,  seventy  miles  south  of  St.  Joseph,  ^Missouri, 
and  nearly  five  hundred  miles  from  St.  Louis.  The  city  is 
well  lighted  with  gas,  and  its  municipal  alTairs  are  regulated  by 
a  mayor  and  council. 

Among  the  finest  work,  noticeable  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
is  ttie  admirable  cast  iron  suspension  bridge  wl)ich  cross(\s  the 
Missouri  at  Leavenwoith  and  carries  the  line  of  the  Chicago, 
Rock  Island  and  Pacific  Railroad.  The  bridge,  completed,  cost 
the  company  $1,000,000.  There  are  four  miles  of  street  railways 
in  the  city.  The  state  normal  school  is  one  of  the  ornaments  of 
Leavenworth,  and  the  military  jirison,  in  the  Fort  Leavenworth 
reserve,  adjoining  the  city,  is  also  a  very  noticeable  feature; 
the  two  orphan  asylums  and  St.  Mary's  academy,  added  to  the 
twenty-seven  churches  and  nine  school  buildings,  give  a  splendid 
ar)pearance  to  this  prosperous  locality. 

Iawhknce  was  the  first  colony  planted  by  the  New  England 
Emigrants'  Aid  Association,  in  1804,  in  the  territory,  just  opened 
to  settlement  by  the  Kansas-Nebraska  act,  and  one  of  the  earliest 
experiences  of  the  settlers,  while  they  were  still  occupying  their 
tents  on  the  site  of  the  present  city,  was  a  demand  from  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  roughs,  who  had  come  to  the  R])ot,  in  wagons, 
from  the  Missouri  border,  accompanied  by  a  band,  and  carrying 
banners,  that  the  settlers  should  remove  their  tents  from  ground 
wliich  it  was  contended  had  been  taken  up  by  one  of  tlieir  party. 
The  demand  was  amplified  afterwards  into  a  claim  tliat  the  wliolc 
of  the  party  sliould  leave  the  territory,  uever  more  to  return. 
Before  the  emigrants  arrived  the  ground  tad  been  occupied  by 
other  settlers,  but  the  new  comers  bought  out  their  predecessors, 


are   sixteen 

through   tlie 

lich  thev  are 

by  a  eciisor- 

^ress  impossi- 

it  the  press  of 

tnution,  excr- 

iii  the  main, 

miles  north- 

li,   Missouri, 

The  city  is 

!  roi^ulatcd  bv 

the  country, 

h  crosses  the 

the  Chicago, 

3mjilo;e(|,  cost 

street  railways 

I  ornaments  of 

;  Leavenworth 

iable    feature  ; 

added  to  the 

ive  II  splendid 


Now  England 
y,  just  opened 
of  the  earliest 
cupying  their 
om  about  one 
:)t,  in  wagons, 
and  carrying 

from  ground 
f  their  party. 
Iiat  the  whole 
are  to  return. 

occupied  by 
predecessors, 


4''}>: 


PniNCiPAL  Cities  of  Kaxsas. 


559 


and  there  was  literally  nothing  in  the  claim  of  the  border  ruffians 
but  a  pretext  for  an  assault  on  a  peaceful  set  of  men.  Much  to 
the  surprise  of  the  assailants  the  little  colony  could  not  be  scared, 
and  the  Missourians  waited  until  their  own  ranks  were  consider- 
ably reinforced,  extending  the  time,  considerately,  within  which 
the  intruders  must  retire,  or  endure  the  terrible  consequences,  in 
being  groiuid  to  powder  as  between  the  upper  and  the  nether 
millstone.  "Rashly  importunate,"  the  Lawrence  men  would  not 
take  warning  in  spite  of  all  the  messages  that  their  invaders  sent, 
and  at  last,  their  tempers  tried  beyond  endurance,  the  Missouri- 
ans went  away  in  their  wagons  for  fear  somebody  might  get  hurt; 
but  they  left  word  that  they  would  come  again,  sometime  within 
a  week,  and  wipe  out  the  colony  altogether.  They  did  come 
again  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  months,  when  the  legislature  was 
to  be  elected,  and  nearly  live  thousand  of  the  Missourians  elected 
all  the  members  of  botli  houses  of  the  legislative  assembly,  all 
over  Kansas,  in  every  precinct  except  one.  Lawrence  was  on 
that  occasion  the  scene  of  most  disreputable  conduct,  the  judges 
of  election  w^ould  have  been  hanged  or  shot,  if  they  had  not  been 
called  away  by  their  friends,  and  pandemonium  reigned  for  fully 
twenty-four  hours  among  people  generally  accustomed  to  direct 
their  thoughts  elsewhere.  Lawrence  is  the  county  seat  of  Douglas, 
and  is  situated  on  the  Kansas  river,  thirty-eight  miles  from  Leav- 
enworth. The  river  is  crossed  by  a  very  handsome  bridge, 
which  cost  $4:5,000,  and  the  city  is  supplied  with  lirst-class  rail- 
road accommodation  by  the  Kansas  Pacific,  and  the  Leavenworth, 
Lawrence  and  Galveston  roads,  which  form  a  junction  at  this 
point,  multiplying  the  facilities  for  travel  and  traffic  possessed  by 
the  inhabitants. 

The  city  sulYered  .severely  during  the  Kansas  embroilment  in 
consequence  of  the  hatred  of  the  Missourians  who  looked  upon 
the  settlement  there  as  the  headquarters  of  the  abolitionists,  and 
consequently  omitted  no  opportunity  to  injure  the  people  and  the 
place.  The  proslavery  men  from  the  neighboring  state  carried 
the  city  by  as.sault  in  1856,  and  inflicted  injuries  to  the  extent  of 
$15(VO00  to  property  alone ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  same 
party  which  did  the  damage  in  'iJG  inspired  a  still  more  abomin- 
able outrage  in  18G3,  when  the  guerilla  leader  Quantrell  with  a 


\':^^. 


i:\ 


Mi 


'       tf 


590 


TuTTLtfs   CENTEySIAL  NOL'TinVEST, 


band  of  desperadoes  surprised  the  defenseless  city,  massacred  one 
hundred  and  fifty  persons  in  cold  blood,  burned  niore  than  one 
hundred  houses,  sacked  the  wealthier  habitations  and  csca})cd 
with  their  plunder.  In  spite  of  all  its  disasters  the  people  have 
kept  up  their  courage  and  the  city  still  ranks  as  the  second  in  the 
state.  Its  houses  and  business  blocks  are  very  handsome  and 
substantial,  and  the  city,  built  on  rising  ground  whicii  slo])es  to- 
ward the  river,  is  excellently  drained.  The  streets  are  macada- 
mized, with  fine  sidewalks,  and  are  shaded  by  fine  rows  of  trees 
whicl,  add  much  to  the  beauty  as  well  as  to  the  comfort  of  the 
site.  Tiiere  are  many  important  works  in  operation  here,  includ- 
ing iron  foundries,  machine  shops,  planing  mills,  and  tanneries, 
besides  an  immense  variety  of  smaller  establishments  which 
pay  a  largo  aggregate  of  wages.  The  population  in  the  year  1870, 
when  the  last  census  was  taken  only  amounted  to  8,320,  but  at 
the  present  time  there  cannot  be  less  than  twelve  thousand  inhab- 
itants in  Lawrence.  The  city  has  commercial  relations  with  all 
the  ";reat  cities  in  Kansas  anct  the  neighboring  states  and  the  aurri- 
cultural  population  in  Douglas  county  may  be  said  to  contain  the 
very  cream  of  the  farming  community  in  Kansas.  Lawrence  is 
the  location  of  the  state  university  and  the  interests  of  learning 
are  safe  in  the  hands  of  that  high  toned  community.  There  are 
manv  churches,  some  of  them  very  hand.some  indeed,  but  when 
the  ruITians  sacked  the  place  in  185G,  and  again  in  180o,  they 
showed  the  hatred  of  Vandals  for  everything  that  was  most 
beautiful.  All  the  earlier  meetings  which  led  the  way  toward 
the  establishment  of  free  government  in  the  territory  and  state 
were  held  in  Lawrence,  hence  the  antipathy  of  Missouri  was  not 
without  good  grounds.  The  school  system  in  Lawrence  is  very 
elficient,  and  the  buildings  arc  fine.  There  are  eight  newspa[)er3 
in  the  city,  and  they  are  well  supported  but  not  an  iota  better 
than  they  deserve,  as  their  tone  intellectually,  morally  and  politi- 
cally is  beyond  praise.  The  dam,  recently  constructed  acro.ss 
Kansas  river  here  and  now  completed,  gives  a  motive  force  for 
machinery  equal  to  three  thousand  horse  j^owcr.  Si.K  railroads 
center  in  Lawrence,  and  there  are  seventeen  churches.  The 
jiublic  library  is  a  fine  building  and  the  woolen  mill  is  by 
many  thought  even   more   important.     The  pork  packing  estab- 


Prixcii'al  Cities  of  Kansas. 


591 


nas.sacrcd  one 
11)10  tliaa  one 
and   c.scaj)cd 
people  liavc 
second  in  the 
landsonie  and 
lich  sloj)es  to- 
s  are  maeada- 
|;  rows  of  trees 
onifort  of  the 
n  liere,  inelud- 
aiid   tanneries, 
liineiits   wliieli 
tlie  year  1870, 
)   8,320,  but  at 
lousand  inliab- 
lations  with  all 
«  and  the  agri- 
I  to  contain  the 
i.     Lawrence  is 
sts  of  learnino: 
ily.     There  are 
eed,  but   when 
in    1803,   they 
hat    wa.s   most 
he  way  towaril. 
tory  and   state 
issoui'i  wa.s  not 
wrence  is  very 
;ht  newspapers 
an    iota  better 
illy  and  politi- 
trueted   across 
tive  force   for 
Six   railroads 
liurchcs.     The 
en  mill   is  by 
lacking  estab- 


lishment in  Lawrence  will  add  materially  to  the  business  of  the 
city. 

Atchison  is  the  county  scat  of  Atchison,  and  was  named 
in  rcineinbrance  of  one  of  tlie  Missourian  leaders.  Gen.  Atchison, 
who  was  for  some  years  United  States  senator  for  Mi.ssouri,  and 
by  accident  became  vice  president  of  the  union  for  a  short  time. 
The  general  never  saw  service,  except  in  the  guerilla  war  which 
was  prosecuted  against  free  state  men  in  Kansas  territory,  but  he 
was  in  great  hope  at  one  time  that  his  labors  in  that  field  would 
secure  him  the  vote  of  the  south  for  the  presidency,  in  which  ease 
that  section  of  the  union  would  have  been  perfectly  safe  against 
the  liberation  of  their  human  chattels.  The  city  lies  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Missouri,  surrounded  by  bluffs  and  hills  which  give 
the  place  quite  a  picturesque  appearance.  Kansas  city  in  Mis- 
souri is  just  forty-eight  miles  southeast  from  Atchison  ;  Topeka, 
eight3'-nine  miles  southwest,  and  St.  Joseph  twenty  miles  above 
on  the  river.  In  the  troubles  incideni.  .  to  the  struggle  for  su- 
])remacy  between  free  state  men  and  proslavery  men,  Atchison,  be- 
ing the  headquarters  of  many  friends  of  the  border  party,  escaped 
spoliation.  There  are  many  manufactories  established  in  the  city 
employing  large  numbers  of  people,  and  the  local  trade  is  consid- 
erable in  consequence  of  the  large  agricultural  are>i  which  makes 
Atchison  its  center.  The  town  makes  very  extensive  shipments 
by  the  river  as  well  as  b}-  the  Missouri  Pacific  railroad  ;  by  the 
central  branch  of  the  Union  Pacific,  which  has  its  terminus  here  ; 
by  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Sante  Fe  railroad  ;  and  by  the 
Atciiison  and  Nebraska  railroad.  The  population  in  1870  when 
the  last  census  was  collected  was  7,051,  and  is  now  probably  very 
nearly  ten  thousand.  There  are  four  newspapers  published  here 
representing  the  public  opinion  of  Atchison  county  and  city,  and 
they  are  all  tolerably  well  conducted.  The  area  of  the  county  is 
about  -115  square  miles,  r..nd  it  contains  a  population  of  about 
twenty  thousand  souls.  The  schools  in  Atchison  are  well  con- 
ducted and  tolerably  well  attended,  but  their  system  of  grading 
will  admit  of  soine  improvements,  which  there  is  every  disposi- 
tion to  provide  for.  The  average  attainments  of  the  teachers  stand 
very  high  indeed.     Churches  are  tolerably  represented  in  Atchi- 


592 


TVTTLHS  CeSTENXIAI,  NORTHWEST. 


son,  but  some  of  the  buildings  must  soon  be  removed  to  "■'ivc 
place  to  more  elegant  structures,  such  as  the  wealth  of  the  city  can 
very  well  afl'ord  to  erect.  The  tone  of  Atchison  at  the  present 
day  is  sound  to  the  core,  and  the  city  deserves  all  the  prosperity 
which  it  so  well  enjoys. 


'■    'I 


Wyandottk  takes  its  name  from  a  tribe  of  Indians  once 
located  in  the  territory  of  Kansas,  but  long  since  removed  to  hap- 
pier hunting  grounds.  The  city  stands  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Kansas  river  where  that  stream  ends  its  course  of  four  hundred 
inilcs  by  emptying  its  volume  into  the  Missouri,  just  at  the  point 
where  the  Kansas  river  becomes  the  boundary  line  between  the 
two  states,  which  were  so  long  and  so  disastrously  engaged  in 
internecine  strife.  Wyandotte  is  the  county  seat  of  Wyandotte, 
but  it  does  not  increase  very  rapidly,  being  too  near  to  Kansas 
City,  Mo.,  for  rapid  progi'cssir.i  in  commercial  importance.  It  is 
the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Eailroad  ;  and  lias  .1 
station  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Railroad,  four  miles  west  of 
Kansas  City.  There  is  a  very  fine  bridge  over  the  Kansas  river 
at  this  point.  Vessels  have  ascended  the  river  froni  the  Mis- 
souri, to  beyond  the  point  where  the  Solomon  and  the  Smoky 
Ilill  combine  to  form  tlie  main  stream,  but  the  jiarties  that  cllect- 
ed  the  passage  were  not  encouraged  to  attempt  further  exploits 
in  the  same  line,  and  the  Kansas  can  hardly  be  included  in  the 
list  of  navigable  rivers  in  the  union.  The  population  of  the 
city  at  the  time  of  the  latest  cansus  was  nearly  three  thousand, 
and  is  now,  probably  over  four  thousand,  the  local  trade  being 
considerable.  There  are  two  newspapers  published  in  Wyan- 
dotte, but  the  courage  of  the  people,  which  would  suflice  to  build 
up  a  fine  commerce  elsewhere,  is  spent  at  a  great  di.sadvantage, 
in  a  position  where  the  city  figures  as  little  other  than  a  railwaj' 
suburb  of  Kansas  City. 


PiaxciPAL  Cities  of  Nebraska. 


593 


)vcd  to  give 
the  city  can 
the  present 

10  prosperity 


CIIAPTEli   XLVI. 


ndians  oneo 
veJ  to  hap- 
iith   of  the 
ur  hundred 
at  the  point 
between  the 
y  engaged  in 
Wyandotte, 
w  to   Kansas 
rtance.     It  is 
1 ;  and  has  a 
niles  west  of 
Kansas  river 
•om  the  Mis- 
l  the  Smoky 
3s  that  efTect- 
tlier  exploits 
Inded   in  the 
ation   of  the 
ee  thousand, 
trade  beincj 
1  in    Wyan- 
fTice  to  buihl 
isadvantage, 
an  a  railwaj' 


PRINCIPAL  CITIES  UP   IS'EBUASKA. 
Lincoln  —  Omalm  —  Nebniskii  City. 

Lincoln  is  the  capital  of  Nebraska  and  the  county  seat  of 
•  Lancaster,  fifty  seven  miles  from  Nebraska  City,  in  a  very  fertile 
district,   which   is   becoming   populated   by  a  very  enterprising 
class  of  farmers.-     Nebraska  was  a  pait  of  the  territory  which 
was  i>urchased  from  Napoleon  in  1803,  known  as  the  Louisiana 
purciiase.     There  may  be  said  to  have  been  no  emigration  into 
Nebraska  until  the  territory  was  thrown  open  to  the  competitive 
cITorts  of  north  and  south  by  the  Nebraska-Kansas  act  of  1854, 
and  at  that  time  the  main  attention  of  both  parties  having  been 
concentrated  on  Kansas,  Nebraska  e.-capcd  the  pestilent  operations 
of  the  rufiians  over  the  border.     Emigration  became  very  rapid 
after  tlie  struggle  in  Kansas  turned  attention  from  the  region  more 
lavoi'cd  b}'  nature,  until  the  financial  crisis  of  1857,  the  result  of 
over  speculation  in  land  and  in  everything  that  ofTered  chances 
for  legitimate  gambling,  whon  Nebraska  was  severel}''  checked, 
but  in  the  year  ISG-l,  the  act  enabling  the  citizens  to  form  a  state 
governtnent  was  passed,  and  a  constitution   having  been  formed 
before  June  180(),    and   ratified    in  due   course,  the   state  was 
admitted  to  the  union  in  February,  1867.     Lincoln  city  sprang 
up  very  rapidly  in  the  summer  of  1867,  and  towards  the  end  of 
the  following  year,  the  seat  of  government  was  transferred  from 
Omaha,  which,  until  then,  had  been  tlie  capital,  to  the  fair  and 
jironiising   young   rival,    eighty   miles   to   the   southwest.     The 
elegant  residences  and  business  premises  of  Lincoln  sprang  up 
•with  wondrous  speed,  and   the  location  of  the  cit\'-  is  certainly 
very  advantageous.     The  legislature  first  met  in  Lincoln  in  Jan- 
uary, 1869,  but  the  present  state  house  was  not  erected  until 
later.     Tlie  capitol  cost  $100,000,  and  is  a  very  fine  structure. 
The  university  in  Lincoln  promises  well,  and  the  state  agricul- 
S8 


mr':^ 


,!>/ 


II  i.tk 

.!(h 


1 1   ' 


/;!'!-. '-^ 


"'^•ft:. 


ill  '■ 


•■\    :\ 


N-Ml 


1,.n 


!    'M 


!  <  -    '3 


"V 


594 


TuTTLffs  Centennial  Kohthwest. 


tural  college  is  also  located  here.  There  arc  several  manufac- 
tories, and  very  extensive  salines,  the  salt  works  being  very  suc- 
cessful in  procuring  an  article  of  coinnieree  from  the  salt  springs 
in  this  neighborhood.  There  arc  eight  ncw.spapers  published  in 
Lincoln,  the  churches  are  already  ornamental  to  the  city,  the 
schools  arc  well  organized,  and  when  the  census  was  taken  in 
1870,  the  population  was  two  thousand  lour  hundred  and  forty- 
one  ;  the  present  population  is  nearly  four  thousand. 

Omaha  has  been  well  advertised  all  over  the  world  as  the  city 
which  was  located,  or  invented,  or  liberally  endowed,  or  other- 
wise benciitod  by  the  celebrated  George  Francis  Train,  but  the 
city  is  a  flourishing  place  notwithstanding,  and  it  appears  that 
the  property  of  its  benefactor  in  Omaha  has  been  sold  for  unpaid 
taxes.  Such  is  the  gratitude  of  republics;  they  won't  thank  any- 
one for  doing  nothing.  Omaha  is  the  county  seat  of  Douglas, 
standing  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  o})posite 
Council  Blufls,  and  it  is  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  l^nion  Pacific 
Kailroad.  The  city  contains  other  termini  :  the  Omaha  and- 
Northwestern,  the  naha  and  Southwestern,  and  b}-  the  bridge 
which  spans  the  river  at  this  point  it  may  be  said  also  to  fjoasess 
a  terminal  station  for  the  railroads  which  center  at  Council 
Blufls.  When  the  river  is  hicrh,  Omaha  has  steadv  communi- 
catJffti  with  St.  Louis,  820  miles  below,  and  with  various  cities 
en  route.  The  city  stands  on  a  plateau  fifty  feet  above  the  Mis- 
souri level  and  is  well  built.  In  the  year  IStiO,  its  population 
was  1,801;  before  the  next  census,  in  1871,  it  numbered  1(5, 083, 
and  the  population  still  increases  rapidly.  Its  commerce  and 
its  manufacturing  interests  arc  being  developed  with  great  suc- 
cess; the  schools  are  excellent,  its  churches  well  attended,  and 
its  fourteen  newspapers  remarkably  well  supported.  At  some 
seasons  of  the  year  the  ^lissouri  can  l.)o  navigated  far  above 
Omaha.  The  city  is  fourteen  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Platto 
river.  The  bluffs  rising  beyond  the  business  area  will,  in  course 
of  time,  become  the  sites  of  innumerable  handsome  residences, 
adding  considerably  to  the  beauty  of  the  scene  which  is  now 
presented.  The  trade  from  this  point  to  the  mines,  frontier  ]iost3 
and  aero.=;s  the  plains,  is  large.    The  city  was  first  settled  in  185-1, 


Ill  manufac- 
lig  very  suc- 
jsalt  springs 
bublisliod  in 
lie  cily,  tlic 
las  taken  in 
and  forty- 

1  as  the  city 
xl,  or  otlier- 
aiii,  but  the 
appears  that 

1  for  unpaid 
'l  thank  any- 

()[  DougLas, 
VC1-,  opposite 
I'nion  Pacific 

Omaha   and" 
liy  the  bridge 

IsO  to  [»03SC3S 

■r  at  Council 
dv  connnuni- 
various  cities 
jovo  the  Mis- 
ts population 
bered  1(5,083, 
jmmcrcc  and 
ih  great  suc- 
attcndcd,  and 
d.  At  some 
cd  far  abovo, 
Litli  of  i'latto 
vill,  in  course 
nc  residences, 
which  is  now 
frontier  posts 
ttled  in  185-1, 


St.  Louis  axd  Kaxsas  City,  Mo. 


695 


after  the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  act,  and  its  name  is  bor- 
rowed from  an  Indian  tribe. 

Kkbraska  City  is  the  second  city  in  the  state  of  Nebraska, 
and  is  the  scat  of  justice  for  Otoe  county.  It  is  placed  on  the 
right  or  western  bank  of  the  river  Missouri,  twenty-eight  miles 
below  the  mouth  of  river  Platte.  The  city  is  built  on  ground 
which  rises  as  it  recedes  from  the  river,  and  is  thus  well  situated 
for  drainage.  Most  of  the  buildings  arc  of  wood,  but  the  general 
aspect  of  the  place  is  decidedly  line,  and  better  materials  will 
come  into  use  as  the  piesent  structures  require  renewal.  The 
county  buildings  are  commodious,  and  the  several  churcher  are 
vay  attractive  .specimens  of  architecture.  There  arc  public  halls 
for  amusements,  several  schools  well  graded  and  the  teachers  are 
quite  up  to  their  work.  In  the  j'car  1870,  when  the  last  census 
was  taken,  there  were  6,050  inhabitants,  but  since  that  time  there 
has  been  a  large  increase.  There  are  several  newspapers  all  well 
supported.  Nebraska  City  does  a  good  share  of  river  trade,  and 
also  with  the  frontier  towns.  The  Pacific  railroads  have  very 
greatly  injured  the  business  which  used  to  be  effected  with  emi- 
grants crossinsr  the  plains.  In  the  western  section  of  Otoe  county 
are  valuable  salt  springs  which  will  contribute  very  materially  to 
enrich  Nebraska  Cit}'.  as  the  salt  works  arc  extended.  The  salt 
manufactured  is  excellent. 


CHAPTER    XLVII. 

CITIES  OF  ST.  LOUIS  AND  KANSAS  CITY,  MISSOURI. 

St.  Louis  was  founded  in  17(U,  by  'SL  Laclade,  a  Frenchman, 
who  established  a  fur  company  there  under  a  charter  of  the 
French  governor  general  of  Louisiana,  and  named  the  place  in 
honor  of  Louis  XV,  then  king  of  Franco.  In  1708.  a  Spanish 
officer  by  the  name  of  Eeous,  with  a  company  of  Spanish  troops, 
took  possession   of  St.  Louis  and  upper  Louisiana   (as  it  was 


■k 


'■if 


fi: 


,t)'r 


i"  ■'[ 


696 


Tuttjj:\s  Ci:yrj:x\j.ih  Xoir/Fiwi^sr. 


termed),  in  llie  name  of  his  Catholic  mnjosty,  and  it  remained 
under  that  sway  until  ^farch,  1804.     The  first  briek  lionsc  was 
ci-cctcd  in  1813,  and  in  1817.  tlic  lirst  steamboat  arrived.     Tlio 
city  is  located  on  the  \ve?t  bank  of  the  Mi.s.si.ssi[)i)i,  1,19-4  miles 
above  New  Oi'lcans,  774  miles  below  Minneapolis  or  the  Falls  of 
St.  Anthou}',  128  miles  east  of  .TcfTer.son  City.  174   miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  aii'l  20  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
^lis.souri  river,  and  is  the  ■     ;ro()olis  of  ^^i.s.souri,  the  largest  city 
of  the  western  states,  and  the  third  city,  in  regard  to  po[>uhitioii, 
in  the  L'nited  States.     The  city  rises  in  three  successive  terraces 
of  limestone  formation,  the  lirst  twent}',  the  second  sixty  and  the 
third  two  hundred  feet  above  the  floods  of  the  ^[i8sissi^)pi.     Tlie 
ascent  to  the  first  plateau  or  bottom,  as  it  may  be  termed,  is 
somewhat  abrujit;  the  second  and  third  rise  more  gradually  and 
ppread  out  into  an  extensive   j^lain,  affording  fine  views  of   the 
city  and  river.     The  city  extends  fourteen  miles  along  the  river 
and  nine  miles  inland,  covering  35,000  acres  or  nearly  fifty-five 
square  miles ;  the  thickly  populated  portion,  however,   i.-'  only 
four  or  four  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  following  the  ilver,  and 
about  two  miles  in  breadth.     The  city  is  well  laid  out,  the  streets 
being  for  the  niost  part  sixty  feet  wide  and  witli  few  exceptions 
intersecting  each  other  at  riirlit  angles.     Front  street,  extending 
along  the  levee,  is  ui)wards  of  one  hundred  feet  wide,  and  built 
tip  on   the  side  f:>cing  the  river  with  a  range  of  massive  stone 
warehouses,  which   make  an  imposing  appearance  as  the  city  is 
approached   by   water.      Fourth   street,  called  "the  fashionable 
promenade,"  contains  the  finest  retail  stores;    but  Front,  Main 
and  Second  streets,  ]iaralicl  to  each  other  and  to  the  river,  are 
the  seat  of  tlu;   largest  and   principal  wholesale  business.     The 
streets  back  from  the  river  and  parallel  to  it,  are  known  as  Front, 
Main,  Second,  Third  and  so  on  to  Fortieth  street;  and  those  on 
the  right  and  left  of  Market  street,  extending  at  right  angles  with 
the  river,  arc  mostly  named  from  various  forest  tress,  similar  to 
the  streets  of  Philidelphia,   and    large  expenditures  have  been 
made  from  time   to  time,  in  grading  and  other  improvements. 
Within  the  last  ten  years,  the  style  of  building  in  the  city  has  so 
improved  as  to  make  it  now  one  of  the  most  beautifull\-  and  sub- 
stantially constructed  cities  in  the  country.     Brick  is  the  princi- 


St.  Louis  .\.\/>  K.txs.is  Cm',  Mo. 


697 


t  remained 
liouso  wa.s 
rivod.     Tlio 
1,19-4  miles 
llic  Falls  of 
miles  above 
outli  oT  tho 
largest  city 
population, 
<ivc  tcrraees 
sixty  and  tlio 
issippi.     Tlic 
be  termed,  is 
;radually  and 
views  of   tlio 
ong  the  river 
3arly  fifty-five 
ever,   i.^'  onlv 
the  liver,  and 
Dut,  the  streets 
cw  cxeejitions 
eet,  extending 
de,  and  built 
massive  stone 
as  the  oil}'  is 
ic  fashionable 
;  Fi'ont,  Main 
the  river,  arc 
lusiness.     Tho 
lown  as  Front, 
and  those  on 
it  angles  with 
CSS,  similar  to 
es  liave  been 
mprovernents. 
he  city  has  so 
:ull}-  and  sub- 
is  the  ])rinci- 


pul  buihling  material,  and  yet  marble,  iron  and  stone  are  much 
used.  Very  many  of  the  private  residences  are  fine,  indeerl,  and 
as  the  wealth  of  the  city  has  increased,  the  citizcn-s,  with  a  noblo 
and  commendable  s[)irit,  have  lavishly  given  their  gold  to  enlarge 
and  to  beautify  the  city.  The  public  buildings  are  very  fine, 
inch  I''!,  and  stand  well  in  a  comparison  with  any  in  the  union. 
'J'he  city  hall  and  court  house  is  a  inagnificient  structure  (finished 
in  ISGO),  and  cost  over  a  million  of  dollars.  ";,  is  constructed  of 
limestone,  the  front  being  ornamented  with  [jorticocs,  while  from 
the  center  of  the  building  rises  a  finely  proportioned  dome,  which 
in  form  and  beauty  greatly  resembles  that  of  the  capitol  at 
AVashington.  The  custom  house,  built  of  Mi-  .)uri  marble  and 
occupying  the  site  upon  which  one  of  the  first  theaters  erected  in 
St.  Louis  was  located,  stands  upon  piles  of  great  length  and  is 
occupied  also  as  city  postofifice  and  for  United  States  courta 
The  United  States  arsenal  is  a  massive  building,  and  the  mer- 
chants' exchange  is  a  costly  and  beautiful  one.  Tho  marine 
hospital,  tho  insane  asylum,  tho  mercantile  library  hall,  the  poly- 
tcrlmic  institute  and  tho  St.  Louis  life  insurance  buildings,  all 
exhibit  fine  artistic  taste  and  do  lasting  credit  to  their  founders 
and  builders.  The  city  also  contains  many  large  and  beautiful 
churches  (over  eighty  of  all  descriptions),  and  among  the  most 
costly  may  be  named  the  lioman  Catholic  cathedral,  the  church 
of  tho  Messiah  (Unitarian),  and  St.  George's  church  (F,{nscopal). 
It  has  also  numerous  charitable  and  benevolent  institutions,  such 
as  the  city  ho.-pital,  the  sisters'  hospital,  the  home  for  the  friend- 
less, the  home  of  refuge,  tho  reform  .school  and  ten  orphan  a.sy- 
lums  ;  also  the  marine  hospital,  located  three  miles  below  tho 
city.  Its  public  school  system  is  large  and  well  arranged,  under 
the  care  of  twenty-six  citizens,  and  tlie  school  fund  is  about  three 
aiul  one  half  millions.  There  are  fifty-eight  school  houses,  con- 
taining 482  rooms,  o^.^Sl  pupils  and  003  teachers  —  one  normal 
school,  four  branch  high  schools,  forty-eight  district  schools,  six 
colore  1  schools  and  seventeen  evening  schools.  The  school 
property  with  furniture  exceeds  two  and  a  half  millions  of  dol- 
lars, and  the  annual  expenses  arc  about  200,000  dollars.  The 
educational  institutions  of  a  higher  class  arc  ample  ard  generally 
well  sustained,  such  ixs  the  Washington  university,  tho  St.  Louis 


i  " 
I 


i  i)|fi|iii^  I  ^ 


•'i; 


;;;:! 


H' 


,,l! 


-h.i-'- 


■     I 


■  *l 


pi^a 


11 


598 


'TiTTijj's  Cknti:s'sial  Nohtii wkst. 


university,  tlio  collego  of  tlic  Christian  brothers,  tlio  St.  Patrick's 
acadoiiiy  (the  hist  three  Eoman  C:iti)olic),  tlie  St.  Louis  medical 
college,  and  the  St.  Loui.s  law  .scliool,  and  the  academy  of  .sci- 
ences. Wo  find  also  a  .scientific  and  literary  association,  the 
engineer's  club,  the  historical  society,  the  institute  of  architects, 
the  agricultural  and  mechanical  society,  the  medical  society,  the 
union  literary  association,  the  university  club  and  the  art  society. 
The  city  has  several  fine  libraries,  among  which  may  be  noticed 
the  mercantile  library  of  nearly  50,000  volumes,  the  jmblic 
.school  library  of  ,'50,000  volumes,  the  St.  liouis  library  of  25,000 
volumes,  the  court  house  library  of  8,000  volumes,  the  library  of 
the  Washington  university  of  7,000  volumes. 

The  city  has  several  parks  and  pleasure  grounds  which  cover  a 
large  area.  La  Fayette  park  is  a  fine  K(iuare,  containing  30  acres, 
surrounded  by  elegant  residences,  signifying  taste,  wealth  and 
energy.  Shaw's  garden,  the  largest  of  the  parks,  has  330  acrca, 
includingau  herb  and  flower  garden  of  10  acre.s,  several  hothouses, 
and  a  fruit  garden  of  6  acre.s.  Also  the  St.  Louis  "  fair  grounds ' 
contain  So  acres,  beautifully  laid  out  and  amply  furnished. 
Thus  when  the  red  summer's  sun  is  sinking  to  his  pillow  in  the 
west;  when  the  beautifid  birds  are  singing  their  vesper  hymns, 
these  parks  offer  a  resort,  a  ramble  or  a  rest  to  scores  and  hundreds 
of  men  who  have  been  confined  to  the  din  and  dust  of  the  crowd- 
ed streets  through  all  the  bustling  business  hours  —  offer  a  stroll 
to  ilie  aged  and  young,  to  friend  with  friend,  as  the  welcome  eve- 
ning softly  lays  her  veil  over  the  city —  thus  there  is  iiuuuvr.ity 
and  health  in  a  park. 

The  new  bridge  which  spans  the  Mississippi  here  connecting 
St.  Louis,  Mis.souri,  with  St.  Louis,  Illinois  (or  east  St.  Louis),  is 
a  grand  triumph  of  art  —  a  thing  to  study,  use  and  admire.  It  is 
2,230  feet  long,  oO  feet  wide,  and  cost  $7,043,003,  is  built  in  two 
stories,  the  upper  for  carriages  and  foot  pas.sengcr.s,  and  the  lower 
for  vehicles  of  burden  and  transit ;  all  resting  on  deep  laid  and 
solid  mason  work,  connected  by  three  arches  constructed  of  two 
tier  of  hollow  east  steel  cylinders,  supporting  the  two  stories  of 
the  bridge.  The  central  span  is  525  feet,  and  the  other  two  515 
feet  each,  and  the  arches  are  50  feet  above  high  water.  And  it 
is  tbis  bridge  which  opens  up  a  mart  for  thousands  in  southwest- 


k  Patrick's 
%.UA  meJical 
lomy  of  sci- 
[ciulion,  tho 
urchiteuts, 
society,  tlio 
art  society. 
1)0  luAiced 
the  imblie 
fry  of  25,000 
lie  library  of 

hieli  cover  ft 
ing  30  uercri, 

wealtli  and 
las  3o0  acrea, 
al  hothouses, 
air  grounds' 
y  furnished, 
pillow  in  the 
(\sper  hymns, 
and  hundreds 
of  the  crowd- 
-  ofTer  a  stroll 
welcome  eve- 
is  nuiiiii::'.ty 

c  connecting 
St.  Louis),  is 
.dmire.  It  is 
5  built  in  two 
ind  the  lower 
Jeep  laid  and 
•ucted  of  two 
wo  stories  of 
)ther  two  515 
iter.  And  it 
in  southwest- 


Sr.  Lvi'is  ASD  Kaa'sas  Citv,  Mo. 


690 


em  Tllinois,  and  thus  connects  the  interests  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
l(»  the  great  interests  and  luxuries  of  the  "prairie  .state."  Tho 
press  of  St.  Louis  is  represented  by  73  papers  and  periodical  pub- 
lications; including  8  dailies  and  5  journals.  Many  of  tliose  arc 
ably  edited  and  managed,  and  show  the  power  of  the  pen  to 
lead,  lift  and  mould  society ;  thus  making  tliem.selvcs  a  praise 
and  a  i)ower  ihmugh  the  length  and  breadth  of  tho  land.  The 
manufacturing  interests  of  St.  Louis  arc  larg(3  and  very  important 
to  the  life  and  growth  of  the  city,  as  well  as  to  a  very  great  area 
of  country  surrounding  it  in  every  direction.  Among  these  arc 
extensive  iron  works,  (louring  mills  (which  in  1870  turned  out 
1,351,733  barrels  of  flour),  sugar  refineries,  manufactories  of  hemp, 
rope  and  bagging,  and  tobacco  and  oil  mills.  In  1870,  the  cap- 
ital invested  in  manufacture  in  tlie  city  was  §41,701,088;  the 
number  of  hands  employed,  33,551 ;  the  wages  paid,  .$15,UO0,131 ; 
while  the  material  used  was  worth  §00,541,012  ;  and  the  total 
value  of  the  articles  manufactured,  $131,102,070.  These  figures 
occupy  but  little  space  on  paper,  and  naturally  will  fail  to  convey 
any  adcrpiate  idea  of  the  vast  interests  and  industries  they  refer 
to,  and  yet  they  may  partially  indicate  the  fact  that  millions  of 
wheels  are  turned  in  St.  Louis  by  the  touch  of  steam  or  other- 
wise, and  thus  give  bread,  shelter  and  clothing  to  thousands  of 
workmen  and  tlieir  happy  families,  as  well  as  gold  in  abundance 
to  proprietors  and  employes.  Tlie  commerce  of  the  city  is  large, 
both  by  its  railways  and  by  the  river,  the  latter  being  shown  by 
the  fact  that  there  were  2,708  steamboat  arrivals  at  its  wharves  in 
1872.  The  population  in  1873  was  450,000,  nearly  one-third  of 
which  was  of  foreign  birth,  ^fuch  more  might  be  said  of  this 
busy  spot,  but  we  will  close  this  brief  sketch  by  simply  stating 
that  in  1780,  St.  Louis  numbered  087  inhabitants,  and  in  1872, 
1,559  new  buildings  were  erected  within  its  limits. 

Kansas  City.  —Kansas  City,  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Missouri  river,  in  Jackson  couniy,  Mi.ssouri,  is  one  mile  from  the 
boundary  line  between  ^Missouri  and  Kansas,  and  235  miles  west 
of  St.  Louis.  It  is  the  second  city  in  the  state,  in  respect  to  pop- 
ulation, and  is  actively  engaged  in  manufactures  and  commerce, 
trading  heavily  with  '.ac  Kocky  Mountain  settlements,  and  also 


It';.- 


m-^  ■ 


600 


Tcttle's  Cextuxxial  Northwest. 


along  tlic  upper  Missouri.  The  site  of  the  city  was  originally 
rough,  being  partly  on  the  bluff  and  partly  on  the  river  bottom  ; 
but  by  a  well  arranged  system  of  grading;  a  vast  improvement 
hat',  been  effected.  It  has  9  railroads,  and  4  otliers  in  coi.struc- 
tion  ;  hn.s  1  linos  of  .street  railway  whieh  also  connect  with  tho 
adjoining  tow^u  of  Westport,  in  Mi.^souri,  and  also  with  "^A^'yan- 
dottc,  in  Kansas.  The  city  i.s  lit  with  gas,  and  to  obtain  an  ample 
supply  of  pure  water,  the  standpipe  and  Holly  system  wern  being 
constructed  in  IST-l-,  and  to  cost  from  .$750,000  to  $1,000,U00 ; 
contemplating  20  miles  of  supply  pipe,  300  fire  liydrants,  and  the 
two  reservoirs  were  to  have  a  holding  capacity  of  20,000,000  gal- 
lons. The  cit3'  is  surrounded  by  a  very  large  tract  of  rich  and 
v.iluablc  land  abounding  in  coal,  lead,  iron,  and  other  mineral.s, 
and  is  the  center  of  a  vast  trade  in  live  stock,  and  does  a  large 
business  in  the  packing  ot  pork  :  13,000  hogs  having  been  packed 
in  1808,  and  200,000  in  1873.  Also  the  cattle  trade  in  1873  w\a3 
227,009  head,  valued  at  $3,415,035.  The  city  was  incorporated 
in  1853,  but  so  slow  was  its  growth,  that  in  18(50,  it  had  only  4,418 
inhabitants.  But  through  the  stimulus  of  railroad  cut  M'[irise  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years,  the  business  and  population  have  rapidly 
increased,  and  in  1870  its  inhabitants  num.bered  32,200.  Aboard 
of  trade  was  organized  in  1872,  and  a  metropolitan  telegrapli  com- 
pany was  formed  iii  1873.  The  press  is  well  represented  here  and 
i.bly  manned;  there  being  6  daily  papers  printed,  2  tri-weckly,  6 
weekly  and  1  bi-monthly.  Tlicrc  arc  12  banks,  28  churches  and 
14  public  schools.  ALso  2  medical  colleges  (with  a  medical  jour- 
nal), 1  semiiiarv,  2  hospitals,  an  orphan's  asylum,  a  workhouse 
and  woman's  hojne,  2  theatres  and  opera  house.  The  valuation 
of  real  estace  in  1872  was  $11,993,000,  and  in  1873  $12JlS7,87o. 
Thus,  where  but  yesterday  the  wildlings  of  nature  had  their  home, 
and  the  red  man  danced,  roamed,  iiuntcd  and  pitched  his  simple 
tent,  now  rise  tlie  halls  of  art,  with  domes  of  beauty  —  now  stand 
the  shrines  of  worship  'mid  homes  of  peace  and  pahices  of  plenty. 
Surely  civili^ation  has  a  magic  power  —  a  touch  ethcrial  and 
grand,  for  •'  it  speak?;,  and  it  is  done"  —  it  lifts  its  poaceful,  gold- 
en wand,  and  the  forest  melts  away  like  frost  in  the  red  rays  of 
the  morning  beam,  the  rough  places-  change  to  gardens,  and  the 
sea-like  prairie  groans  under  its  loa(i  of  precious  grain. 


•^;fr: 


The  Sioux  Massachk. 


COl 


originally 
[r  bottmn  ; 
proveinent 

coi.strac- 
;t  with  tlio 
ith  AVyan- 
11  ;ih  ample 
ver^  beinsr 

O 

1,000.000; 
is,  and  the 
00.000  a-al- 
f  rich   and 
r  minerals, 
oe.s  a  largo 
ccn  packed 
n  ISTo  was 
icorporatcd 
.  only  4,418 
M'[)ri.-^e  dur- 
ivc  rapidly 
.).    A  board 
graph  com- 
3(1  here  and 
i-wcckly,  6 
lurches  and 
edical  jonr- 
workhou.se 
e  valuation 
12,087,87,:). 
':heir  home, 
his  .simple 
-  now  stand 
^  of  plenty. 
Lherial   and 
cefnl,  gold- 
red  rays  of 
IS,  and  tho 


CIIAPTill    XLYIII. 

(Al'l'ENUnOKV.) 

THE  SIOUX  MASSACKE. 

The  record  of  this  thrilling  event,  which  was  left  out  of  all 
preceding  references  to  Minnesota,  for  convenience,  and  in  order 
that  it  might  be  presented  by  itself,  will  appear  to  merit  tho 
prominence  we  give  it;  for,  probably,  few  events  in  the  last  twenty 
y(  a's  have  so  stirred,  shocked  and  saddened  the  people  of  the 
iiortliwest  as  the  Sioux  massacre  in  tlie  state  of  Minnesi)la  in 
1862.  Like  the  Indian  massacre  which  occured  in  tlie  valley  of 
the  James  river,  two  hundred  and  forty  years  before,  it  came  to 
a<id  another  horrid  chapter  to  the  long  and  terrible  record  of  In- 
dian cruelty,  and  to  tell  the  white  man,  that  he  has  no  security 
for  the  life  of  his  wife  and  children  in  the  frontier  settlements 
■whenever  the  red  nan  chances  or  chooses  to  take  the  "  war  path." 

It  would  seem,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  the  labored 
•light  which  Christianity  has  thrown  upon  the  sava.i'-e  tribes  lias 
had  a  great  influence  upon  many  C'*"  them  and  upon  many  indi- 
vidual Indians  in  various  tribes ;  bu*-  the  savages  who  committed 
the  Siou.N;  massacre  really  seem  *o  have  had  all  that  dark  and 
heartless  hate  which  in  other  ;  .*i  early  days  made  the  tomahawk 
and  scalping  knife  such  a  torment  and  terror  to  the  early  settlers 
of  the  new  world.  Indeed,  who  ever  heard  of  barbarities  more 
revolting  or  of  cruelty  more  studied  and  bloody  than  was  wit- 
nessed in  this  heartless  and  terrible  tragedy  of  August  18,  1SG2? 
Not  that  it  was  as  wide  or  continued  as  long  as  many  other 
Indian  outrages;  that  is  not  the  ciuestion,  but  the  idea  —  the 
question  is,  was  it  not  as  fiendish,  brutal  and  bloody,  considering 
its  extent,  as  most  (if  not  as  any)  in  all  the  long  and  weeping 
list  of  such  stealthy  and  treacherous  transactions?  And  as  to 
extent,  this  scene  or  .savage  dash  at  helpless  humanity  would 
have  been  much  more  so  had  it  not  been  for  the  inllaencc  and 
exertions  of  a  converted  Indian,  Paul  Mazakutamarni,  a  member 


602 


TvTTLLfs  Cektennial  Nortiiwest. 


of  the  Presbyterian  mission  churcli.  By  the  way,  at  the  time  of 
the  outbreak  tlierc  was,  at  the  lower  agency,  a  small  Presbyterian 
church  composed  of  Indians,  and  also  a  like  church  at  Puyutazec, 
and  one  with  an  Indian  boarding  school  at  llazelwood,  which 
all  together  numbered  sixty-five  members. 

As  respects  ihe  cause  of  the  Sioux  outbreak  a  multitude  of 
theories  have  been  presented  and  a  mass  of  conjecture  proffered ; 
but,  evidently,  the  most  of  all  this  conjecture  and  theorizing  is 
mere  dreaming  —  sheer  fancy.  Little  Crow  (in  his  written  com- 
munication to  Col.  Sibley),  attempting  to  explain  the  can.  ^ ' 
which  led  to  the  outbreak  or  provoked  hostuiiies,  makes  no 
allusion  to  parcicular  treaties,  but  states  that  his  people  had 
been  "driven  to  acts  of  violence  by  the  suffering  brought  upon 
them  by  delay  in  the  pa3'ment  of  their  annuities,  and  by  the  bad 
treatment  they  had  received  from  their  traders."  It  seems  that 
at  the  time  the  bands  first  assembled  at  the  agency  in  1862,  there 
was  nothing  nnusual  in  their  feelings  —  nothincc  more  than  the 
common  and  chronic  discontent  usually  manifested  among  them, 
and  more  generally  superinduced  by  the  failure  of  government 
agents  to  faitlifully  carry  out  the  stipulations  of  the  different 
treaties.  Now,  whether  Little  Crow  adduces  the  real  cause  of 
the  outbreak  is  not  so  certain,  for  during  the  trial  of  the  prisoners 
before  the  military  tribunal,  to  which  they  were  brought,  a  great 
and  prolonged  elfort  was  made  to  elicit  testimony  in  respect  to 
the  outbreak  and  the  motives  which  actuated  th.e  leaders  in 
inaugurating  the  fearful  scene.  And  the  only  consistent  infer- 
ence which  wc  can  draw  from  all  the  sources  of  information  is, 
that  the  movement  was  not  premeditated  —  that  it  was  not 
deliberate;  but  was  the  result  of  various  causes  which  heaped 
themselves  upon  the  hour.  Lst.  The  annuities  were  not  ])aid 
itntil  they  had  been  assembled  a  long  time.  2d.  The  want  of  a 
projier  supply  of  food  in  the  meantime,  od.  Dissatisfaction  with 
the  traders.  4th.  The  ill  feeling  of  the  pagan  Indians  against 
the  missionaries  and  their  converts.  5th.  The  alleged  encroach- 
ments of  settlers  upon  the  Indian  reservation ;  and  Gth,  and  per- 
haps more  than  all  else,  the  prediction  of  the  medicine- men  that 
tlie  Sioux  would  defeat  the  Americans  in  battle,  and  then  rcoc- 
cupy  the  whole  country  after  clearing  it  of  the  whites.      And 


The  Sioux  Massacre. 


603 


the  time  of 
resbyterian 
Piiyutazee, 
juil,  wliicli 

ultitude  of 
proflered ; 
leorizing  is 
•itten  com- 
the  can- 
makes  no 
peoi)le  had 
ought  upon 
by  the  bad 
,  seems  that 
1862,  there 
I'c  tliau  the 
mong  them, 
government 
;he  different 
cal  cause  of 
the  prisoners 
-ight,  a  great 
n  respect  to 
s  loaders  in 
sistent  infer- 
'ormation  is, 
it    was   not 
liich  heaped 
're  not  ])aid 
le  want  of  a 
ifaetion  with 
lians  against 
?d  encroach- 
Ith,  and  per- 
ne men  that 
d  then  reoc- 
bites.     And 


then  it  was  well  known  to  the  Indians  that  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  young  and  able  bodied  men  had  gone  at  the  call  of 
the  government  to  aid  in  suppressing  the  rebellion,  and  that  but 
few  men  were  then  in  Forls  llidgely  and  Abercrombie,  which 
were  the  only  military  posts  near  their  country,  and  hence  it  was 
easy  for  them  to  presume  that  the}'  could  act  as  they  pleased  — 
could  act  Indian  again.  It  is  possible,  too,  that  the  idea  or  temp- 
tation to  try  and  regain  their  former  possessions  was  stronger  and 
urged  them  much  further  than  it  otherwise  would,  had  it  not 
been  fresh  in  their  minds  that  the  government  liad  taken  no  steps 
to  punish  Ink-pah-du-tah  and  his  small  band,  who  had  committed 
so  many  murders  and  other  terrible  acts,  in  utter  contempt  of  au- 
thority, on  citizens  of  the  United  States  at  Spirit  Lake,  in  185G. 
And  yet  all  these  circumstances  put  together  do  not  prove  that 
the  Indians  would  have  struck  a  blow  or  taken  a  life,  but  for  the 
fact  that  the  slow  but  sure  bolt  of  death  in  the  form  of  the  ac- 
cursed "fire-water"  had  figured  in  the  drama  —  had  dropped  into 
the  scale.  And  this  came  about  in  this  way,  as  stated  in  the  his- 
tory of  that  transaction  by  E.  D.  Neill :  *  "  Five  or  six  young 
warriors,  wearied  of  the  inaction  of  a  stationary  camp  life,  made 
an  excursion  along  the  outer  line  of  the  big  woods  in  a  northern 
direction,  with  the  avowed  intention  of  securing  the  scalp  of  a 
Chippewa,  if  practicable.  Being  unsuccessful  in  their  search, 
they  retraced  their  steps  to  Acton,  a  small  settlement  in  Meeker 
county,  on  the  17th  of  August,  1802,  and  through  some  means 
they  obtained  whisky,  and  drank  freely.  They  made  a  demand 
for  more  liquor  from  a  man  named  Jones,  and  were  refused, 
"v-hcreupon  the  infuriated  savages  fired  u[)on  and  killed  not  only 
him  but  two  other  men,  Webster  and  Baker  by  name,  and  an 
elderly  lady  and  a  young  girl.  Terrified  at  their  own  violence, 
and  fearful  of  the  punishment  due  to  their  crimes,  these  wretches 
made  their  way  back  to  the  camp  at  the  Lower  Ilgeucy,  confessed 
!''.oir  guilt  to  their  friends,  and  implorec.  their  protection  from  the 
vengeance  of  the  outraged  laws.  They  all  belonged  to  influeiitial 
and  powerful  families,  and  when  the  whole  affair  had  been  dis- 
cussed in  solemn  conclave  in  the  "soldier's  loage,"  it  was  deter- 
mined that  the  ban  .s  should  make  common  cause  with  the  crim- 
*  \Vc  draw  freely  Irom  that  history  ia  this  narrative. 


GO-i 


TriTLKs  Cestexxial  XonriiWEST. 


inals,  and  the  following  morning  was  fixed  upon  for  tlio  extermi- 
nation of  t!ie  unsuspecting  white  sett!ci'.s   within   reach.     IIow 
secretly  and  how  faithfully  the  orders  of  the  "soldiers"'  were  ex- 
.  ecuted,  remains  to  be  told.     About  six  o'clock  A.  M.,  on  the  18th 
day  of  August,  18G2,  a  large  number  of  Sioux  warriors,   armed 
and  in   their  war  paint,   assembled  about  the   buildings  at   the 
Lower  Agency.     It  had  been  rumored  purposely  in  advance  that 
a  war    .arty  was  to  take  the  Held  against  the  Chippewas,  but  no 
sooner  had  the  Indians  assumed  their  several  positions  according 
to  the  programme,  than  an  onslaught  was  made  indiscriminately 
upon  the  whites,  and  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  men  who 
concealed  themselves,  and  a  few  of  the  women  and  children  who 
were  kept  as  captives,  no  whites  escaped  destruction  but  George 
II.  Spencer,  a  respectable  and  intelligent  young  man,  who,   al- 
though twice  seriously  wounded,  was  saved  from  instant  death  by 
the  heroic  intervention  of  his  Indian  comrade,  named  '  Wakdce- 
an-da-tah,'  or  the  '  Ikd  Lightning.'    A  number  of  the  persons  were 
also  slaughtered  at  the  Upper  Agency,  but  through  the  help  and 
guidance  of  'Other  Lay,'  a  Cliristian  Lidian,  the  missionaries  and 
others,  including  Revs.  Messrs.  .^jggs  and  Williamson,  and   their 
families  (in  all  about  sixty  persons),  were  saved,  being  conducted 
safely  through  the  Indian    country  to   the  white   settlements." 
This  was  a  happy  and  providential  escape  indeed,  and  vras  siinpij^ 
a  race  for  life.     For  these  excited  and  bloody  savages,  when  all 
the  whites  iii  that  vicinity  had  been  massacred,  the  stores  and 
dwellings  p'illaged  and  the  buildings  burned,  went  abroad  to  fall 
like  a  bolt  of  lightning  upon  the  settlers  on  farms  and  in  vilui'Tcs 
along  the  frontier  line  for  nearly  two  hundred  miles.     An.l  the 
peenes  then  enacted  were  fearfully  horrid  and  tragic  —  were  dread- 
tul  in  the  extreme,  and  so  much  so,  that  if  they  can  be  imagined, 
they  cannot  be  described.      Whoever,  in  all  that  doomed  line  was 
struck  dead  at  once,  and  thereby  spared  the  agony  of  suspense 
and  tlie  sight  of  savage  cruelty  and  obscenity  practiced  toward 
their  dear  ones,  were  the  favored  few  among  the  hundreds  swept 
into  the  pool  of  death  by  tho.se  brutal  hand.s.     With  the  ingenu- 
ity of  lost  spirits,  and  in  the  temper  of  perdition   itself,  tlic  plan 
was  laid,  and  with  the  dexterity  of  demons  burning  mad  with 
rage  and  bate,  its  fearful  parts  were  scrupulously  and  hurriedly 


r  tlio  cxtcrmi- 
reacli.     How 
ers ''  were  ex- 
M.,on  the  18th 
iri'i(M\s,    iU'ined 
ildings   at   the 
advance  tliat 
)C\vas,  but  no 
ions  aceordins' 
liseriniinately 
three  men  who 
cliiklreu  who 
on  but  (jieorgG 
man,  who,    al- 
istant  death  by 
med  '  Wakdvc- 
lie  persons  were 
1  the  help  and 
lirisionaries  and 
nson,  and  their 
jcing  conduelcd 
c   settlements." 
and  was  simplj^ 
Adages,  when  all 
1.  the  stores  and 
It  abroad  to  fall 
1  and  in  villaLres 
dies.      And  the 
e — ^  were  dread- 
in  be  imagined, 
loomcxl  line  was 
>ny  of  suspense 
racticcd  toward 
hundreds  swept 
ith  the  ingenu- 
itself,  tlie  plan 
ning  mad  with 
and  hurriedly 


■■ 


The  Sioux  Massacbe. 


G05 


executed.  In  other  words,  the  fiends  of  hell  could  not  invent 
atrocities  more  feaiCul  than  those  savages  perpetrated  upon  their 
liclpless  and  hapless  victims.  The  bullet,  the  tomahawk  and  the 
scalping  knife  spared  neither  age  nor  sex,  tl>e  only  prisoners  tak- 
en being  the  young  and  comely  women,  to  minister  to  the  brutal 
lusts  of  their  captors,  and  a  few  children."  Thus  in  a  little  less 
than  forty  hours,  as  near  as  can  be  known,  eiglit  hundred  whites 
were  wantonly  and  cruelly  slaughtered,  and  their  Iumucs  made  a 
black  and  smoking  desolation ;  and  in  many  cases  the  torch  was 
applied  and  the  maimed  and  crippled  suITerers,  unable  to  escape, 
were  burned  in  the  flames  of  their  own  habitations.  And  when 
the  sun  went  down  on  that  scene  of  fright,  suffering  and  blood  — 
wdien  the  sweet  dew  wei)t  itself  to  sleep  over  the  wide  ruin 
wrought,  and  the  pale  moon  looked  out  on  the  hushed  and  grave 
like  stillness  of  the  hour,  it  was  a  fitting  moment  for  the  nation  to 
contemplate  the  propriety  of  putting  a  stop  to  such  tragic  scenes, 
such  wanton,  reckless  sacrifices  of  life  and  treasure,  by  a  class  of 
wild  beings  to  whom  treaty  and  treachery  mean  the  same  thing 
—  a  fitting  moment  in  which  to  decide  wdicther  it  would  not  be 
wisdom  to  give  the  red  men  some  portion  of  our  territory  which 
can  be  easily  and  readily  guarded,  like  Florida,  rather  than  to  at- 
tempt to  guard  a  wide  and  wild  frontier  against  his  torch,  his 
restless  tomahawk,  and  the  keen  edge  of  his  unfeeling  scaipirg 
knife.  It  may  be  said  that  in  this  massacre  a  few  gills  of  whisky 
sot  the  train  on  fire  and  awakened  the  dire  spirits  of  mischief  and 
misery,  which  culminated  in  a  ruin  so  wide  and  horrid.  Well,  'u> 
it  so,  if  it  must,  and  let  the  alarm  and  the  remedy  be  in  kcepiiig 
with  the  conclusion  reached.  All  this  we  leave  to  the  wise  coun- 
cils of  the  nation,  and  return  to  our  narrative.  "The  alarm  com- 
municated to  the  adjacent  settlements  by  refugees  flying  from 
these  sorrowful  scenes  filled  the  roads  leading  to  St.  Paul  with 
thousands  of  men,  w  )nien  and  children  in  the  wild  confusion  of  a 
sudden  flight.  Bomcstio  animals,  including  hundreds  and  even 
thousands  of  cattle,  were  abandoned,  and  only  those  taken  which 
would  expedite  the  movements  of  the  terror  stricken  settlers. 

The  savages,  after  accomplishing  their  mission  of  death,  assem- 
bled in  force  and  attempted  to  take  F.)rt  Kidgely  by  a  cuuj)  do. 
main.     In  this  they  were  foiled  by  the  vigilance  and  dctermina- 


f 


it'    A 


n'i(::,.i^^ 


■;i' 


600 


Tuttle''^  Ci:xti:\\xial  NonriiWEST. 


tion  of  tlie  garrison,  aided  by  volunteers  who  had  escaped  from 
the  surrounding  settlements.  The  attack  was  continued  at  inter- 
vals for  several  days,  but  without  success.  The  town  of  New 
Ulm  was  also  as.sailed  by  a  strong  force  of  the  savages,  but  was 
gallantly  defended  b}'  volunteers  from  the  neighboring  counties, 
under  the  coniinand  of  Col.  C.  11.  Flandrau.  Capt.  Dodd,  an 
old  and  respectable  citizen  of  St.  Peter,  was  among  the  killed  at 
this  point.  Fort  Abercrombie,  on  the  Kcd  river,  also  sulTcred  a 
long  and  tedious  siege  by  the  bands  of  Sioux  from  Sacqui  Parle, 
until  relieved  by  a  force  dispatched  by  Gov.  llumsey  from  St. 
Paul. 

The  first  advices  of  the  outbreak  reached  St.  Paul  on  the  day 
succeeding  the  massacre  at  the  Ijower  Agency.  Instant  prepara- 
tions were  made  by  Gov.  Ramsay  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the 
savages.  At  his  personal  solicitation,  Henry  II.  Sibley,  a  resi- 
dent of  Mendota,  whose  long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  In- 
dian character  and  habits  was  supposed  to  r.-nder  him  peculiarly 
fitted  for  the  position,  consented  to  take  charge  of  military  oper- 
ations. He  was  accordingly  commissioned  by  the  governor,  colonel 
commanding,  and  upon  him  devolved  the  conduct  of  the  cam- 
])aign  in  person. 

Unfortunately,  the  state  of  ^Minnesota  was  lamentably  deficient 
in  means  and  appliances  requisite  to  cairy  on  successfully  a  war 
of  the  formidiibio  character  which  this  threatened  to  assume. 
The  Sioux  allied  bands  could  bring  into  the  field  from  eight  hun- 
dred to  a  thousand  warriors,  and  they  might  bo  indclinitely  rein- 
forced by  the  powerful  divisions  of  the  prairie  Sioux.  Those 
actually  cngage<l  in  hostilities  were  good  marksmen,  splendidly 
armed,  and  abuntlantly  supplicil  with  ammunition.  Tiiey  had 
])0<n  victorious  in  several  encounters  with  dctacliments  of  trooj)S, 
and  had  ovcrwiielming  confi<lcnce  in  their  own  skill.  "  On  the 
other  hand  the  state  had  already  despatched  five  thousand,  more 
or  less,  of  her  clioiccst  young  men  to  the  south,  her  arsenal  was 
stripped  of  all  tlic  arms  that  were  effective,  and  there  was  little 
ammunition  on  hand,  and  no  rations.  There  was  no  government 
transjKirtation  to  be  had,  and  the  prospect  was  not  l)y  any  mean.s 
favorable.  Gov.  Ilamscy,  notwithstanding,  acted  with  prornj)*.- 
ness  and  vigor.     He  telegraphed  for  arms  and  ammunition  to  thu 


The  Siorx  Mai^sache. 


607 


ipcd  from 

[1  at  intcr- 

rii  of  New 

but  was 

^  counties, 

I)(ul(l,  an 

killed  at 

IsuiTL'red  a 

|rjui  Parle, 

from   St. 

)n  the  day 

t   prepara- 

■ess  of  tlio 

ley,  a  resi- 

e  with  In- 

peculiarly 

itary  oper- 

lor,  colonel 

'  the  cam- 

y  deficient 
ally  a  war 
-o  assume, 
eight  hun- 
itely  rein- 
V".  '^^riuxsc 
splendidly 
Tiiey  had 
of  troojts, 

"On  the 
^nd,  more 
?enal  was 
>vas  little 
V('i-nni(.-nt 
iiy  mc'ins 

pr'/roj)'- 
on  to  the 


•war  department,  and  to  the  governors  of  the  adjoining  states.  He 
authorized  also  the  appropriation  for  the  public  use  of  the  teams 
belonging  to  individual  citizens  and  adopted  such  other  measures 
as  the  emergency  demanded.  There  were  at  Fort  Snelling,  hap- 
pily, the  nuclei  of  a'cgiments  that  had  been  called  into  service. 
Col.  Sibley  left  Fort  Snelling  with  four  hundred  men  of  the  Oth 
regiment,  ^Minnesota  volunteers,  early  on  the  morning  of  August 
20tli.  Upon  an  inspection  of  the  arms  and  cartridges  furnished, 
it  was  found  that  the  former  comprised  worthless  Austrian  rifles, 
and  the  ammunition  was  for  guns  of  a  diflereiit  and  larger  caliber. 
The  command  was  detained  sevi'/  '  days  at  St.  Peter,  engaged 
in  swcdging  the  balls  so  as  to  fit  >■  .jms  and  in  preparing  canis- 
ter shot  for  the  six  poundert;.  ;\K.'.;  '^nc  arms' of  a  better  quality 
•were  received,  reinforcement  ^f  ■:  '..'rived,  and  the  little  army 
marched  rapidly  toward  Fort  Jlidgely,  which  it  reached  without 
interruption,  and  the  troops  went  into  camp  a  sh(;rt  distance  from 
the  post,  to  await  the  reception  of  rations  and  to  make  final  prep- 
arations for  an  advance  on  the  hostile  Indians  who  had  drawn  in 
their  detached  parties  and  were  concentrating  for  a  decisive 
battle." 

"  Scouts  were  despatclicd  to  ascertain  tlie  location  of  the  main 
Indian  cam[),  and  upon  tiicir  return  they  reported  no  Indians  be- 
low Yelhjw  ^fedicine  river.  A  burial  party  of  twenty  men,  un- 
der the  escort  of  one  company  of  infantry  and  the  available 
mounted  force,  in  all  about  two  hui,dred  men,  under  the  com- 
mand of  ^[aj.  J.  II.  Brown,  was  detailed  to  proceed  and  inter 
the  remains  of  the  murdered  at  the  Lower  Agency  and  vicinity. 
This  duty  was  performed,  fifty-four  hodies  buried  and  the  de- 
tachment was  en  route  to  the  settlements  of  Beaver  River  and  had 
encamped  for  the  night  near  Birch  coolie,  a  long  and  wooded  ra- 
vine debouching  into  the  Minnesota  river,  when  about  dawn  the 
following  morning  the  camp  was  attacked  by  a  lai'gc  force  of  In- 
dians, twenty-five  men  killed  or  mortally  wounded  and  nearly 
all  tlic  hor.ses,  ninety  in  number,  shot  down."'  But  the  firing 
was  licard  at  the  main  camp  although  18  miles  away,  and  Col. 
Sibley  marched  to  the  relief  of  the  suITering  detachment  and  dis- 
persc'l  the  Indians  at  once,  and  after  burying  the  dead,  the  whole 
column  returned  to  camp. 


m 


■m 


j.f 


608 


TrTTi.ifs  Cestesxial  Nortiiwest. 


Hero,  waiting  i^upplies  .'ind  drilling  and  disciplining  the  men, 
day  after  day  passed  away  until  ten  days'  rations  liad  arrived, 
when  Cdl.  Sibley  marched  in  search  of  the  savages,  and  in  .i 
brief  but  hard  fought  battle,  on  the  2;]d  of  Se])tcmber,  lyO'2,  tlic 
Indians  were  fully  defeated,  broke  and  fled.  It  was  called  the 
battle  of  Wood  Lake,  commenced  by  the  Indians  and  lasting  two 
hours.  Immediaiely  after  the  action  the  Indians  sent  a  flag  of 
truce,  asking  jiermission  to  remove  their  dead  and  wounded. 
This  was  refused,  and  a  message  was  sent  to  Little  Crow,  the 
leader  of  the  hostile  Indians,  informing  him  that  "if  any  of  the 
white  prisoners  held  by  him  received  any  injury  at  the  hands  of 
the  savages,  no  mercy  would  be  shown  to  the  latter,  but  they 
would  be  pui'sued  and  desti'oyed  without  regard  to  age  or  sex." 

In  the  action  at  Wood  Lake,  ]\[aj.  Welch,  of  the  od  ^[inne.sota 
volunteers,  was  severely  wounded,  and  (.'a]>t.  Wilson  also,  of  the 
Oth  regiment,  and  nearly  forty  iionconimissioned  officers  and  pri- 
vates were  killed  or  wounded. 

Col.  Sibley  had  rea-^on  to  be  proud  vi  the  brave  band  of  men 
under  his  command,  and  especially  of  Lieut.  Col.  ^farshall  and 
^[aj.  I'radlcy,  of.  the  Tth  regiment,  who  distinguished  themselves, 
the  former  k\uliug  ;i  charge  of  .scveu  companies,  which  dislodged 
a  portion  of  the  enemy  from  a  ravine  where  they  had  taken 
shelter.  Lieut.  Col.  Averill  and  ^Faj.  ^Nrcfyaren,  of  the  Gth  regi- 
ment, also  performed  ."^ignal  .service,  as  did  all  the  olFK'crs  and 
men  of  bnih  these  regiments,  and  also  the  jioilion  nf  the  ful, 
which  fornu'<l  a  part  of  the  delachment  and  made  for  ilsclf  so 
bright  a  record. 

Hut  one  great  olijcctof  tlie  caminiigll  was  not  yet  accomplished 
and  rcipiircd  great  skill;  this  was  tlu;  recovery  of  the  white  cap- 
tives. J'Y'ars  were  entortaincij  hst  the  sUvtlgL'S  in  llirir  rage  <)\  er 
their  gri'at  defeat  might  ]-(;vrngcfidly  tal.e  IIh;  lives  of  llic  cap- 
tives. I'hereforo  Col.  Sibley  waited  uiilil  llie  hccdnd  diiy  /iflcr 
the  battli!  before  marching  toward  the  great  Indian  ciuip.  Ilut 
on  the.  2'ilh  of  September,  with  drums  beating  and  ecjlor.s  flying, 
the  column  liled  past  the.  Indian  encampment,  and  fornu'd  their 
camp  within  a  lev  liundred  yards.  "With  his  stafl'  and  field 
officers.  Col.  Sibley  then  proceeded  to  the  lodges  of  the  Indians, 
and  directed  that  all  the  cajttivcs  should  be  delivered  up  to  him, 


I 


g  the  inon, 
1  arrivcil, 
ami  in  .t 
,  ls(')2,  llic 
called  the 
lastiiiijr  two 
tilt  a  flag  of 
wouiulcd. 
Crow,  the 
my  of  the 
he  hands  of 
cr,  but  they 
age  or  sex." 
1  Minnesota 
al.so,  of  the 
;er.s  and  pri- 

)and  of  men 
Uar.shall  and 
I  theini^elvcs, 
eh  dishxlged 
!  had  taken 
the  Gih  rcgi- 

odieers  and 
1    (if  the  od, 

f(ir  il,<(;lf  so 

leeoniplislicd 
le  white  cap- 
oir  rage  o\  er 
^  of  llie  flip- 
Hill  diiy  idler 

i"(inp,  llul 
eijlors  flying, 

formed  their 
vir   and  field 

the  Indians, 
d  up  to  him, 


:lv 


'  \ 


I   ' 


t 


< 


k 


■' ws 


M 


mW'i 


77//;  .S/or.v  J/. i.s.s.k ■/.•/■; 


009 


^ 


m 


Wl 


wliicli  was  ivailily  done.  "  A  sight,  wfis  tlicii  juvsoiitcl  wliiuli 
lillcd  all  i"\-c.s  with  teai'ri.  Young  and  beautiful  woiiumi,  who  had 
for  weeks  eiulurod  the  extroiiiity  of  outmgo  from  their  l.rutal  cap- 
tors, followed  by  .1  crowd  of  childreu  of  all  a,L;e<«,  caino  forth 
from  the  lodge.s,  hardly  realising  that  the  day  of  their  deliver- 
ance had  arrived.  Convidsivo  scjbbings  were  heard  on  overv 
side,  and  tlie  poor  creatures  clung  to  the  inci\  who  had  eomo  to 
their  rclii.'f,  as  if  they  feared  some  savage  would  drag  them  :uvav. 
Tlioy  were  all  escorted  tenderly  to  the  tents  prepared  for  their  re- 
ception find  made  as  comfortable  as  the  cireumstanoos  would  ad- 
mit. The  number  of  ])nre  whites  thus  released  amounted  to 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  inchiding  one  man  only,  :Mr.  Spen- 
cer, 'i'he  latter  expressed  his  gratitude  to  Col.  Sil)loy,  that  he 
had  not  made  a  forced  march  upon  the  eanip  after  the  l)attlc, 
stating  that  if  such  a  coniso  had  been  pursued,  it  was  the  deter- 
mination of  the  hostile  Indians  to  cut  the  throats  of  the  captives 
and  tlien  disperse  in  the  prairies.  There  were  delivered  also 
nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  half-breeds,  who  had  been  held  as 
prisoners." 

Two  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  campaign,  the  defeat  of  the 
savages  and  the  release  of  the  captives,  having  ncnv  been  consum- 
jnated,  tliere  remained  but  to  punish  the  guilty.  ^Nfany  of  these, 
with  Little  Crow,  had  made  their  escape,  and  could  not  be  over- 
taken, but  some  of  the  small  eam})s  of  the  refugees  were  sur- 
rounded and  their  inmates  bi'ought  back.  The  locality  where 
these  events  transpired  was  ajipropriately  called  Camp  lleleasc, 
aiid  .'..■■  name  should  be  perpetuated. 

"  At  ,  ])roper  time,  the  Indian  cam])  was  surrounded  by  a  cor- 
do'  of  I 'oops  and  four  hundred  of  the  warriors  were  arrested, 
chained  together  in  pairs  and  placed  in  an  enclosure  of  logs  made 
by  the  troops,  under  strong  guard.  Others  who  were  known  to 
be  innocent  were  not  interfered  with.  Col.  Sibley  constituted  a 
military  conmiission,  with  Col.  Crooks,  commanding  0th  regiment. 
as  president,  for  the  trial  of  the  prisoner.s.  A  fair  and  impartial 
hearing  was  accorded  to  each  and  the  result  was,  the  finding  of 
three  hundred  and  three  guilty  of  participation  in  the  murder  of 
the  whites,  and  the  sentence  of  death,  by  hanging,  was  passed 
upon  them.     Others  were  convicted  of  robbery  and   })illagc  and 


%''■"'"."'*' " ' 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


|4£ 


m  m 

m  IIIII2.2 


m 
1^ 


1.4 


2.0 


1.8 


1.6 


■*■ 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


m 


:\ 


"^"^^^  <^ 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


*    4 


IP., 


i/x 


h 

Ha'  } 


610 


Tl'ttle's  Cextkkkial  Northwest. 


condemned  to  various  terms  of  imprisonment,  and  a  few  were 
acquitted.  The  witnesses  were  composed  of  the  released  cap- 
tives, including  mixed  bloods,  and  of  Christian  Indians  who  had 
refused  to  ]\>in  Little  Crow  in  the  war.  A  full  record  was  kept 
of  each  case  that  was  tried." 

■  "  The  preparations  for  the  execution  of  the  guilty  Indians  were 
brought  to  a  summary  close,  by  an  order  from  Pi-esident  Lincoln 
prohibiting  the  hanging  of  any  of  the  convicted  men  without  his 
previous  sanction."  This  interference  of  the  presiiient  produced 
an  indignant  clamor  in  the  state,  and  through  the  representatives 
in  Washington  was  enei'gctically  protested  against.  Finally  on 
the  2Glh  day  of  December,  18(52,  thirty-eight  of  the  criminals 
specified  by  the  president  were  executed  on  the  same  soafTold,  at 
Mankato,  under  the  direction  of  Col.  Miller,  commandant  at  that 
post.  "The  remainder  of  the  condemned  were  sent  to  Daven- 
port, Iowa,  early  in  the  spring,  where  they  were  kept  in  confine- 
ment for  more  than  a  year,  a  large  number  dying  of  disea-e  in 
the  meantime. 

'•  Those  that  remained  were  eventually  dispatched  to  a  reser- 
vation on  the  upper  ^[issouri,  where  the  large  number  of  prison- 
ers taken  by  Col.  Sibley,  principally  women  and  children,  had 
already  been  placed.  The  president  testified  his  approbation  of 
the  conduct  of  Col.  Sibley,  by  conferring  u{)on  him,  unasked, 
the  commission  of  brigadier  general  of  volunteers,  and  the  ap- 
pointment was  subsequently  confirmed  by  the  senate." 

Thus  the  Indian  campaign  of  1862  termirated;  having  done 
its  work  faithfully  and  successfully,  although  of  necessity  it 
entered  upon  that  work  without  due  preparation  and  equipment. 
And  it  is  a  matter  of  great  credit  to  Col.  Sibloy  and  to  the  ofB- 
ccrs  and  men  under  his  command,  that  with  so  much  careful 
skill  and  yet  with  such  manly  promptness,  these  boasting  and 
reckless  savages  were  subdued  and  their  bhujk  and  bloody  pro- 
gramme thwarted.  For  it  is  easy  to  sec  that  it  was  no  common 
hour  with  the  j-outhful  state  of  ^Minnesota,  arid  that  this  Indian 
outbreak  had  an  intimate  relation  to  the  stirring  scenes  which 
were  crowding  themselves  in  multitude  upon  the  nation  at  that 
moment  of  rebellion,  treason  and  war.  For,  it  was  then  sus- 
pected, and  has  since  been  confirmed,  that  if  this  campaign   of 


■P 


The  Siovx  Massacbe. 


611 


lew  were 
scd  cap- 
wiio  had 
was  kept 

ans  were 

Lincoln 

tln)Ut  his 

oduced 

entatives 

inally  on 

criminals 

ialTokl,  at 

i)t  at  that 

0  Daven- 
n  confinc- 
lisease  in 

to  a  rcscr- 
of  prison- 
Id  re  n,  had 
obation  of 
unasked, 

1  the  .ip- 

/ing  done 
cessity  it 
^uipinent. 
o  the  ofR- 
;h  careful 
sting  and 
oody  pro- 
)  common 
lis  Indian 
nes  wliich 
)n  at  that 
tlum  sus- 
ipaign   of 


Col.  Sibley  had  failed  —  if  the  column  of  troops  under  his  com- 
inur.d  had  met  with  a  reverse,  there  would  undoubtedly  have 
been  a  rising  of  the  (Ihippewas  and  Winnebagocs  against  the 
whites,  and  many  of  the  counties  west  of  the  Mississippi  would 
have  been  entirely  depopulated.  Indeed,  it  seems  that  the  dream 
that  the  nation  was  growing  weak  —  bleeding  to  death  —  was 
running  through  the  brains  of  savages  as  well  as  through  the 
heads  of  men  and  nations  which  claim  to  be  civilized;  and  that 
Little  Crow,  in  a  speech  to  his  warriors,  on  the  night  previous  to 
the  battle  of  Wood  Lake,  stated  the  programme  to  be,  "first,  the 
defeat  and  destruction  of  the  old  men  and  boys  composing  (as  he 
said)  the  command  of  Col.  Sibley ;  and  second,  the  immediate 
descent  thereafter  of  himself  and  his  people  to  St.  Paul,  there  to 
dispose  summarily  of  the  whites,  and  there  establish  themselves 
comfortably  in  winter  quarters."  Surely  this  was  a  grand  pro- 
ject—  a  sublime  plan  of  blood,  pillage  and  triumph;  but  for- 
tunately for  civilization,  the  people  of  St.  Paul,  the  infant  state 
of  Minnesota,  and  her  noble  governor,  it  was  not  to  be  consum- 
mated. No,  no,  thank  Heaven  !  but  the  reverse  in  every  im- 
portant particular.  The  raven's  wing  was  broken  —  the  trem- 
bling dove  (the  captives)  released,  succored  and  solaced  ;  and  tlie 
enterprising,  young  and  spunky  state  of  Minnesota  saw  her  foes 
at  her  feet,  without  the  aid  of  men  from  abroad,  and  without 
withholding  her  share  of  men  needed  to  put  down  a  mammoth 
I'ebellion. 

The  military  authorities  at  Washington,  and  also  Maj.  Gen. 
Pope,  comjiianding  the  Department  of  the  Northwest,  deemed  it 
proper  that  a  second  campaign  should  be  enicred  upon  against 
the  refuirees  who  had  been  concerned  in  the  ma.ssacres,  and  had 
fled  to  the  bands  of  Sioux  in  the  upper  prairies,  and  found  harbor 
and  hospitality.  In  accordance  with  this  idea.  Gen.  Sully,  com- 
manding the  district  of  Upper  Missouri,  and  Gen.  Sibley,  com- 
manding the  district  of  Minnesota,  were  .summoned  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  department  at  ^Milwaukee,  Wis.,  to  confer  with 
Gen.  Pope.  There  it  was  decided  that  these  two  commanders 
with  a  large  force  should,  in  the  early  spring  of  1863,  march  from 
Sioux  City,  on  the  Missouri,  and  from  a  designated  point  on  the 
Minnesota  river,  respectively,  and  that  the  two  columns  should 


612 


Tuttle's  Centennial  XoRTinvEfiT. 


'F  '<! 


m-' 


join  at  Devil's  Lake,  where  it  w.is  supposed  the  main  body  of  the 
Indians  would  be  encountered.  The  lorce  under  Gen.  Sully  was 
to  be  cavalry,  and  that  of  Gen.  Sibley  three  regiments  of  infantry, 
one  regiment  of  cavalry,  and  two  sections  of  liglit  artillery.  This 
programme  was  carried  out  in  part,  or  in  the  following  manner: 
"The  Minnesota  column  reached  the  point  of  rendezvous  after  a 
most  weary  and,  indeed,  distres.sing  march,  the  summer  being  ex- 
ceedinglj'  warm,  and  the  prairies  parched  with  the  excessive 
drought.  Learning  from  the  Ked  river  half-breeds  that  the  large 
Indian  camps  were  to  be  found  on  the  ^Nfissouri  coteau,  in  the  direc- 
tion from  which  Gen.  Sully  was  expected,  Gen.  Sibley  left  the  sore 
footed  and  weary  of  his  men  and  animals  in  an  entrenched  camp 
on  the  upper  Cheyenne  river,  and  set  out  to  find  the  refugees. 
He  succeeded  in  falling  in  with  a  camp  in  which  were  man}'  of 
the  refugees,  and  several  hundred  warriors,  whom  he  attacked 
and  defeated  with  considerable  loss,  and  followed  them  as  they 
retreated  upon  other  and  stronger  camps,  the  tenants  of  which 
were  driven  back  in  confusion  succcssivel}',  until  the  Missouri 
river  was  interposed  as  a  barrier  to  the  advance  of  the  pursuing 
column." 

The  command  of  Gen.  Sully,  dela3'ed  by  unexpected  obstacles, 
was  not  fallen  in  with,  and  the  Minnesota  troops  having  accom- 
■[ilishcd  more  than  was  allotted  to  tlicm  in  the  cooperative  move- 
ment, and  having  .secured  their  own  frontier  from  apprehension 
of  further  serious  raids  on  the  part  of  hostile  Sioux,  returned  to 
their  quarters  in  their  own  state.  The  same  year  (18G3)  Little 
Crow  was  shot  in  the  Big  Woods  by  a  man  named  Lamson,  while 
with  a  party  of  Indians  he  made  a  descent  upon  the  frontier  with 
the  object  of  stealing  horses.  And  his  son,  who  was  with  him, 
was  subsequently  taken  prisoner,  near  Devil's  Lake,  by  a  ])ortioa 
of  Gen.  Sibley's  men,  and  condemned  to  die,  by  military  com- 
mission ;  but  was  afterward  pardoned  on  account  of  his  extreme 
youth. 

Thus  ends  this  brief  but  bloody  chapter  of  war  and  Indian 
plotting,  and  barbarity  —  thus  died  away  the  wild  war  songs  of 
those  brown  and  boasting  sons  of  the  forest;  and  their  graves  and 
their  war  path  arc  today  overgrown  with  grass  or  planted  to 
orchards,  gardens  and  grain. 


lody  of  tliG 
ISully  was 
If  infantry, 
?ry.     Th'is 
manner: 
)us  after  a 
being  ex- 
excessive 
the  large 
the  direc- 
ft  the  soro 
chcd  camp 
)  refugees. 
I'C  many  of 
e  attacked 
m  as  they 
;  of  which 
e  ^Missouri 
e  pursuing 

1  obstacles, 
ing  acconi- 
,tive  move- 
prehension 
'eturned  to 
8G3)  Little 
ison,  while 
Jtitier  with 
with  him, 
r  a  ])ortioa 
litary  corn- 
is  extreme 

nd  Indian 
xr  songs  of 
jraves  and 
planted  to 


The  Gueat  Cextexmal  I'LxrosiTiox. 


618 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 

FAIRMOUNT  EXPOSITION  — THE  GREAT  CENTENNIAL. 

It  has  been  the  custom  with  foreigners  for  many  years  past,  to 
speak  disparagingly  of  our  Fourth  of  July  celebrations,  as  o-^ca- 
sions  of  individual  and  national  self  glorification,  not  warranted, 
or  at  any  rate  not  demanded,  b}'  the  facts  of  our  origin  and  devel- 
oiinicnt  as  an  independent  people.  There  will  be  a  still  better  op- 
portunity for  such  reflections  in  connection  with  the  grand  display 
in  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia,  which  will  celebrate  the  one 
hundredth  anniversary  of  our  Declaration  of  Independence  ;  but 
only  the  most  empty,  and  therefore  most  sonorous  of  declaimers, 
will  have  the  folly  to  continue  that  role,  in  view  of  the  great  results 
which  can  be  chronicled,  as  the  ouii-  .iie  of  our  progress.  It  is 
not  pretended  for  one  moment  that  we  owe  all  the  blessings 
which  are  now  being  enjoyed  by  more  than  forty  millions  of  free 
and  prosperous  people,  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  which 
dates  from  1770,  nor  to  the  constitution  and  laws  which  have 
succeeded  that  enunciation  of  human  rights;  our  history  is  an 
answer  to  all  such  unfounded  claims,  and  universal  history  has 
been  written  to  little  purpose,  if  we  have  not  been  taught  that 
laws  are  powerless  to  render  a  population  wise,  prosperous  and 
happ}',  unless  the  people  carry  in  their  own  hearts  and  intellects 
the  capacity  with  which  sound  legislation  can  coopo'nte  for 
worthy  ends.  Two  cities  may  be  contrasted  with  some  advantage 
in  determining  the  power  that  resides  in  individuals,  as  factors  of 
their  own  advancement  and  in  the  march  of  national  progression. 
The  Slime  declaration  of  independence  that  was  received  with 
plaudits  in  Faneuil  Hall,  "  the  cradle  of  liberty  "  in  Boston,  the 
metropolis  of  Massachusetts,  was  welcomed  in  Charleston,  the 
metropolis  of  South  Carolina,  with  like  enthusiasm  when  the  Con- 
tinental congress  and  the  people  therein  represented,  were  com- 
pelled to  submit  their  just  demands  to  the  hazards  of  a  sanguinary 


^i;ii 


614 


Tuttle's  Centennial  XonrinvEST. 


contest,  between  scattered  colonies  not  absolutely  uruinimous  in 
their  views,  and  containing  in  the  aggregate  less  than  three  mil- 
lion souls,  and  the  then  most  powerful  nation  in  the  world,  di- 
rected with  the  rage  almost  bordering  on  insanity,  of  the  autocrat 
George  III.  The  two  communities  were  sufficiently  near  to  each 
other  in  age  and  in  material  advantages  to  give  free  scope  for  per- 
sonal influences  to  operate  'n  securing  for  one  city  or  the  other  de- 
cided preeminence,  and  they  started  fairly  on  the  same  race  assist- 
ed by  all  the  power  that  resided  in  the  declaration,  the  constitution 
and  the  laws  of  the  federation.  Let  us  see  what  were  the  results  so 
far  as  Charleston  was  concerned  until  the  year  18G0,  that  wc  may 
the  more  readily  comprehend  the  problem  which  has  been  solved 
in  blood  since  that  eventful  period.  The  settlement  dates  from 
the  year  1G80,  and  the  confluence  of  the  Cooper  and  Ashley  rivers 
aflorded  abundant  facilities  not  only  for  the  commerce  of  that 
time,  but  for  whatever  increase  human  energy  and  ingenuity  may 
succeed  in  bringing  to  that  spot,  exquisitely  favored  by  nature  and 
position,  only  eight  miles  from  tl:^.;  Atlantic  ocean.  The  colony 
of  Port  Hoyal,  founded  in  1670  by  the  English,  had  by  two  re- 
moves determined  their  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  site  of 
Charleston  and  the  population  was  made  up  of  contributions  from 
the  Swiss  mountaincei's,  the  Uuguenots  of  France,  the  impulsive 
Celt  from  Ireland,  and  the  Teutons  stardy  in  war  as  in  industry, 
added  to  the  English  stock  already  mentioned.  The  state  consti- 
tution was  adopted  in  March,  1776,  consequently  there  was  fixity 
as  to  the  institutions  under  which  the  people  were  to  expand  into 
their  natural  proportions.  The  constitution  of  the  union  was 
duly  ratified  in  1798  ;  but  the  state  inherited  from  the  evi.  cus- 
toms insisted  upon  by  England  in  its  earlier  days,  the  blighting 
influence  of  negro  slavery,  casting  odium  upon  labor;  and  in 
consequence,  the  white  population  in  the  state  did  not  increase 
one  hundred  per  cent,  in  sixty  years,  and  in  the  year  1870  there 
■were  26  negroes  in  Charleston  for  every  22  of  the  superior  race. 
The  population  of  Charleston  in  1800  was  18,711,  twenty  years 
brought  up  the  number  to  21,780,  and  the  following  decades  up 
to  1860,  showed  increasing  aggregates,  with  an  occasional  retro- 
gression of  30,289  ;  29,261 ;  42,985  and  40,467.  Carrying  on  the 
enumeration  to  the  next  ten  years,  the  population  amounted  to 


T.HI':  UHKAT  CEyTE^XIAL  Exi'OSITIOy. 


615 


iinous  in 

iroe  mil- 

|\vorkl,  di- 

autocrat 

ir  to  each 

io  for  per- 

otlicr  de- 

acc  assist- 

Mistitutiou 

results  so 

at  wo  may 

ecu  solved 

dates  from 

Idey  rivers 

rce  of  that 

jnuity  may 

nature  and 

The  colony 

by  two  re- 

tho  site  of 

ations  from 

3  impulsive 

n  industry, 

state  const!- 

;  was  fixity 

ixpand  into 

union   was 

he  eviv  ous- 

le  blighting 

or ;  and  in 

ot  increase 

1870  there 

perior  race. 

venty  years 

decades  up 

ional  retro- 

png  on  the 

noun  ted  to 


only  48,050  ;  and  although  it  might  be  argued  that  tlie  terrible 
events  which  transpired  from  the  first  shot  fired  at  Fort  Sumter, 
to  the  final  evacuation  of  Charleston  in  18Go,  were  the  inevitable 
results  of  a  policy  long  pursued  ;  yet  every  purpose  of  compari- 
son can  be  served  by  carrying  tlie  statement  no  further  than  1800. 
Tlie  siege  and  bombardment  which  lasted  nearly  two  years,  until 
the  rebellion  approached  its  end  could  not  be  called  to  account 
for  the  stunted  development  which  was  manifest  before  the  interne- 
cine war  began.  There  were  nearly  fifty-four  miles  of  streets 
prior  to  that  time,  and  the  banking  capital  of  the  city  amounted 
to  $3,000,000,  besides  five  savings  banks.  There  were  colleges 
and  educational  establishments,  a  public  library  of  2-4,000  vol- 
umes, besides  similar  institutions  on  a  smaller  scale;  there  were 
benevolent  asylums  for  various  purposes  and  hospitals  and  chari- 
ties for  the  sick  and  infirm  ;  but  in  every  department  there  was  a 
diminutive  aspect  suited  to  the  status  of  the  people,  hardly  to  be 
compared  with  for  development  elsewhere.  Trade,  manufactures 
and  commerce  were  striving  to  push  the  community  ahead,  but 
the  drag  upon  every  wheel  was  the  lu.xurious  idleness  in  which  the 
better  class  indulged  while  they  spent  upon  their  creature  com- 
forts the  wealth  wliich  further  east  would  have  been  invested  in 
remunerative  undertakings.  There  were  good  men  and  true  in 
every  walic  of  life,  striving  to  carry  into  practice  the  maxims  of 
the  founders  of  our  liberty;  but  the  wrong  start  made  every 
step  a  further  departure  from  the  true  principles  of  growth  ;  so 
that  notwithstanding  all  the  drawbacks  incidental  to  the  war,  it 
may  be  hoped  that  the  actual  cautery  and  rougii  surgery  of  con- 
flict will  in  the  end  materially  assist  Charleston  to  realize  its 
proper  place  among  the  cities  of  the  union. 

Turning  now  to  Boston,  a  very  brief  survey  will  enable  us  to 
summarize  a  widely  differing  fortune.  The  fifty-four  miles  of 
made  streets  in  Charleston  find  a  set  off  in  three  hundred  and 
sixty  miles  of  roadway  well  macadamized,  and  at  every  step  the 
visitor  is  reminded  of  the  daily  increasing  wealth  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  capitol  may  be  passed  as  a  contribution  due  to  the 
state,  altliough  an  undoubted  ornament  to  the  city,  and  the  cus- 
tom house,  built  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000,  is  only  in  an  inierential 
way  a  proof  of  the  greater  advance  made  by  Boston  ;  but  the  city 


mm 


m 

1 

|:'>! 

m- 

^ 

i:!';?' 

OJG 


TuTTLK's   CeNTEN.\I  IL  NOIITIIWEST. 


'^ 


«'i  ■ 


ImII,  the  banks,  librarie?,  colleges,  universities,  scliools,  arc  testi- 
monies which  no  criticism  can  gainsay.  The  sjiirit  which  filled 
Faneuil  JIall  on  every  great  occasion  when  the  liberties  of  the 
people  were  endangered,  has  also  built  the  wharves,  docks,  rail- 
roads, and  bridges,  which  on  every  side  attest  the  greatness  of  the 
■commerce  which  they  help  towards  fuller  devcl()i)mcnt.  Hero 
labor  has  been  under  no  artificial  ban,  and  the  woikinan  has  seen 
nothing  mean  or  unworthy  in  his  avocation,  provided  it  brought 
gain  and  comfort  to  his  family  as  the  return  for  assisting  the  gen- 
eral advancement.  Therein  consisted  the  essential  dilTerenee  be- 
tween north  and  south,  and  with  all  proper  deference  to  an  author- 
ity so  great  as  Daniel  Webster,  the  isothermal  line  cannot  be 
quoted  to  render  that  mean  and  unworthy  which  stands  now  as 
ordained  by  (Jlod,  the  only  safegu.'i'-<l  for  the  liberties  and  wealth 
(jf  nations,  and  for  the  health,  and  happiness  of  mankind.  Com- 
merce grows  where  labor  meets  witli  honor  and  i-cward  as  the  ex- 
ponent of  true  dignity,  and  without  its  aid  science  and  the  arts 
must  fall  into  decay.  The  trial  has  been  made  fully  and  com- 
])letcl3',  and  for  all  the  future  it  may  bo  ho[)cd  that  our  record 
will  be  tlic  unfailing  arsenal  and  magazine  for  the  philosopher 
and  historian  who  may  desire  to  determine  the  relative  values  of 
industry  and  idleness,  of  caste  and  unconstrained,  intelligent  man- 
hood. Look  only  at  the  gain  in  numbers,  and  the  argument  for 
freedom  seems  irresistible,  but  the  momentum  increases  with  every 
step.  Boston  was  founded  on  the  site  known  as  Shawmut,  in 
IGiJO,  the  first  settlement  being  called  Trcmont,  from  three  trtls 
which  distinguished  the  situation  ;  but  the  progress  of  the  com- 
munity was  not  very  vapid  for  many  years,  and  its  incorporation 
as  a  city  only  dates  from  1822.  The  first  census  was  taken  in 
1700,  but  we  will  commence  as  in  dealing  with  Charleston  with 
the  present  century.  In  the  year  1800  there  were  24, Do"  people, 
and  in  1820,  43,298  ;  in  1830,  61,391  ;  in  1810,  93,383 ;  in  1850, 
136,881;  in  1800,  177,840;  and  in  1870,  250,526.  Four  years 
later  it  was  estimated  on  bases  which  may  be  accepted,  Miat  Bos- 
ton numbered  320,000  while  its  suburbs  contained  100,000  more. 
The  public  library  contained  275,000  volumes,  having  branches 
for  the  convenience  of  readers  in  numerous  city  districts,  and 
many  libraries  of  smaller  extent  excelled  the  sum  total  of  the 


1 


Ire  tosli- 

11  filled 

Is  of  the 

\]<A,  rail- 
ss  of  the 
I  fere 
lias  seen 
broui'lit 

O 

I  the  gen- 

ciicc  be- 

1  autlior- 

iniiot  be 

s  now  as 

J  wealth 

Com- 

is  the  ex- 

tlie  arts 

and  eom- 

ur  record 

lilo.sophcr 

values  of 

^cnt  man- 

ument  for 

i'itli  every 

^wrriut,  in 

:lirce  h'Als 

'.  tlic  com- 

)r]>oratioii 

3  taken  in 

'ston  with 

>7  ])eople, 

;  in  1850, 

our  years 

Miat  Bo3- 

000  more. 

;  branches 

ricts,  and 

tal  of  the 


Tjil'  (JiiL-AT  Centkxxial  Exrosiiiux. 


617 


book  lore  available  for  the  citizens  of  Charleston.  The  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society  constitutes  an  aid  to  the  literature  of 
the  future,  such  as  no  city  of  the  s'v/m  has  ever  cx.;elled ;  tlic  Hor- 
ticultural Society ;  the  Medical  College  connected  with  Harvard 
University  ;  the  Lowell  Institute,  with  its  bequest  of  $250,000  to 
provide  free  lectures  on  chemistry,  physics  and  cognate  subjects, 
in  which  the  poorest  man  or  woman  may  participate  on  the  same 
footing  with  the  wealthiest  student ;  each  and  all  give  to  Boston 
material  as  well  as  u-sthctic  aids  toward  the  great  eminences  which 
may  be  scaled  by  culture.  The  banking  capital  of  Charleston 
stood  at  $3,000,000 ;  suppose  it  doubled  by  way  of  allowance  for 
the  drawback  incidental  to  war;  make  it  even  $9,000,000,  and 
still  it  shows  but  poorly  beside  the  $-19,000,000  similarly  invested 
in  the  great  free  city  of  Boston,  with  its  sixty  national  banks, 
and  nineteen  savings  banks.  There  are  greater  cities  than  Boston 
in  the  union  which  might  be  cited  were  it  desirable  to  increase  the 
disparity  in  numbers  ;  Philadelphia,  New  York,  or  even  Chicago 
would  serve  to  illustrate  that  phase  of  the  question,  but  Boston 
and  Charleston  made  their  start  in  the  same  century,  were  identi- 
fied in  the  same  early  struggles,  and  the  advantages  of  position 
are  not  overwhelmingly  in  favor  of  the  "Hub  of  the  Universe." 
The  well  graded  schools  and  broadly  diffused  educational  advan- 
tages, which  make  science,  art  and  literature  handmaidens  of  the 
poorer  classes,  form  the  best  foundation  uj)on  which  the  enduring 
greatness  of  a  truly  enlightened  people  can  be  upreared ;  and  all 
these  have  been  thoroughly  embraced  by  the  citizens  of  Boston. 
The  comparison  has  been  carried  far  enough  to  establish  the  fact 
that  the  progress  realized  by  this  nation  is  not  ascribed  to  "  the 
day  we  celebrate,"  nor  to  the  declaration  and  laws  to  which  we 
conform  our  lives,  but  to  the  spirit  which  has  been  evolved  in  the 
brave  hearts  and  capacious  intellects  which  have  been  concurrent 
with  the  other  blessings  for  which  we  are  thankful.     . 

The  Centennial  celebration  which  will  commence  in  Fairmount 
Park  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  will  not  be  narrow  and  sectional ; 
the  subjects  of  the  grand  daughter  of  George  III,  Queen  Victoria, 
will  assist  to  make  the  occasion  "  international  and  universal,"  as 
the  directors  and  commissioners  propose  that  it  shall  be;  and  from 
every  civilized  nation  on  the  globe  there  will  be  numerous  con- 


,,tfj<lWt-, 


618 


Tuttle's  Centensial  XoitTinrEST. 


Iributions.  The  British  colonics  in  far  away  Australia  have  long 
since  intimated  their  desire  to  attest  their  blood  relationsliip  with 
America,  in  such  rejoicings;  as  well  might  be  the  case,  seeing 
that  from  tlic  struggle  which  commenced  on  this  continent  in 
1770,  has  sprung  up  a  more  liberal  and  manly  policy  on  the  part 
of  the  British  government  for  all  her  possessions  and  dependen- 
cies; such  as  we  find  evidenced  in  the  powers  of  comi)lete  self 
government  enjoyed  by  the  Australian  colonies  at  this  moment, 
tied  to  England  only  "by  the  nomination  of  powerless  governors, 
wliilc  the  laws  are  framed  and  enforced  entirely  by  the  peoi)le. 
The  extent  to  which  that  fact  must  be  considered  as  a  result  of 
our  War  f(;r  independence  is  broadly  recognized  by  the  commu- 
nities on  the  other  side  of  the  Pacilio  in  New  Zealand,  Victoria, 
New  South  Wales,  South  Australia,  Queensland,  Van  Diemcn's 
Land  and  Western  Australia,  and  front  the  four  first  named  at 
least  there  will  bo  substantial  additions  to  the  world's  show  which 
will  supplement  the  "comprehensive  display  of  the  industrial, 
intellectual  and  moral  progress  of  this  nation  during  the  first  cen- 
tury of  its  existence."  There  will  come  embassies  from  Japan, 
from  India,  and  from  China,  from  llussia,  Greece  and  Turkey, 
and  the  KliediVe  of  Egypt  will  be  present  by  his  ministers 
among  the  many  hundreds  of  distinguished  statesmen  and  diplo- 
matists who  will  act  as  the  European  contingent  of  representative 
men,  apart  from  the  busy  throng  impersonating  the  industries  and 
manufactures  which  more  than  kings  and  courtiers  and  even  par- 
liaments are  hastening  the  day  when  "the  lion  shall  lie  down 
with  the  lamb." 

Tiie  World's  Great  Exhibition  in  Ilyde  Park  in  1851,  in  which 
Prince  Albert  figured  as  chief  promoter,  came  many  years  after 
the  system  had  been  adopted  in  this  country,  and  had  grown  into 
remarkable  dimensions,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  rec- 
ord of  the  American  Institute.  There  had  been  exhibitions  of  arts 
and  of  industrial  productions  in  various  lines  of  enterprise  jM-ior 
to  that  organization,  but  the  institute  carries  the  pahn  because  of 
its  success  from  the  first  show,  and  because  of  the  rare  quality  of 
permanency  which  has  distinguished  its  operations.  A  few 
prominent  business  men  in  the  city  of  New  York  met  on  the 
19th  of  February,  1828,  and  concluded  to  organize  an  as.sociation 


The  Great  Cestksnial  Exposirioy. 


619 


for  tlie  purpose  of  fostering  American  mtxnnfactnres  by  a  public 
display.  Tlio  prospect  before  tlicin  was  not  brilliant,  but  thoy 
possessed  tlie  energy  and  tact  of  which  subsianlial  successes  are 
made,  and  the  lirst  sliow  opened  in  October  of  the  same  year 
under  excellent  auspices.  The  exhibition  in  Masonic  Hall  lasted 
three  days,  comincneing  Oct.  23,  1828.  $1,000  was  the  sum 
expended  in  premiums.  There  were  about  one  hundred  articles 
exhibited,  but  the  management  had  been  .so  ellicient  that  there 
remained  a  fair  margin  after  all  the  expenses  had  been  covered. 
Thus  was  laid  in  the  minds  of  the  business  men  in  that  metropo- 
lis the  genn  of  the  American  Institute  of  to-tlay,  and  in  May, 
1821),  the  legislature  of  the  state  passed  an  act  providing  for  per- 
manent organization.  There  have  been  in  the  interval,  between 
forty  and  lifty  exhibitions,  always  remarkable  for  the  genuine 
merit  and  hearty  appreciation  which  from  the  first  have  attended 
upon  the  movements  of  the  society.  In  the  year  1872,  the  an- 
nual display  lasted  three  months,  or  nearly  so;  there  were  four- 
teen hundred  entries,  and  more  than  five  thousand  articles  on 
exhibition  ;  the  returns  being  such  as  to  more  than  repay  the  vast 
expenditure  found  necessary  in  carrying  on  the  business.  Many 
other  associations  have  been  in  operation  in  dilTerent  parts  of  the 
states,  but  it  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  their  names  and 
merits;  it  is  enough  to  have  vindicated  the  claims  of  this  coun- 
try to  have  led  in  a  beneficent  work,  now  recognised  everywhere 
as  a  means  for  the  stimulation  of  inventions  and  improvcinonts 
in  the  mechanic  arts,  for  the  promotion  of  industries,  and  for  the 
dilTusion  of  invaluable  knowledge.  Before  passing  from  this 
blanch  of  the  subject,  having  adverted  to  tlie  working  of  the 
American  Institute,  it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  managers  are 
not  mere  showmen,  odering  an  attractive  resort  for  a  greater  or 
less  term  to  the  idle  and  luxurious;  from  the  very  beginning, 
there  has  been  a  practical  and  well  defined  purpose  in  the  associ- 
ation, and  each  succeeding  show  has  been  made  conducive  to  a 
material  success  of  the  highest  order.  Machinery  sent  for  exhi- 
bition must  be  worked  at  the  proper  times,  so  that  the  men  in- 
terested in  procuring  the  best  article  of  whatever  kind,  may  see 
the  machine  or  implement  in  motion,  and  ascertain  by  practical 
experiment  the  amount  of  power  that  must  be  expended  in  pro- 


620 


Turrr.tfs  Cicstknmal  XoiiTinvKsr. 


ci'j-ing  tlic  desired  results.  In  that  way  liundrcls  of  thousands 
of  dollars  luivo  been  saved  to  tradesmen,  mechanics  and  agricul- 
turists, wiio  but  for  such  crucial  tests  might  have  |',urcluised  the 
least  valuable,  because  the  most  showy  and  least  ellicient  of  the 
aids  oflered  to  their  industry.  Many  an  ingenious  man  has  found 
in  the  trials  ihus  made,  valuable  hints  for  improvements  after- 
wards [lerfected,  for  his  own  benefit  and  for  tlie  good  of  the  com- 
munity. Nor  does  tlio  society  stop  at  that  point.  There  are  over 
three  thousan.l  members,  with  a  property  now  in  their  pos.se.ssioii 
worth  more  than  .^I'OOiOOO,  and  a  reputation  entirely  beyond 
price  ;  all  these  are  committed  to  the  fullest  realization  of  pro- 
grc.-s.  There  arc  weekly  meetings  held  in  the  rooms  of  the  asso- 
ciation, in  which  the  Farmers'  Club  debate  every  question  perti- 
nent to  their  enterprise,  and  their  discu.ssions,  re[)ortcd  'ally  in 
the  leading  journals  of  New  York,  carry  the  information  inci- 
dental to  such  action  throughout  the  state,  and  in  {rreat  deirree 
throughout  the  union  also.  Besides  this  admirable  branch  of 
usefulness,  the  club  organization  distributes  valuable  but  rare 
seeds  and  suggestions  among  i)ersons  rnost  likely  to  be  benefited, 
and  in  one  year  there  were  twelve  thousand  packets  thus  distrib- 
uted gratuitously.  When  it  is  remembered  iliat  a  Shawnee  mis- 
sionary, who  for  some  years  during  his  ministrations  among  the 
tribes  took  occasional  ojiportunities  to  scatter  Iduc  grass  seed  on 
the  plains  and  prairies  of  Kansas,  has  thereby  materially  changed 
the  aspect  of  that  country  for  stock  raising  pursuits,  it  will  be 
seen  that  an  immense  service  is  being  rendered  to  all  concerned 
by  the  action  of  the  club,  in  sending  seeds  to  every  section  of  the 
union  wherever  peculiarities  of  soil  and  climate  render  eventual 
gain  most  likely.  Farmers  do  not  stand  alone  in  such  perma- 
nent advantages.  The  Polytechnic  Institute  branch  is  open  to  all 
classes,  and  in  the  halls  of  the  association  models  of  every  kind 
can  be  seen  at  rest  or  at  work  at  all  seasons,  together  with  rec- 
ords of  their  action  under  specific  tests.  Men  qualified  to  ex- 
plain all  that  does  not  appear  upon  careful  e.\amii  ation,  are 
nearly  always  ready  to  supplement  the  exhibition  by  viva  voce 
illustrations.  There  is  also  every  wii.U  i  ;.  first  class  course  of 
lectures  to  which  members  and  their  faniiii-'^-*  are  admitted  free  of 
cost;  and  in  such  interchanges  of  i.houg'j'-  scientific  truth"  ^x^ 


TiiK  Ghkat  Ci:.\r F:\srAr.  Exro.^nTioy. 


621 


,^ri(Mil- 
icd  the 
of  tlio 
foiiiid 
|s  after- 
10  coia- 
ro  over 
.session 
beyond 

C'l"    \)VO- 

le  asso- 
II   perti- 
illy   ill 
>ii   inei- 
degroc 
ranch  of 
)Ut  rare 
nolitcd, 
!  distrib- 
nce  mis- 
lorig  the 
seed  on 
changed 
will   be 
•noerned 
n  of  the 
Jveiitual 
porrna- 
en  to  all 
•y  kind 
ith  rec- 
1   to  cx- 


nssistcd  to  become  familiar  as  household  words  to  the  mass.  Tho 
lil)rary  contains  more  than  ten  thousand  vobuncs,  and  a  recently 
adopted  rule  excludes  mere  works  of  iiotii>n  from  the  shelves  of 
this  supremely  practical  institution.  Tlic  annual  reports  of  tho 
institute,  which  since  the  year  1S41  have  averaged  over  ono 
thou.sand  pages,  cont.iu  first  class  data  upon  which  the  reader 
may  biiild  a  knowledge  oi  the  progress  of  the  art.s  and  sciences 
as  they  apply  to  tho  b  isinesa  of  every  day  life;  and  many  parts 
of  the  later  vc>li';.\  .■?  arc  wistingui.ihcd  by  their  excellent  precis 
of  literary  culture  and  ai'vancement,  always  avoiding  tlie  dcbu- 
tablo  land  of  theolog)  and  jiolitical  action.  The  building  now 
in  u.'sc  will  probably  bo  superseded  before  long  by  a  structure 
much  more  vast  and  as  ii'^rrly  fire  proof  as  the  builder's  art  will 
permit  in  a  city  surrounded  by  moro  or  less  innammablc  edifiees; 
but  the  position  extending  from  the  Second  to  the  Third  avenue, 
and  from  Sixty-Third  to  Sixty-Fourth  street.  New  York,  could 
hardly  be  improved,  when  it  is  considered  that  the  vast  museum 
is  to  be  an  embodiment  for  yll  time,  of  the  inventions  and  im- 
provements which  will  assist  and  are  aiding  to  develop  agricul- 
ture, manufactures,  the  arts,  progressive  science,  a  living  litera- 
ture, continuous  invention  and  mechanical  skill.  The  name  of 
Horace  Greeley  was  associated  with  the  institute  for  five  years  as 
president,  and  before  that  timo  Gen.  Tallmadge  had  filled  the 
same  position  for  tweiity  years.  Such  movements  assist  to  make 
our  nation  great,  and  they  arc  reproductive  to  an  astounding 
degree. 

So  much  experience  in  the  work  of  exhibition,  as  this  brief 
retrospect  makes  manifest,  seeing  that  the  American  Institute  is 
but  one  of  many  associations  engaged  in  the  great  business  of 
adult  training,  by  similar  shows  and  fairs  on  scales  more  or  less 
vast  and  continuous,  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  the  spec- 
tacular and  commercial  success  of  the  Great  Centennial  wdiich 
will  be  inaugurated  in  rhiladeli)hia  on  the  19th  of  April,  and 
■will  close  on  the  19th  of  October,  after  six  months  shall  have 
been  spent  in  the  work  of  inspection  by  the  picked  men  and 
women  from  the  foremost  circles  of  every  nation  on  the  globe. 
The  progress  of  science,  art  and  invention,  during  the  hundred 
years  now  ending,  may  well  challenge  comparison  for  its  record, 


» 


■M'^- 


W 


m 

III 


622 


Tuttle's  Clwtexxul  Northwest. 


with  the  advances  made  in  any  previous  thousand  years  within 
historic  times,  since  man  stood  upon  this  footstool,  with   no  me- 
chanical aids  save  his  hands,  arms,  teeth,  nails  and  other  facilities 
of    physical  organization.     There  is  a   coronal  splendor  in  the 
achievements  of  industry  belonging  to  this  time,  which  dims  the 
escutcheon  of  all  former  ages,  and  there  is  a  j)romise  for  the  fu- 
ture which  will  tame  down   the  tendency  to  self-gratulation,  in 
the  knowledge  that  our  best  showing  will  be  but  a  speck  by  com- 
parison with  the  grander  results  which  the  corning  generations 
will   see,  thanking  God  and  taking  courage  in  their   progress. 
This  nation  may  justly  claim  credit  for  the  ingenuity  and  invent- 
ive skill  of  her  citizens;  but,  in  the  larger  thought  of  what  soi- 
ence  has  done  for  the  great  commonwealth  of  hnmanity  every- 
where, the  special  and  particular  may  well  be  swallowed  up.  The 
advancement  which  is  being  realized  by  all  mankind  will  be  the 
therne  of  our  Great  Centennial,  and,  in  view  of  that   fact,  it  will 
amply  repay  our  labor  to  glance  for  a  few  moments  at  some,  only, 
of  the  myriad   modiiications  by  which   the  workman  is  being 
changed  from  a  toiling  serf  into  a  skillful    adapter  of  scientific 
truths;  and  the  dweller  in  a  mud  hovel  in  Europe  is  giving  place 
to  a  more  happily  circumstanced  generation  on  this  continent,  for 
whose  benefit  palaces  of  industry  and  delight  arc  being  reared. 
Before  starting  out  upon  our  broader  view  of  [progress,  it  will   be 
well  to  consider  one  item  wdiich  comes  nearer  home,  the  culture 
of  cotton  in  this  country,  which  will  illustrate  especially  the  in- 
fluence exerted  by  invention  in  broadening  the  base  upon  which 
the  welfare  of  society  at  large  is  budded.     It  would  not  be  pos- 
sible, in  a  lifetime,  to  follow  every  invention  to  its  ultimate  bene- 
ficial result;  hence,  it  is  more  desirable  that  some  one  .'troke  of 
skill  should  be  fullv  observed,  in  order  that  the  rest  mav  come 
in  for  better  general  appreciation.     Cotton    which,  prior  to   the 
War  lor  Tnde[)endence,  had  been  cultivated  in  gardens  as  an  orna- 
mental and  curious  growth  in  many  parts  of  the  colonies,  was,  in 
the  year  1786,  introduced  into  Georgia  in  the  hope  that  ii  would 
become  in  time  one  of  the  staple  industries  of  that  state,  but  the 
necessity  to  clean  the  cotton  by  hand  was  an  almost  insuperable 
obstacle  in  the  wa}'  of  the  producer.     There  had  been  sonic  eight 
or  ten  bags  of  cotton  shipped  in  1784,  but  that  quantity  was 


I 


The  Great  Centekxial  Exposition^. 


623 


within 

jio  ine- 

Icilitics 

in   the 

jms  the 

[the  fu- 

Ition,  in 

|)y  eom- 

^rations 


Tlie 


seized  by  tlic  authorities,  because  it  was  considered  incredible 
that  the  Uniied  States  could  have  raised  so  much.  India  had 
long  been  the  home  of  the  cotton  plant,  and,  for  many  centuries, 
the  cloth  produced  therefrom  had  been  treated  as  an  especial 
luxury  for  the  wealthy.  Hand  processes  did  not  seem  likely  to 
make  American  growths  formidable  in  competition  with  the  earlier 
producers;  but,  in  the  year  1793,  Whitney  invented  the  Cotton 
Engine  —  almost  immediately  shortened  into  Cotton  Gin  —  to 
clean.se  the  ni)er  from  the  seed  ;  and,  in  the  second  year  following 
(1795)  1,000,000  pounds  of  cotton  were  exported  from  Charles- 
ton, the  metropolis  of  South  Carolina.  Science  and  invent'.on 
had  begun  to  widen  the  domain  of  labor.  The  entire  growth  of 
cotton  in  the  United  States  only  amounted  to  two  million  pounds 
in  1791,  the  export  being  only  190,000  pounds;  but,  in  the  .year 
1S60,  the  total  crop  amounted  to  4,670,000  bales,  and  our  own 
consumption  had  increased  to  978,000  bales,  as  in  our  day,  thanks 
to  Whitney  and  other  inventors,  almost  every  one  uses  that  ma- 
terial which  was  once  the  especial  privilege  of  the  rich.  The 
civil  war,  which  desolated  a  wide  range  of  territory,  arrested  the 
culture  of  cotton  as  well  as  of  other  crops,  but,  in  1870,  the 
growth  had  once  again  risen  into  respectable  figures,  throe  mill- 
ion bales  being  raised,  and  two  million  exported.  Steam  en- 
gines, used  as  cultivators,  will  soon  ircreasc  the  supply  be^'ond 
comparison  with  the  largest  quantities  ever  yet  produced,  not  only 
on  this  eontineni;,  but  in  the  whole  of  the  cotton  fields  all  over 
the  worM.  The  manufacture  of  cotton,  as  at  present  conducted, 
is  almost  entirely  dependent  upon  machinery  invented  and  im- 
proved within  otir  centennial  term.  In  the  year  1776  there  was 
no  cotton  mill  in  this  country,  and,  in  England,  hand  spinning 
■was  verv  slowly  giving  way  before  the  spinning  jenny,  invented 
by  Ilarjjreaves  in  the  year  1767,  which  permitted  120  threads  to 
bj  made  with  the  same  tin.-,  and  labor  which,  under  the  old  sys- 
tem, could  produce  only  one.  Immediately  after  the  war  came 
to  an  end,  in  178."),  Arkwright  invented  the  spinning  frame,  u  still 
greater  mechanical  wonder  than  the  work  of  Ilargreaves  ;  and,  al- 
most at  the  same  time,  the  powerdoom,  invented  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Cartwright,  may  be  said  to  have  superseded  hand  weaving  almost 
cntirclv.     The  groanings  of  the  men  and  women  wdio  were  inirae- 


624 


Tuttle's  Centexxial  Northwest. 


diatch'  afToctccI  by  the  new  inventions  were  doleful  enough,  but 
the  new  rcrjlti-m  was  coming  and  there  can  be  no    new  birth  with- 
out pain  and  travail.     Still  the  round  of  invention  was  not  com- 
plete unless  an  advantageous  substitute  for  human  force  could  be 
applied.     The  Watt  &.  Boulton   Steam   Engine  Works,   which 
•  were  established  in  Soho,  London,  in  1765,  had  been  the  scene  of 
man}'  ingenious  adaptations  and  improvements  since  the  skillful 
optician  lirst  tamed  the  force  of  steam  and  made  it  available  as 
the  servitor  of  man.     He  had  contrived  pumping  apparatus  for 
mines  which  had  drowned  out  the  miners  nearly  a  century  before 
and  had  never  since  been  fit  for  working;  he  had  applied  his  in- 
vention to  the  draining  of  fen  country  which  has,  since  that  time, 
become  the  homes  of  successful  agriculturists  ;  and  there  was  but 
little  difficulty,  with  the  aid  of  his  latest  additions,  in  making 
steam  engines  applicable  as  the  motive  power  for  all  the  machin- 
ery which  we  have  seen  made  ready  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton. 
Without  the  cheapened  raw  material  made  possible  by  Whitney's 
Gin,  the  improved  machinery  for  manufacture  would  have  been 
out  of  joint;  but  all  things  were  working  toward  the  great  end  of 
human  development.     Our  first  cotton  mill  was  established   in 
Rhode  Island  in  1790,  although  prior. to  that  time  there  had  been 
a  cotton  manufacturing  company.     There  were,  in  1870,  no  less 
than  958  cotton  mills  in  the  union,  with  a  steam  power  equal  to 
47,117  horses,  and  water  wheels  of  100,000  horse-power,  employ- 
ing 135,309  persons,  of  whom  over  70,(100  were  women  and  girls, 
the  wages  paid   being  nearly  $10,000,000,  and  the  value  of  the 
product  $-177,489,739.     A  thousand  indications  on  every  hand 
tell  us  that  the  work  done  in  the  past  but  tamely  shadows  forth 
the  wealth  of  production  possible  for  the  future  of  our  race.     Ilav- 
ins  thus  seen   the   trood   resultant  from  machincrv  in  only  one 
branch  of  industry,  and  even  that  but  lightly  sketched,  we  shall 
the  better  understand  how  largely  the  welfare  of  society  is  to  be 
built  up  from  the  numerous  discoveries  and  applications  of  scien- 
tific truth  during  the  era  with  which  our  centennial  celebration 
especially  dcal.-s. 

The  steam  engine,  long  since  invented  by  Xcwcomcn,  proceed- 
ing upon  the  jumbled  mass  of  contrivances  possessed  by  the  Mar- 
quis of  Worcester,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  hac"" 


The  Great  Centkxxial  Exposition. 


G25 


ugh,  but 

ill  with- 

not  com- 

CDuld  be 

1,   which 

scene  of 

e  skillful 

lable  as 

atns   for 

i-y  before 

cd  his  in- 

;hat  time, 

■e  was  but 

making 

c  machin- 

uf  cotton. 

Whitney's 

have  been 

eat  end  of 

blishcd  in 

;  had  been 

JO,  no  less 

r  equal  to 

ir,  empioy- 

.  and  girls, 

luc  of  the 

very  hand 

lows  forth 

ice.     Ilav- 

i  only  one 

I,  we  shall 

ty  is  to  be 

3  of  scien- 

;elebration 

1,  proceed- 
y  the  Mar- 
itury,  hac" 


been  improved  and  utilized  by  Watt  in  successive  stages,  until  it 
came  to  the  plane  upon  which  it  offered  aid  to  mankind  for  sta- 
tionary works  ;  but  it  was  not  to  end  there.  A  Cornish  engineer 
named  Trevethick  was  just  being  ushered  on  the  stage  of  life, 
from  whom  was  to  come  the  a])plicati()n  of  this  power  to  traveling 
upon  common  roads,  illustrated  by  his  own  journey  to  London 
from  the  extreme  west  of  England,  his  native  county,  upon  an 
engine  which  remains  as  a  model  of  ingenuity,  in  a  polytechnic 
institute  in  London.  One  of  the  Boulton  k  Watt  engines,  sta- 
tioned at  the  mouth  of  a  coal  pit  near  Newcastle  upon  Tyne,  was 
to  stimulate  the  faculties  of  an  uneducated  youth  named  Stephen- 
son, and  to  set  him  planning  improvements  of  its  structure,  until 
as  he  tended  the  machine,  hi.?  mind  expan'Ied  into  a  conception 
of  the  system  of  iron  roads  which  now  spans  the  earth  in  every 
direction,  and  brings  to  our  doors  millions  of  people,  with  whom, 
but  for  such  aids,  we  must  have  been  distant  strangers.  Difficul- 
ties without  number  imposed  upon  the  new  inventor  the  delight- 
ful task  of  mental  culture  for  himself,  and  many  a  journey  to  the 
institute  at  Newcastle  to  examine  the  models  there,  before  he 
arrived  at  the  discovery  of  the  hot  blast,  which  made  the  wonders 
of  modern  travel  a  possibility.  "While  civil  engineers,  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  schools,  and  blessed  with  the  advantages  of  pro- 
longed culture,  were  still  debating  whether  it  would  be  possible 
to  make  an  iron  wheel  bite  upon  an  iron  road  unless  the  wheels 
and  the  roadways  were  toothed,  the  whole  mystery  was  being 
solved  by  the  practical  wisdom  of  the  ex-coal  miner,  now  recog- 
nized among  the  world's  benefactors.  The  triumph  of  his  genius, 
which  carried  the  iron  road  across  the  quaking  waste  of  Chatmoss, 
was  local  in  its  operation,  but  the  major  conception  has  revolution- 
ized society,  even  in  China,  India  and  Japan.  The  first  steamboat 
by  Fitch,  the  better  adaptation  by  Fulton,  and  all  the  facilities  for 
travel  that  have  since  rendered  our  rivers  vast  highways  of  com- 
munication, which,  under  some  circumstances,  will  compete  with 
the  speed,  and  in  almost  every  case  more  than  eclipse  the  economy 
of  commnnic:ition  by  means  of  the  iron  ribbon,  were  all  poten- 
tially represented  in  the  discoveries  and  invention  by  Watt,  and 
in  comparatively  a  few  years  the  several  wonders  were  to  find 
evolution :  the  Fulton  experiments  at  New  Yovk  in  180G ;  the 
40 


i!  H 


i:U 


^ 


626 


Tuttle's  Cektexsial  Northwest. 


-!''■!»*■ 


t'-'-W 


i,'^ 


first  adaptation  of  the  same  power  to  like  purposes  in  England,  six 
years  later;  steam  earriuges  struggling  through  their  inf'intine  ail- 
ments from  1814  to  1829,  and  from  that  day  until  our  own  time 
developing  an  always  sturdier  manhood,  are  all  due — with  a 
thousand  other  ameliorating  powers,  which  will  not  now  be  enu- 
merated—  to  the  cardinal  suggestion  of  means  whereby  steam 
shall  lift  men  forever  beyond  the  necessities  of  ignorance  and 
brutalizing  labor;  and  although  the  great  initiatory  undertaking 
was  ell'ected  before  our  centennial  period  commenced,  the  grand 
appliances  of  that  force  are  due  to  our  era. 

The  inventions  by  Arkwright  and  by  Cartvvright  are  emphati- 
cally due  to  this  epoch,  and  their  power  is  experienced  by  hun- 
dreds of  millions  who  could  not  name  the  inventors  nor  specify 
their  works;  while  the  populations  of  many  nations  are  fed,  clothed, 
educated  and  lodged  witii  an  approach  to  luxury,  in  large  part,  in 
consequence  of  the  increased  consumption  of  raw  material,  and 
the  reduced  price  of  manufactures  consequent  upon  such  bcne(i- 
cent  labors.  In  great  things  as  in  small,  science  has  been  increas- 
ing human  happiness  ever  since  its  professors  and  students  with- 
drew from  the  impracticable  pursuit  of  the-  elixir  vikc,  to  seek  for 
the  more  avaiTable  blessings  of  mechanical  invention,  combined 
with  the  discoveries  of  the  savanl.  The  superb  ideas  of  Roger 
]?aeon  cost  him  an  imprisonment  which  probably  ended  only 
with  his  existence.  The  life  work  of  Faraday  lifted  him  from 
the  bookbinder's  bench  to  the  status  of  a  prince  an<^  -  'philoso- 
pher, who  could  claim  kindred  with  the  greatest  souls  of  antiq- 
uity ;  so  vastly  changed  is  the  area  of  labor  within  the  past  six 
centuries.  Looking  back  upon  the  Argand  lamp  from  the  supe- 
rior illuminati'  g  powers  enjoyed  by  this  generation,  it  seems  but 
a  small  thing  that  an  improved  lamp  was  offered  to  the  reader 
and  the  student,  but  if  we  could  turn  back  the  wheels  of  time 
for  a  hundred  years,  to  the  darkness  visible  which  was  due  to  the 
candle,  enclosed  or  not  enclosed  in  a  lantern,  little  improved 
since  the  age  of  Alfred  the  Great,  we  could  more  highly  appre- 
ciate the  boon  conferred  by  that  costly  production,  compared 
with  which,  our  kerosene  lamp  of  to-day  is  almost  as  the  sun  it- 
self for  brilliancy  and  cheapness.  Science  had  barely  attempted 
to  apply  steam  to  river  navigation,  before  the  air  itself  promised 


I'T.  '! 


IgUuul,  six 
.iiitinc;  ail- 
low  n  lime 
with  a 
Iw  be  enu- 
pby  stciuu 
[rnnce  and 
nlertaking 
Ithe  grand 

c  emphati- 

I   by  liun- 

lor  specify 

hI,  clodied, 

I'ge  ])ai't,  in 

\terial,  and 

uch  bcnefi- 

;en  increas- 

dents  with- 

to  seek  for 

1,  combined 

IS  of  Roger 

?nded  only 

.  liim  from 

^  "  vliiloso- 

Is  of  antiq- 

,he  past  six 

n  the  supc- 

t  seems  but 

the  reader 

;els  of  time 

)  due  to  the 

}  improved 

rhly  appre- 

1,  compared 

the  sun  iL- 

"•  attempted 

f  promised 


The  Great  Cextesxul  Exposition. 


627 


to  become  a  medium  for  successful  travel,  and  the  Montwolfier 
balloon  soared  toward  the  heavens,  leading  the  thoughts  of  scien- 
tists and  rnechanicianr-  onward  to  a  myriad  schemes  for  iprosta- 
tion,  which  have  already  been  utilized  to  some  degree,  and  which 
may  at  any  moment  develop  into  aerial  charioteering  on  a  scale 
which  would  make  the  atmosphere  a  new  realm  for  our  dwelling 
place.  While  the  treasures  of  mental  eflfort  were  tlius  slowly 
unfolding,  the  idea  of  educating  the  children  of  poverty  by 
schools  held  on  Sundays,  and  in  villages  where  idle  youth  had 
too  long*  been  neglected,  prepared  the  way  for  a  wider  dominion 
to  be  possessed  by  literature;  and  we  see  the  results  around  us, 
multiplying  daily,  as  the  momentum  of  intellectual  progression 
increases.  Brain  culture,  which  had  been  the  luxury  of  the  few, 
has  already  become  the  necessity  of  the  many;  and  in  a  propor- 
tionate degree,  the  once  all  pervading  superstition  has  been  rele- 
gated to  a  narrower  field ;  the  pretensions  of  quackery  have  been 
submitted  to  a  closer  scrutiny,  and  the  maxims  of  despotism  have 
been  narrowed  in  operation.  The  old  system  of  signalling  by 
beacon  fires  has  been  superseded  many  times  within  the  century 
that  we  call  our  own,  because  through  its  vista  we  look  back  to 
the  heroes  and  veterans  of  '76;  but  the  first  advance  to  the 
wooden  semaphore  with  its  moveable  arms  and  dumb  alphabet  of 
limited  range,  is  due  to  the  mental  activity  of  the  last  quarter  of 
the  last  century,  almost  to  its  last  decade.  From  that  feeble  step 
to  our  grander  exploits  with  the  subject  lightnings,  what  an  em- 
pii'e  has  been  conquered !  ^Mesmerism,  wnich  had  been  the 
quackery  of  the  court  and  the  people  in  France,  began  to  find 
scientific  equivalents  in  galvanism  and  voltaic  electricity,  and  to 
approach  the  modern  aspects  of  the  like  fields  of  wonder,  con- 
cerning which  the  best  thinkers  are  still  in  doubt  The  rocks 
from  which  our  ancestors  quarried  palaces,  monuments  and 
homes  w^ere  found  to  be  possessed  of  higher  claims  upon  the 
world's  regard,  as  the  art  of  lithography  ofi'ered  its  aid  to  the 
modern  distributor  of  pictured  wealth  among  the  masses;  and  it 
would  be  interesting  to  inquire  how  many  millions  of  souls  have 
since  found  their  bread  in  the  prosecution  of  industries  thence 
made  available.  Soon  afterwards  we  find  the  foundry  at  Bir- 
mingham, in  which  Boulton.  the  partner  of  Watt,  carried  on  his 


:'<  f 


li:   I 


W'l;- 


G'2S 


Ti'TTUc's  Centennial  Xortidvest. 


numerous  enterprises,  illumitifited  by  the  aid  of  gas.  Priestley, 
and  the  little  school  of  advanced  thought  which  he  represented 
in  England,  until  the  ignorant  multitude  drove  him  out  and  de- 
stroyed his  library  and  apparatus,  Vv'cre  carrying  on  the  work  of 
discovery  as  to  gases  into  practical  application,  and  in  that  re- 
gion of  labor  it  would  bo  curious  beyond  measure,  if  wc  could 
see  drawn  up  the  millions  that  live  by  the  manufacture  of  illu- 
minating gas,  b}^  its  distribution  in  the  homes  of  the  poor  and 
the  jialaces  of  the  wealthy,  and  by  all  the  myriad  occupations 
which  but  for  that  invention  might  never  have  been  placed  with- 
in the  reach  of  the  toiling  masses.  Long  before  that  light  could 
be  bronght  into  general  operation,  before  gas  had  been  brought 
into  London  streets  —  and  that  event  dates  from  180i  —  Dr.  Jen- 
ner  had  discovered  the  system  of  vaccination,  and  had  proffered 
to  suffering  humanity  the  means  to  ward  off  the  ravages  of  small 
pox.  We  know  but  little  of  the  extent  to  which  that  worse  tlian 
plague,  that  continuous  scourge,  decimated  and  disfigured  the 
race;  the  worst  evidences  of  its  abhorrent  influence  have  passed 
away,  thanks  to  the  scheme  offered  by  the  benevolent  physician, 
but  before  that  end  could  bo  attained  he  had  been  well  nigh 
howled  to  dcatli  by  blasphemous  opponents,  who  declared  that  it 
was  irreligious  on  his  part  to  avert  an  evil  which  the  Supreme 
Being  had  appointed  for  wise  but  inscrutable  purposes.  Volta 
was  busily  constructing  at  the  same  time  the  Voltaic  pile,  with 
which  his  name  is  forever  associated,  and  perhaps  he  sometimes 
paused  to  reflect  that  a  similar  work  two  hundred  years  before 
might  have  cost  him  his  life  as  a  wizard. 

Thus,  the  stately  march  of  time  went  on  to  an  always  improv- 
ing music ;  the  men  who  h.ad  for  many  years  been  accustomed 
on  certain  inhospitable  coasts  to  exhibit  false  lights,  luring  ves.sels 
to  destruction,  that  they  might  with  the  greater  certainty  procure 
the  abominable  gains  of  the  wrecker,  were,  perhaps,  disgusted 
when  they  learned  that  the  practices  of  "the  good  old  times" 
were  being  discounted  by  the  invention  of  life  boats  and  apparatus 
to  preserve  life  and  property;  but  upon  the  coasts  of  Cornwall 
and  elsewhere,  where  such  ghastly  vocations  were  followed,  the 
sons  and  grand  sons  of  the  old  regime  are  now  among  the  bravest 
to  adventure  their  lives  to  save  the  distressed.     C'ongreve  rockets 


The  Gui'JAi'  Ckstessial  ExvumrioiJ. 


629 


Priestley, 

represented 

out  and  de- 

tlie  work  of 

in  tliat  re- 

if  we  could 

turc  of  illu- 

tlie  poor  and 

occupations 

placed  with- 

t  light  could 

)een  brought 

)i— Dr.  Jen- 

lad  profTered 

ages  of  small 

at  worse  than 

lisllgurcd   the 

)  have  passed 

3nt  physician, 

ecu  well   nigh 

eclared  that  it 

the  Supreme 

poses.     Volta 

taic  pile,  wiih 

he  sometimes 

years  before 

ways  improv- 
1  accustomed 
luring  vessels 
lainty  [)rocuro 
ips,  disgusted 
d  old  times" 
:ind  apparatus 
s  of  Cornwall 
followed,  the 
g  the  bravest 
greve  rockets 


fall  into  rank  near  this  point,  and  as  we  know  they  have  since 
then  often  warned  tlic  lookout  upon  the  shore  of  the  dangerous 
proximity  of  the  doomed  vessel  to  the  rocks,  often  also  the  same 
means  have  carried  the  life  line  from  shore  to  ship,  or  the 
reverse,  establishing  communications  by  which  the  weak  and 
ailing  have  been  conveyed  from  out  of  the  very  maelstrom  and 
hurricane  of  ruin  to  the  protecting  arms  of  family  and  friends. 
The  science  of  mind,  which  was  at  the  comnienccmcnt  of  our 
century  a  study  entirely  metaphysical,  has  become  very  largely 
a  question  in  which  physical  construction  supplies  the  ansvver 
within  our  time.  The  munia  which  at  one  period  lowered  phre- 
nology to  the  status  of  fortune  telling  by  bumps  or  little  better, 
has  given  place  to  a  more  slowly  moving  science  of  observation, 
which  has  already  helped  us  in  some  degree  to  a  comprehension 
of  mental  phenomena,  and  which  may  yet  do  more  in  that  direc- 
tion. It  is  not  pretended  that  the  whole  mystery  of  psycho- 
logical, action  can  be  solved  by  the  study  of  brain  cells  and  grey 
matter,  by  the  convolutions  of  the  brain  fiber,  by  the  investiga- 
tion of  temperaments,  and  by  measurement  of  the  crania,  inas- 
much as  the  mystery  of  mysteries  lies  far  beyond  line  and  rule, 
"  deeper  than  ever  plummet  sounded  ;  "  but  it  is  something  that 
we  are  able  to  find  always  in  physical  forms,  the  basis  upon 
which  the  sublimcst  of  all  earthly  marvels  are  elaborated,  and 
for  that  advance  we  are  indebted  to  the  labors  of  this  century. 
Then  the  toils  of  the  miner  and  his  peculiar  dangers  down  in  the 
deep  interstices  of  the  earth,  whence  foul  gases  burst  forth  to 
overwhelm  and  destroy  him  with  choke  damp,  fire  damp  and 
their  awful  explosions,  commanded  the  aid  of  science  in  the 
"  safety  lamp"  offerecl  to  the  workman  by  Sir  Humphrey  Davy, 
an  invention  based  upon  a  discovery  which,  humanly  speaking, 
has  saved  unnumbered  thousands  of  lives.  Miry  streets  which 
came  near  in  many  cates  to  make  locomotion  impossible,  were  in 
the  year  181 D,  first  placed  in  good  form  by  Macadam's  system, 
which  is  now  found  operating  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Then 
Oersted  was  completing  his  experiments  to  demonstrate  the 
power  of  the  electro  magnet,  which  eleven  years  later,  in  1831, 
Faraday  completed  by  the  discovery  of  magnetic  electricity,  the 
reverse  of  the  former  proposition,  submitting  ;o  the  service  of  the 


-Jli> 


(:l?,i( 


630 


Tuttle's  Centennial  Nohtiiwest. 


% 


I?  J 


-i: 


I 


world  the  current  which  now  carries  our  messages  to  the  realms 
of  "  far  Cathay,"  and  may  hereafter  convey  them  to  the  ))olo. 
Wliile  such  works  were  being  })rosecuted  on  the  other  side  of  tlic 
Atlantic,  it  must  not  be  supposed  for  one  moment  that  this 
nation  sat  idly  looking  on.  The  little  fringe  of  population,  of 
less  than  four  millions  upon  an  area  of  country  washed  by  the 
Atlantic,  had  grown  steadily  in  importance,  spreading  every  year 
over  a  wider  range  and  increasirg  the  wealth  which  has  since  been 
applied  to  arts  and  science  as  well  as  to  increase  reproductive 
works  of  a  more  material  dcscrij)tion.  In  the  year  1817,  the 
great  Hudson  and  Erie  canal  was  commenced,  which  we  have 
seen  completed  and  in  operation  since  1825,  an  immense  undertak- 
ing worth}--  of  the  energies  of  a  great  people.  Since  that  date  we 
have  transferred  to  our  own  roads  the  steam  horse  which  Eng- 
land began  to  break  into  liarness  in  1814,  although  Bucephalus 
was  not  properly  tamed  and  set  to  work  until  1829.  Before  the 
first  railroad  was  operated  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  in  1832, 
connecting  Liverpool  with  Manchester,  the  McCormick  reaper 
gave  a  new  aspect  to  agricultural  enterprise  on  this  side  of  the 
ocean,  and  from  that  time  to  tlic  present  inventions  and  improve- 
ments have  been  almost  unceasing,  until,  as  we  have  said,  there 
has  been  seen  a  reduction  of  manual  labor,  unprecedented  in  any 
former  era,  without  a  reduction  of  one  dollar's  worth  in  the 
yearly  proceeds  of  that  branch  of  industry ;  yt  while  the  demand 
for  farm  laborers  has  diminished  by  one-tiiird,  the  wages  for 
competent  men  in  farm  work  has  simply  doubled  within  twenty 
years. 

Men  who  can  look  back  forty  years  to  the  time  when  the  tin- 
der box  was  in  full  bloom,  when  Benedict,  rising  in  the  night  was- 
obliged  to  grope  round  for  flint  and  steel,  before  his  darkness 
could  be  illuminated,  and  then  proceeded  at  peril  of  his  knuckles 
to  strike  sparks  from  the  awkward  instrument  at  his  disposal,  can 
appreciate  better  than  the  more  modern  growths  of  men  the  ad- 
vantages which  in  1834  were  provided  for  household  economy,  in 
the  lucifer  match  box.  It  seems  hardly  possible  now  to  look 
back  upon  the  old  times,  with  their  Hembrandt  like  eUects  of 
flame  glowing  up  from  the  tinder  box,  into  the  face  of  the  anx- 
ious seeker  after  light,  without  expressing  one's  thanks  to  chem- 


The  Great  Cextenmal  Exi'osirioy. 


C31 


Ihc  realms 

the  ])ole. 

liJc  of  the 

that  this 

|ulatioii,  of 

3(1  by  tlie 

;very  year 

[sinec  been 

Iproductive 

1817,  the 

1  we  have 

undertak- 

at  date  we 

ivhlch  Eng- 

3uccphahis 

Before  the 

iticinl832, 

nick  I'caper 

side  of  the 

id  improve- 

;  said,  there 

snted  in  any 

arth   in  the 

the  demand 

3  wages  for 

thin  twenty 

hen  the  tin- 
le  night  was- 
is  darkness 
lis  knuckles 
lisposal,  can 
men  the  ad- 
economy,  in 
low  to  look 
ke  eEects  of 
of  the  anx- 
ks  to  chem- 


istry for  the  match  named  after  tlic  father  of  mischief,  worthy  to 
liave  been  invented  by  Promellicus  himself,  who  brought  down 
fire  from  above. 

Railways  were  now  being  rapidly  multiplied  in  France,  Belgium 
and  elsewhere,  as  well  as  in  their  first  home,  and  in  1837,  the 
first  electric  telegraph  was  operated  by  the  inventive  genius  of 
Whcatstone,  giving  birth  to  a  system  of  intereliango,  ^'ompared 
with  which,  the  fleetest  couriers  and  tiieir  facilities  for  communi- 
cation, such  as  provoked  the  world's  wonder  in  England  and  i^ 
France,  in  the  fifteenth  century  when  the  postal  scheme  was  ii^ 
auguratcd  in  Europe,  seems  as  though  the  tortoise  should  challon^ 
the  eagle  to  a  race. 

Men  had  reached  a  frame  of  mind  in  which  slowness  could  not 
be  endured.  Pinizon's  caravel  "Pu(^<"  might  have  been  speedy 
enough  for  the  companions  (  .  Columbus,  who  feared  their  ap- 
proach to  the  declivitous  sides  of  the  world;  but  men  living  in 
the  age  which  had  given  birth  to  the  Electric  Telegraph,  must 
have  speedier  means  of  crossing  the  Atlantic  to  enable  Europe  to 
take  hold  of  the  New  AVorld,  and  be  lifted  into  better  conditions 
of  life ;  hence  we  find,  in  1838,  the  Great  Western  steamer  cro.s3- 
ing  the  Atlantic,  from  Bristol  to  New  York,  in  fifteen  days,  and 
the  good  people  declaring  that  wonders  would  never  cease.  Dr. 
Johnson  used  to  say  that  "a  voyage  was  a  term  of  imprisonment, 
with  a  chance  of  being  drowned;  "  there  were  now  added  further 
chances  by  no  means  pleasant,  however  problematical ;  but  the 
imprisonment  was  shortened  from  months  to  days,  and  the  sur- 
roundings were  so  much  improved  that  men  forgot  the  confine- 
ment in  the  splendor  of  their  floating  palace.  In  the  same  year, 
Nasmyth's  Steam  Hammer  was  brought  into  action,  exerting 
such  a  force  as  had  never  been  known  in  any  former  mechanical 
experience,  which  could  be  controlled  with  such  precision  that 
the  petals  of  a  rose  would  not  be  bruised  in  its  descent,  or  could 
be  propelled  with  such  fury  that  an  iron-shod  pile  would  be 
driven  into  the  earth's  crust  as  though  it  had  been  an  aerolite, 
coming  from  remote  space  to  find  a  home  and  refuge  in  the  center 
of  the  globe.  Still,  side  by  side  with  the  strong,  came  the  beau- 
tiful, as  the  two  should  ever  be  mated ;  and,  just  while  the  steam 
hammer  was  being  perfected  ready  for  work,  Dagucrre  was  com- 


WW^S, 


m 


R 


m 


ip 


m 


632. 


TuTTLE's  CESTEifNIAL  NoJiTJni'EST. 


pclling  tlic  sun  to  become  our  portrait  painter,  commencing  an 
Jirt  industry  to  wliicli  every  liouschoM  is  now  indebtcid  for  some 
fcarij^f  loveliness,  or  scjuic  long  reniemberod  features,  wliieli 
wfl^Jbe  eliea})ly  [)urcliased  at  ten  litne.s  their  weight  in  gold, 
yet  slwh  as  even  kings  could  not  command  in  the  last  century. 
The  deathdike  correctness  of  Dagucrrc  has  given  place  to  higher 
art  in  pictures  which  almost  seem  to  breathe;  but,  so  rajiidly  do 
the  changes  come  from  some  good  process  to  other  and  better 
means,  that  it  is  not  too  much  to  anticipate  that,  in  the  progress 
of  art  and  scientific  culture,  the  presentation  of  the  living  char- 
acteristics of  the  human  face  divine  will,  in  the  future,  excel  the 
j)aintings  of  the  old  masters.  Europe  commenced  its  career  as  an 
cxhibiter  of  tjte  products  of  art  and  industr}-,  in  IS-il,  at  Berlin, 
and,  of  courtiajran  immediate  result  followed  in  the  acceleration 
of  all  the  processes  by  which  improvements  might  be  attained  in 
manufactures  and  artistic  labors,  but  the  rapid  flow  of  discovery 
more  and  more  dwarfs  the  capacity  of  the  running  pencil  to  note 
what  is  worthy  of  being  admired.  The  discovery  of  the  planet 
Neptune,  verifying  the  calculations  of  Adams  and  Lc  A^erricr, 
serves  us  to  illustrate  the  exactitude  with  which  scientific  calcu- 
lations are  carried  out,  not  only  in  astronomical  observations  and 
speculations,  but  in  all  branches  of  inquiry  in  the  century  in 
which  we  live.  But  while  the  distant  planets  and  the  perturba- 
tions which  mark  their  ])resencc  are  interesting  the  thoughtful 
student  in  one  department,  in  another,  human  suffering  com- 
mands all  the  energies  of  the  sympathetic  soul ;  hence  we  find 
.iEther  as  an  anaesthetic,  introduced,  in  1846,  by  Dr.  Jackson,  of 
Boston,  Mass.,  to  be  soon  followed  by  Chloroform  and  other  such 
agents,  and,  under  its  shelter,  bodies  and  minds  debilitated  by 
,5  long  suffering  and  sickness  are  protected  from  the  i)angs  of  pain 
while  operations  essential  to  the  saving  of  life  ore  carried  through 
^by  skillful  surgeons.  Ambrose  Pare  could  not  have  dreamed  of 
'such  an  exquisite  helper  for  the  strong,  swift  hand  that  could  re- 
move a  limb  with  i\\i  minimum  of  suffering  for  the  patient;  yet 
this  is  only  one  of  the  many  means  by  which  agony  can  be  re- 
duced to  its  lowest  plane  ;  and  for  this  boon  the  world  is  indebt- 
ed to  the  professional  labors  of  a  Massachusetts  practitioner. 
The  Union  had  served  its  apprenciship  to  the  grand  career  which 


The  Giih'AT  Cestessial  Exposition. 


Gas 


lomg  an 

lor  sonio 
I,  which 
111  gold, 
Iceiiturv. 

I 

|o  liighei- 
)iilly  do 
d   better 
progress 
iig  char- 
;xccl  the 
ecr  as  an 
t  r.orlin, 
cleralion 
tallied  in 
1  i  SCO very 
il  to  note 
lie  planet 
3  Vcrrier, 
ific  calcn- 
itions  and 
cntury  in 
pertnrba- 
iionghtful 
ing  com- 
3  wo  find 
ckson,  of 
ther  such 
la  ted   by 
of  pain 
through 
earned  of 
could  rc- 
ient;  yet 
m  be  re- 
s  indebt- 
ctitioncr, 
cr  which 


she  has  since  illustrated;  and,  from  the  close  of  the  first  half 
century  of  national  growth,  there  has  been  visible  a  succession  of 
inventions  ex('ecding  all  that  the  world  had  seen  as  tlie  outcome 
of  the  iiigemiity  of  one  nation  in  any  period  of  industry.  The 
Sewing  Alachine,  invented  by  Elias  Howe,  rc{)reserits  an  endless 
line  of  jiatcnts  for  improved  construction,  one  maker  following 
another  in  tlie  same  line  of  labor,  until  it  seems  as  though  there 
must  come  a  time  when  mere  volition  will  sufUcc  to  procure  the 
elaboration  of  manufactures  which  once  depended  entirely  upon 
the  dexterity  of  the  human  hand  and  its  powers  of  endurance. 

The  dreams  of  France  and  Si)ain  as  to  the  auriferous  character 
of  this  continent,  seemed  on  the  point  of  reali;cati()ii  in  1847,  when 
the  goldfields  of  California  were  first  made  known  to  the  world. 
^J'lic  wealth  that  was  captured  by  Drake,  Frobisher,  Kaleigh,  and 
Hawkins,  from  the  Sj)aniard  on  its  way  from  South  America,  and 
the  yet  larger  quantities  that  reached  Spain  to  sustain  the  extrav- 
agance of  Charles  V  and  Phillip  IT,  was  hardly  an  atom  by  com- 
parison with  the  Paetolean  stream,  which  flowed  over  this  coun- 
try and  the  world,  after  the  first  discoveries  in  Sacramento  Valley  ; 
but  the  enervating  influence  which  ruined  Castile,  never  for  one 
moment  appeared  in  our  histo'">'  •  and  the  only  noticeable  efl^ect 
seems  to  have  been  that  with  tne  treasure  which  came  from  the 
New  Eldorado,  the  banks  and  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  were 
made  more  valuable  than  would  have  realized  the  ])roudest  anti- 
cipations of  the  hope  elated,  all  but  bankrupt  France  with  its 
Mississippi  scheme  of  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Nor  was  there  in  all  that  time  of  excitement  the  least  indication 
of  supineness  as  to  discovery  and  invention.  The  men  who 
rushed  to  the  placers  and  gulches  of  California  were  as  full  of 
inventive  capacit\-  as  they  were  of  courage.  Every  process  in  the 
new  field  of  labor  was  as  it  were  by  intuition  carried  back  to  first 
principle.;,  and  from  that  point  upA'ards;  mere  brute  force  was 
discounted  by  scientific  appliances,  such  as  arc  now  copied  on 
every  goldfield  on  this  footstool.  Electric  telegraph  lines  soon 
connected  the  remote  camps  in  the  Sierras,  wherever  a  settled, 
commmiity  could  be  found,  with  the  more  settled  districts  and 
throu'di  these  with  the  whole  round  of  civilization.  Commerce 
and  government  followed  where  enterprise  bad  led  the  way,  and 


!1:ft 


i'i 


r 


1      I 


684 


Tvrrufs  Cextksnial  Nohtuwkst, 


while  tlio  Ciiliforiiia  mines  were  siill  quite  young,  tlie  adventur- 
ous diggers  !c;irned  from  the  occasional  issues  of  tlio  inetrojjolitaii 
prcsa  lliat  reached  their  tents,  that  the  world  from  which  they 
had  temporarily  fled  was  still  continuing  its  wonderful  career  of 
new  inventions.  The  Long  Tom,  the  Chilian  mill,  and  the  rows 
of  stampers  engaged  with  them  in  ))rej)aring  the  lino  particles  of 
precious  metal  to  be  caught  in  the  ripple,  or  made  rcatly  to  he  in- 
corporated in  tlie  amalgam  could  not  close  their  ears  to  the  afar 
oH  eeliocs  which  told  them  of  the  achievements  of  telegraphy  on 
land,  and  that  alread}',  in  1849,  it  had  been  successfully  tested 
by  submarine  experiments  at  Folkstone,  opposite  to  Boulogne. 
By  successive  steps,  while  still  pursuing  the  iijnis  fnlnus  wealth, 
they  learned,  in  1853,  that  the  first  submarine  telegraph  had  been 
laid  down,  to  raise  the  hopes  of  humanity  to  tlie  topmost  pin- 
nacle, and  then  suddenly,  with  the  words  half  spoken,  to  dash 
them  down  again;  but  only  that  the  work  better  done  might 
deserve  a  better  and  more  enduring  triumph.  The  greater  plenty 
of  gold  was  giving  new  courage  to  the  .settlers  in  remote  Iowa 
and  in  other  newly  settled  territories,  who  could  see  markets  for 
their  produce  at  fair  prices,  and  the  wave  of  prosperity  surged  for 
a  time  over  the  whole  land,  giving  an  additional  impul.sc  to  every 
form  of  indu.-try  and  research.  Enterprises  of  great  pith  and 
moment  depend  upon  the  price  of  grain  all  the  world  over,  and 
the  union  w.as  rapidly  massing  the  sinews  of  war  for  the  grandest 
struggle  known  in  history.  Vast  reproductive  works  were  being 
projected  daily  and  as  speedily  as  they  were  launched  upon  the 
money  market  there  were  means  found  for  their  prosecution. 

The  Niagara  suspension  bridge  was  crossed  by  its  first  locomo- 
tive in  ISoo,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  compute  the  number  of  such 
titanic  forces  that  have  since  drawn  the  trafllo  and  the  travel 
of  the  world  across  that  vibrating  roadway.  When  that  item  of 
news  was  transmitted  to  the  kingdoms  of  the  old  world,  there 
came  back  word  that  a  light  nearly  as  bright  a.s  the  sun  had 
been  exhibited  to  the  observing  multitude  in  Paris?,  as  the 
latest  product  of  electricity.  Ericcson's  caloric  engine  dates  from 
1855,  and  although  no  great  results  in  that  direction  have  yet 
followed,  we  cannot  doubt  that  results  will  come ;  when  the 
motors  of  to-day  will  be  to  the  competent  looker  on,  as  far  behind 


Ivciitiir- 
]ii)Iil;ui 
li   they 
[u'<!er  of 
(lo  rows 
:i(;lt'rt  of 
'i>  be  in- 
:lio  afar 
hpliy  on 
y  tested 
)uIogiie. 
weal  til, 
ad  been 
lost  pin- 
to dasli 
0  might 
!!•  plenty 
>te  Iowa 
rkcts  for 
urged  for 
to  every 
[>ith  and 
)ver,  and 
grandest 
jre  being 
upon  the 
ion. 

locomo- 

of  such 

le  travel 

item  of 

Id,  there 

sun  had 

as   the 

tes  from 

ave  yet 

hen   the 

'  behind 


TiiK  (J in: AT  Ci:\Ti:x.\'iAL  Exposinoy. 


685 


11 

0 


tlic  possibility  of  the  futu'-o,  na  wc  now  arc  beyond  the  old  coach- 
ing experieneos,  which  were  familiar  to  the  early  travelers  across 
tlie  plains.  The  builder  of  our  ircm  clad  monitor  was  not  a  man 
liat  would  waste  his  energies  upon  a  scheme  which  had  nut  u 
apacity  to  succeed.  Still  onward  has  been  the  motto  of  our 
'century,  the  time  which  we  propose  to  celebrate  by  an  effort  to 
exhibit  in  the  mass,  the  monuments  of  God's  goodiies^s  to  the  race. 
With  the  discovery  of  our  wealth  of  iron  and  coal  came  natural- 
ly a  desire  to  improve  our  hematite  ore,  into  tiie  best  product  of 
the  iron  makers  industry,  and  the  process  patented  by  Bessemer 
for  converting  iron  into  steel  supplied  the  want  of  the  time.  The 
vast  expansion  of  our  iron  and  steel  works  in  Indianapolis,  ns 
well  as  in  Pittsburg!),  and  in  intermediate  localities  beyond  num- 
ber, tells  of  the  always  increasing  wealth  of  the  world  at  large, 
as  well  as  of  comfortable  homes,  made  happy,  by  the  rewards  of 
industry.  The  puddlcrs'  energy  is  the  starting  point  for  an  un- 
ending succession  of  industries  which  raise  the  human  race  by 
every  step,  beyond  the  reach  of  such  want,  as  used  in  the  olden 
times  to  decimate  all  nations,  when  there  were  none  to  help. 
Famines  come  now,  but  they  are  partial  and  slight  by  comparison 
and  as  they  fall  upon  one  community,  the  rest  of  civilization 
comes  to  the  rescue  with  a  love  entirely  modern,  and  an  ability  to 
relieve,  such  as  the  old  world  never  knew.  The  weights  to  be 
raised  and  transported  grew  heavier  with  every  year  under  the 
new  growth,  and  additional  facilities  must  be  found  to  meet  the 
demand  for  mechanical  aid.  The  derrick  invented  in  1857  was 
the  answer,  possessing  a  strength  which  could  be  calculated  with 
entire  precision,  and  by  the  aid  of  the  new  giant,  ponderous 
blocks  of  metal  were  immediately  being  lifted  and  transferred 
with  le.ss  noise  and  racket  than  a  baggage  clerk  often  makes  in 
the  transfer  of  a  trunk  filled  with  clothing.  With  the  attriouto 
of  irresistible  strength  there  came  also  the  gentleness  which  not 
seldom  is  found  conjoined  with  power.  Swiftness  was  wanted  in 
some  departments,  as  much  as  deliberation  in  others,  and  while 
these  ponderous  weights  being  set  down  with  the  ea.se  which 
might  mark  the  deposit  of  a  feather,  winged  words  of  eloquence 
were  bc:;ig  transmitted  with  a  speed  equal  to  two  thousand  words 
per  hour,  under  the  combination  system  which  took  its  rise  in  1859. 


Bf, 


C3G 


Ti'TTLE'ii   Ch'XTENNIAL  KoilTIIWEST. 


.!i: 


:|R 


■  li  ■'■■  ''11     lUHil 


:il 


!-;4.-,, 


■t'<   .:■, 


■■te:iffn;ii:; 


Safety  for  the  traveler  found  care  and  consideration  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  electro  magnetic  light  at  Dover,  in  the  same  yenr, 
and  from  the  Pharos  streamed  a  warning  compared  with  which  the 
light  of  that  Pharos  at  Alexandria  in  its  palmiest  days  was  dark- 
ness, when  its  school  embodied  all  the  philosophy,  and  its  library 
all  the  learning  of  the  older  civilizations,  of  which  Archimedes 
was  one  only  of  the  exemplars.  The  dresses  of  the  women  of 
our  age  owe  the  beauty  of  color,  the  softness  of  texture,  and  the 
enduring  quality  of  fiber,  where  such  are  found  existing,  to  the 
improved  processes  which  have  been  made  possible  by  science 
and  art.  That  exquisite  mauve,  that  brilliant  magenta,  that  red 
which  would  bear  comparison  with  the  richest  dyes  of  Tyre,  are 
all  the  results  of  just  such  labor  as  will  bcfurth.cred  by  our  great 
centennial. 

Science  certainly  docs  not  pause  to  inquire  as  to  the  good  and 
evil  in  the  intentions  and  aims  of  its  votaries.  It  is  a  powerful, 
but  an  irresponsible  agent,  in  the  hands  of  all  men  who  are  capa- 
ble of  wielding  its  mysteries ;  as  potent  in  the  hands  of  the  pois- 
oner, as  in  the  grasp  of  the  philanthropist ;  and  as  dangerous  when 
misapplied  as  the  devices  of  Satan.  For  many  years  scientists 
were  of  the  opinion  that  the  bottom  of  the  sea  could  not  bo 
reached;  that  there  was  in  fact  a  line  beyond  which  even  a  can- 
non ball  would  cease  to  descend,  remaining  in  equipoise  because 
of  the  increased  density  of  the  ocean  at  such  depths;  that  idea  is 
now  finalh'  set  at  rest,  and  not  onl}'  can  we  bring  up  the  tiniest 
shells  from  the  bed  of  the  ocean,  but  we  have  succeeded  in  pro- 
curing photographs  of  that  locality  at  various  points,  which  under 
the  microscope  can  give  the  fullest  insight  to  the  unknown  land. 
Science,  which  has  carried  us  to  the  uppermost  realms  of  air,  has 
also  enabled  us  to  probe  and  inspect  the  vast  depths  of  the  mighty 
waters,  and  it  is  still  cur  servant,  to  extend  our  realm  into  all 
regions  save  that  in  which  religious  thought  takes  up  the  strain, 
and  the  chain  of  causation  falls  from  our  hand3  in  the  immediate 
forecourts  of  the  Great  Cause  and  Architect  of  the  universe. 
Tyndall's  masterly  production  on  "  The  Correlation  of  Forces," 
illustrates  the  limits  within  which  science  and  its  laoorcrs  may 
work,  in  ascertaining  tie  economies  of  nature,  -whereby  heat  may 
become  light,  or  either  of  these  manifestations  develop  into  force ; 


The  GiiEAT  CsNTENmAL  Expos iTrox. 


637 


jstab- 

jycnr, 

li  the 

|t1ai-k- 

n-avy 

[lecies 

jcu  of 

d  the 

(o  the 

iience 

it  red 

V,  are 

liTcat 


so  that  nothing  shall  be  wasted,  in  the  feast  to  which  we  are  bid- 
den, but  beyond    that  area  of  eGfort  the  darkness  cannot  be  illu- 
mined, save  to  the  eye  of  faith,  which  refuses  to  submit  itself  to 
blind  material  direction.     One  of  the  best  features  of  the  progress 
of  this  century,  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  our  foremorit  think- 
ers no  longer  dogmatize  as  to  matters  which  remain  unknown  to 
science,  until  the  gates  open  v.-hich  will  reveal  every  mystery ; 
and  it  is  well  for  us  that  the  antagonism  once  all  powerful  be- 
tween the  inquirer  and  the  worshipper,  the  savant  and  the  church, 
have  terminated  in  the  broader  perceptions  due  to  mutual  culture. 
There  will  be  many  evidences  of  that  better  condition  of  things, 
while  the  congress  of  fi'ce  thought  continues  in  the  industrial  tem- 
ples at  Fairmount  Park.     Mo;intainous  heights  were  at  one  time 
barriers  more  absolute  than  the  ocean  against  international  com- 
merce and  intercourse;  but  the  railroad  over  Mont  Cenis  termi- 
nated thaL  era,  and  while  we  were  still  rejoicing  and  thankful  for 
the  wondrous  achievement,  it  was  suddenly  put  into  the  back- 
ground by  the  tunnel  through  the  heart  of   the  same  mountain 
range.     Science  and  mechanical  invention,  tired  of  the  slow  work 
of  the  excavator's  pick,  shovel,  and  tamping  iron,  set  up  a  new 
power  in  the  boring  machine,  which  may  some  day  answer  like 
demands  by  piercing  our  vast  mountain  chains  in  as  many  direc- 
tions as  there  arc  lines  of  road  and  cities  to  be  served.    Mountains 
are  our  servants,  not  our  masters,  opening  to  us  at  every  point 
avenues  toward  mineral,  commercial  and  social  wealth,  such  as 
would  have  been  incomprehensible  to  the  people  of  the  last  cen- 
tury.    The  old  means  fail  us  in  the  presence  of  our  larger  oppor- 
tunies  for  expansion,  but  the  new  powers  come  at   every  call. 
The  thirteen  states  with  which   we  commenced  our  national  life 
are  already  thirty-eight,  and  there  are  ten  territories  waiting  at  our 
portals  for  admission  ;  but  the  progressive  action  of  our  people  is 
not  expressed  by  the  mere  facts  of  organization,  under  institutions 
and  forms  of  government;  the  great  reality  consists  in  the  added 
power  which  makes  every  well  trained  man  a  greater  force  to 
assist  the  onward  march  of  the  roce.     Our  original   territory  of 
820,680  s(piare  miles  has  become  3,559,091  snuare  miles:  but  the 
knowledge  which  makes  the  soil  more  productive;  the  skill  which 
bridges  our  rivers,  as  rivers  were  never  bridged  before  ;  the  genius 


'I- 

m 


■:>.;■    J''iN 


638 


TuTTLE^s  Centennial  Northwest. 


■+;-.ir 


■•J---      J  i  .  ;  ilii 


wliich  can  traverse  oui-  vast  rivers  with  floating  pahices  swift  as 
the  wind  ;  whicli  brings  together  our  distant  cities,  connecting 
them  by  bands  of  iron;  the  science  which  enables  thought  to 
speak  with  thought  around  the  world,  before  the  momentary  im- 
pulse has  been  forgotten ;  the  force  which  annihilates  space  and 
time,  while  still  using  both  to  advantage,  are  in  their  conjoined 
effects  more  potent  than  even  the  added  population  which  before 
the  next  census  will  bring  up  our  enumeration  to  fifty  millions. 
Numbers  alone  do  not  make  greatness,  or  the  celestial  empire 
should  rule  the  world  ;  but  the  congregation  of  cultured  minds, 
directing  the  engines  of  science ;  compelling  the  adoption  of  sound 
rules  in  the  furtherance  of  education,  making  every  man  and 
woman  wiser,  better,  and  stronger;  raising  up  children  that  shall 
occupy  still  more  advantageous  planes  for  exertion  ;  these  are  the 
forces  by  which  mank'nd  in  the  aggregate  must  be  ruled. 

Our  great  centennu.l  wiil  tell  us  something  of  the  school  system 
by  which  we  are  striving  to  discharge  our  most  important  duty, 
and  although  it  cannot  flatter  us  with  the  conclusion  that  we  have 
done  enough,  it  will  undoubtedly  show  that  we  are  moving  in  the 
ritrht  direction,  bv  everv  act  that  n^.ultir-lics  the  facilities  and  in- 
ducements  toward  studious  lives,  without  convertinir  our  young 
men  into  monkish  bookworms  and  copyists,  lacking  the  physique 
and  the  morale  of  manhood.  Adult  tliought  has  long  since  as- 
sumed self  control,  in  the  support  which  is  given  to  and  withheld 
from  portions  oi  the  press,  as  well  the  diurnal  issue  of  influential 
journals,  as  the  more  refined  periodical  literature  of  the  day,  and 
the  books  which  seek  admission  to  our  libraries.  It  seems  but  a 
fev.  years  since  Caxton  and  Wenkyn  De  Werdc  submitted  the 
book  press  to  the  will  of  our  ancestors,  and  now  there  is  not  a 
topic  possessing  human  interest,  which  is  without  its  organ  and  its 
volume,  disseminating  knowledge  among  the  mass  by  the  jneans 
of  the  printed  page,  which  {)crmeatcs  .society  almost  as  surely  as 
light  fills  our  horizon.  The  illustrated  volume  of  to-day,  which 
supplies  the  student  with  the  knowledge  commonly  found  in  an 
encyclopedia,  will  compare  in  a  singularly  complete  way  with  the 
limited  informatioi'  and  the  poor  prcsswork  of  old  Caxton's  age; 
but  the  main  feature  of  our  advancement  will  be  found  in  the 
daily  newspaper  which  for  an  infinitely  small  amount,  considcr- 


\m 


I'ift  as 
acting 

it  to 
17  im- 
;e  and 
(joined 
llicfore 

ions, 
■nipiro 
[ninds, 
sound 
n  and 
t  sliall 
ire  the 


The  Great  Cicxtexxial  Expos  max. 


639 


ing  t!ie  service,  places  upon  the  table  of  the  subscriber  news  from 
earth,  sea  and  sky,  and  from  the  regions  under  the  sea;  tells  him 
■what  is  being  done  in  courts  and  cottages  all  over  the  world  ;  de- 
scribes tlie  cong  ess  of  savants  in  Paris,  or  New  York,  as  certainly 
as  the  movements  of  armies ;  reveals  the  doings  of  barbarism  in 
the  heart  of  Africa,  as  well  as  the  designs  of  civilization  in  Eu- 
rope ;  explains  the  latest  modes  in  dress,  the  dentifrice  by  which 
the  teeth  of  beauty  may  be  improved;  the  best  forms  of  food  with 
which  they  may  be  employed ;  the  accidents  that  endanger  life, 
and  the  amusements  by  which  it  is  mo'le  enjoyable ;  debating  in 
thn  interests  of  the  whole  community  every  item  of  progressive 
thought,  every  movement  in  science,  art,  manufactures  and  gov- 
ernment; and  increasing  in  a  more  than  geometrical  ratio,  the 
facilities  by  wliicli  information  can  be  made  common  to  every 
reader.  Tlie  daily  newspaper,  in  its  best  form,  does  all  this,  and 
even  more  than  the  broadest  description  could  convey,  while  it 
ministers  to  the  mental  and  material  improvement  of  the  genera- 
tion for  which  it  lives.  The  files  of  the  press  upon  which  Frank- 
lin, Paine,  Jellerson,  Adams  and  Otis,  and  a  little  host  besides, 
were  engaged  as  jtrofessionals  and  amateurs,  will  present  a  very 
puny  appearance  by  comparison  with  the  "  New  York  Herald," 
and  the  "Tribune"  that  Greeley  has  left  us;  but  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  the  whole  of  tlie  presses  in  the  Union  to-day  are 
exerting  a  more  beneficial  influence  in  political  life,  tlian  did  the 
few  and  small  issues  of  the  new^jpapcrs  which  heralded  in  the  war 
of  independence  and  free  thought.  American  newspapers,  in 
many  respects,  take  the  lead  of  journalisna  throughout  the  world. 
The  largest  daily  circulation  known,  has  been  attained  by  an  Eng- 
lish newspaper  published  in  London,  which  sells  160,000 ;  but 
the  New  York  Herald,  on  one  occasion,  reached  156,000,  and  in 
the  aggregate^  it  may  be  asserted  with  absolute  safety,  that  the 
Union  prints  and  circulates  more  copies  than  all  the  world  besides. 
When  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed,  our  popula- 
tion was  small,  and  our  means  more  limited,  so  that  the  newspa- 
per was  higher  in  prict;  and  less  eflicient  in  every  commercial  and 
social  aspect,  except  in  the  relation  of  political  freedom;  but  if 
tlie  population,  small  as  it  then  was,  had  required  full  supplies  of 
journalistic  matter,  the  demand  would  have  exceeded  the  limited 


640 


TuTTLE's  CeNTEXNIAL  XORTIDVEST. 


vWH^ 


powers  of  tlic  presses  then  employetl.  The  lever  hand  press 
worked  by  IJcnjaniin  Franklin  may  stand  as  the  best  exponent 
of  the  mechanical  means  then  used  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  for 
the  diffusion  of  knowledge;  and  the  perfecting  press  of  lloe, 
which  operates  u])on  miles  of  uncut  jiaper,  and  throws  out  fifteen 
.thousand  copies  printed  on  both  sides  witliin  an  hour,  will  ex- 
plain to  the  millions  who  will  assemble  in  Philadelphia,  why  the 
modern  newspaper  can  be  made  so  much  more  eflicient  than  its 
predecessor  sheets  ;  and  why  the  responsibilities  of  journalism  have 
increased  in  a  ratio  unexampled  b}'  any  other  branch  of  the  forces 
of  civilization.  Carlylc  said  very  trul}'  that  for  the  man  of  our 
age  the  best  university  is  the  collection  of  books;  but  there  are 
millions  who  scarcely  know  how  to  discriminato  between  the 
Bciencc  of  Jules  Verne  and  the  ^[unchausenislns  in  which  the 
grains  of  truth  arc  embalmed  unless  they  are  assisted  by  their 
familiar  counsellors  of  the  daily  paper  to  make  the  distinction. 
The  student  that  ?an  read  discriminatingl}',  and  remember  wh.'it 
be  has  perused,  is  the  learned  man  in  our  encyclop;edic  era. 
For  the  vast  majority  the  newspaper  is  almost  the  only  book  that 
time  and  inclination  will  make  available  ;  so  that  it  is  an  advant- 
age in  most  senses  that  tliere  are  six  thousand  such  aids  to  culture 
published  in  various  forms  throughout  the  union.  Steam  in 
journalism  as  in  most  ot  the  more  prominent  and  pi'ogressivc  oc- 
cupations of  the  day  is  the  great  motor.  Sixty-one  years  have 
passed  since  the  London  Times  was  first  printed  by  steam,  and 
now  that  great  power  has  taken  upon  itself  the  labor  of  the  press 
for  all  the  principal  new.spapers  in  the  world,  making  a  revolution 
in  the  development  of  literature  and  the  increase  of  the  reading 
public  from  which  we  may  expect  the  most  stupendous  results. 
Without  such  increase  as  we  have  endeavored  to  portray  in  a 
few  instances  pervading  ^he  whole  mass  of  civilized  society, 
leavening  the  whole  lump,  the  Helots  of  the  southern  states 
could  not  have  been  relieved  from  bondage  as  we  have  seen  them 
in  the  interval  between  18(51  and  18G5  ;  norcould  the  community-, 
have  so  gallantly  endured  the  heavy  burden  of  emancipation, 
which  gave  heroic  souls,  the  blood  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
her  bravest  sons,  and  golden  treasure  such  as  the  ancients  might 
have  considered   a  world's  ransom.     The  mechanical    progress 


nd  press 

Ic'xpoiient 

untie  for 

of    Hoc, 

ut  fifteen 

will  ex- 

I,  why  the 

than   its 

ism  have 

the  forces 

an  of  our 

there  arc 

tween  the 

which  the 

by   their 

istinction. 

nbcr  \vb;it 

pa.'dic  era. 

book  that 

an  advant- 

ri  to  culture 

Steam  in 

p'essive  oc- 

'ear.s  have 

4eam,  and 

f  the  press 

revolution 

he  reading 

us  results. 

)rtray  in  a 

d    society, 

lern  states 

sccii  them 

imiiunit}-, 

mcipation, 

:)usauds  of 

Mits  might 

,    progress 


i. 


n^^ 


'm^^-''*' 


llli> 


}"•  i     .! 


•! 


1               ■    ■  ,   a 
>  1    .  i.             •    '     " 

■'     ■:■  i  ■    i  - 

n-i  >■ 


Mm 


IHii 

a 

i  o 

a 

'  d 

1  <^ 

M^^^HJ 

>H 

'w 

('fJH 

;  «M 

>'  r^H 

1  ® 

1  ^i^n 

!  o 

''''^'fl 

1  f) 

./  iviijn 

m 

u> 

ptf 

i'    (0 

fl^ 

v-Ilm  (IvIHf 

!&H 

^!^fe,li' 


7'///-;  Gnfi.iT  Centenxiai,  Exi-osirroy. 


641 


of  the  uni(^n,  llic  millions  of  minds  instructefl  in  the  mysteries  of 
science,  looking  with  bolder  insight  nt  all  the  diOicultit'S  which  in 
former  times  were  the  means  of  cramping  the  energies  of  labor, 
and  lifting  the  burden  from  human  shoulders  to  the  ponderous 
beams  of  numberless  steam  engines,  have  given  to  phihinthrop}' 
and  justice  an  unlimited  capacity  to  combat  with  the  woes  inci- 
dental to  ignorance,  want  and  oppression.     The  mechanical  and 
scientific  inventors  and  discoverers  who  widened  the  domain  of 
the  manufacturing  and  com.mereial  classes  supplied  the  sinews  of 
war  for  the  grandest  upheaval  of  the  race  anywhere  recorded  in 
history,  and  although  one  generation  may  pass  away  before  there 
will  be  complete  acquiesence  on  all  sides  in  the  new  Evangel,  yet 
already  there  are  e\'idence3  that  even    tho  south    will    become 
eventually  richer  and  better  for  the  terrible  act  of  retribution  with 
which  for  a  time  it  was  prostrated.     The  fields  will  become  more 
steadily  and  continuously  productive.     The  intellect  of  the  south, 
once  .sluggish  and  restful,  will  not  fail  to  be  stimulated  by  a  new 
emulation,  into  moi'c  active  exercise  of  its  faculties  in  manufactur- 
in"  enterprises;  and  in  those  concurrent  pursuits  which  create  the 
wealth  of  nations.     The  rivers  will  be  made  productive  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  water  courses  in  other  j  arts  of  the  union, 
wherever  motive  power  can  bs  made  available.     Mineral  wealth 
now  slumbering  undisturbed,  or  at  any  rate  but  half  recognized, 
will  restore  to  the  depleted  classes  the   potentiality  of   riches  : 
steam  will  increasingly  supply  the  demand  for  force,  to  be  applied 
to  every  industrial  undertaking;  population,  multiplying  beyond 
the  former  experiences  of  that  section  of  the  union,  will  render 
available  the  money  that  is  required  to  give  the  new  impetus ; 
and  as  "  the  sleep  of  the  laboring  man  is  sweet,  whether  he  eat 
little  or  much,"  so  the  healthier  and  happier  south  relieved  of  its 
incubus,  or  nightmare,  although  the  process  of  depletion  is  severe, 
will  find  better  blood  flowing  in  its  commercial  arteries  ;  more 
active  recuperation  in  progress,  and  vastly   improved  opportuni- 
ties in  every  walk  of  life.     Year  after  year  the  example  of  the 
wealthier  class  taught  an  evil  lesson  to  youlh  in  the  best  cities  of 
the  south,  where  luxury  and  not  effort  was  the  surnmnm  honnm: 
that  time  has  almost  entirely  passed  away,  and  the  new  P.salm  of 
Life  is  being  better  appreciated,  as  a  natural  consequence  : 
41 


\l  \. 


642 


T utile's  Cestessial  NoHTinVEST. 


•IS' 


•f|!' 


3 


It 


*i: 


■K   I-' 


J 


f  I'^jjiiit  ■  ill 

'i!    r  ■  .l.r'  ■  !  ' 

,'■>•!•■    ■   S' ;    r 

it.'."."'    .  -'.'  ■■'    :        ■    ' 


"  Xiit  onjoyincnt  and  not  sorrow,  is  our  ilostiiipd  eml  iiiul  Wii\', 
Lm  to  live  tliiit  ciU'li  to-morrow,  liml  U3  t'lirllicr  tliiiu  to-diiy." 

The  resources  of  the  sontlieni  population  luivc  been  multiplied, 
and  the  beneficent  process  still  goes  on  with  evei'y  new  discovery 
in  science,  every  new  application  of  mechanic  force,  every  new 
■insight  to  the  soil,  and  to  the  means  by  which  it  may  be  fertilized 
for  different  growths;  so  that  men  are  no  longer  obliged  to  look 
upon  the  occupation  ()f  the  planter  as  the  be  all  of  life;  nor  id 
that  branch  of  imlustry  narrowed  down  to  manual  labor,  as  of 
yore.  None  but  the  fossils  that  may  soon  be  forgotten  arc  now 
found  associating  the  idea  of  meanness,  with  the  prosecution  of 
daily  toil;  and  to  have  assisted  in  such  a  revolution  is  no  slight 
honor  to  our  age  and  nation.  It  was  necessary  to  commence  at 
the  very  base  of  the  social  structure,  for  the  edifice  had  been 
raised  upon  quicksamls,  and  it  could  not  endure.  The  assump- 
tion of  a  work  so  important  might  well  make  the  judicious  states- 
man pause,  but  there  was  no  other  way  to  attain  success;  and 
therefore  we  see  it  now  advancing  toward  comjilelion.  The  dig- 
nitv  of  effort  had  never  on  this  earth  a  broader  and  more  effective 
illustration  than  the  historv  of  the  United  States  has  given  to  the 
world,  since  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter.  The  new  philosophy 
which  recogni;ics  in  the  mechanic  a  faculty  greater  and  more 
beneficent  than  that  which  commonly  resides  in  the  activities  of 
the  king,  sees  also  that  the  operation  of  tyrannic  power  by  the 
white  race,  over  the  black,  was  an  injury  to  both  parties  in  the 
unholy  system  ;  and  the  reconstruction  which  is  being  slowly 
evolved  will  stand  square  upon  the  earth,  undisturbed  by  false 
hypotheses  as  to  the  special  favoritism  of  God  for  one  complexion 
of  manhood.  Herein  is  a  triumph  for  humanity,  compared  with 
which  all  the  other  figns  of  advancement  b}'  wliioh  we  arc  sur- 
rounded might  be  put  aside  for  a  while,  to  be  called  forth  again 
by  the  resistless  energy  and  foresight  which  have  achieved  so 
many  and  such  glorious  victories.  Abraham  Lincoln,  waiting  for 
the  momentous  message,  which  told  the  Springfield  lawyer  that 
he  had  been  chosen  president  of  this  union,  was  nervous  and  de- 
pressed, full  of  vague  anxieties,  because  of  the  great  task  that 
lay  before  him ;  but  could  be  have  seen  how  vast,  beyond  the 
utmost  stretch  of  his  imagination  at  that  hour,  were  to  be  the 


The  Cm:. it  Cexte\nial  Exposition. 


643 


Itiplied, 
[iscovery 
lory  new 
fertilized 
to  ]ook 
;  nor  is 
IT,  as  of 
are  now 
Ifution  of 
|iio  slight 
[iiioiicc  at 
|i;iil   been 
assum])- 
fus  states- 
'e>s ;  and 
The  dicr- 
(.'Ileetivo 
cti  to  the 
hilosophy 
md   more 
tivities  of 
M-  by  the 
es  in  the 
g  slowly 
ly  false 
nj>le.\-ioii 
I  red  \vith 
arc  sur- 
■tli  again 
ieved  so 
iting  for 
yer  that 
and  de- 
:xsk  tliat 
ond  tlie 
be  the 


duties  tlicn  devolving  upon  his  jiuro  soul  and  unclouded  intellect; 
how  terrible  the  trials  through  which  the  nation  and  himself  must 
pass   to  the  land  of  promise,  that  nervous  energy  which  never 
failed  in  his  extraordinary  career  might  have  raised  him  by  its 
reaction  to  a  plane  of  thought  akin  to  madness;  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  he  would  have  grudged  the  life  which  was 
taken  from   him   in   the  supreme  hour  of  his  existence.     That 
proclamation  so  long  poised,  so  prayerfully  considered,  so  anx- 
iously  debated   when    alone   in    "the   sweet   sessions   of  silent 
thought,"  when  m.an  communes  not  with  his  fellows,  but  wit'u 
God  the  Father,  is  for  this  age  a  work  infinitely  greater  than 
"  Peter's  Pome,"  upon  which  the  genius  of  Michael  Angclo  was 
expended.     Rome  has  given  many  boons  to  the  race,  but  not  one 
that  will  compare  with  the  life  work  of  Abraham  Lincoln;  and 
when  we  assemble  to  rejoice  over  the  completion  of  our  first 
hundred   years  of   national   history,   there  will   be  no  brighter 
clironicle  in  all  our  record  than  that  which  has  been  left  to  us  by 
the  man  whose  action  freed  the  slave  and  established  a  new  plat- 
form for  American  liberty. 

Tiie  "  Centennial  Northwest"  has  tried  to  submit  to  its  readers 
a  brief  resume  of  our  century  of  progression,  not  only  as  it  has 
been  represented  in  the  states  with  which  it  specially  deals,  but 
throughout  the  union,  and  in  some  degree  throughout  the  world, 
since  1776;  when  the  Mississippi  and  the  Missouri  were  but  par- 
tially explored;  when  the  great  ncM'thwest  was,  in  the  main,  an 
uninhabited  wild,  through  wiiich  the  nomadic  tribes  roamed  at 
will  ;  and  when  the  largest  part  of  what  is  now  tlie  union  had  net 
Lecn  claimed  by  civilization.  The  work  has  been  accomplished 
umler  dilTiculties  which  precluded  the  possibility  of  comj)]etene.ss, 
but  it  has  been  carried  through  with  zeal  and  faithfulness,  in  a 
manner  which  may  enable  it  to  be  used  as  a  stepping  stone  to 
future  and  higher  effort.  It  was  no  slight  task  to  trace  the  growth 
of  the  northwest  from  the  da}'  when  the  first  stake  was  driven,  and 
the  first  rude  fortress  erected  to  repel  the  savage;  from  before  De- 
troit was  founded  on  the  spot  which  became  afterwards  known  as 
the  metropolis  of  Michigan,  and  to  carry  the  eventful  record 
through  to  the  eminence  since  attained  by  such  cities  as  St.  Louis, 
Chicago,   Cincinnati  and  Indianapolis,  any  one  of  which  series 


i  ;*!'; 


1 1  ■  f' 


!i  If;.   • 


m^' 


:f' 


5  lil 


644 


Tuttlk's  Ci:stI':ss[.\ l  Nou tii wks t. 


might  well  task  the  powers  of  nn  able  historian,  devoting  his  en- 
ergies to  the  ])reparation  of  u  book  intended  to  conuneniorate  the 
successes  of  but  one  eoinniunity ;  bat  there  arc  advantages  in  the 
presentation  of  what  may  be  called  a  miniature  of  history,  inas- 
much as  the  student  finds  therein  a  digest  of  the  more  ample  scope 
whicli  lies  open  to  his  hands  in  other  directions.     The  northwest 
will  provide  homes  fo''  a  very  large  section  of  the  best  [)opulations 
in  Europe,  and  in  regard  alike  to  climate,  to  tone  of  thought,  and 
to  the  various  occupations  which  will  employ  the  coming  millions, 
this  portion  of  the  tmion  has  claims  upon  attention  which  the 
more  thickly  populated  east,  and  the  more  enervating  south  can- 
not ofrer ;  hence  it  was  desirable  that  the  whole  northwest  should 
be  reviewed  in  one  compendious  volume.     "We  are  more  ha])pily 
placed  than  any  other  nation  has  ever  been,  in  the  fact  that  there 
is  among  us  no  embargo  on  free  thought,  in  any  relation  of  life  ; 
that  politics,  social  life,  law  and  religion  are  committed,  in  this 
country  alone,  to  the  volition  of  the  people,  untrammeled  by  estab- 
lishments and  prescriptive  rights  ;  that  no  priesthood,  and  no  auto- 
crat, can  overshadow  the  freedom  which  determines  what  forms  of 
government  shall  pass  away  and  what  forms  remain,  awaiting  the 
resolve  of  future  generations     This  condition  of  liberty  has  been 
enjoyed  long  enough  to  determine  the  question  which  has  for 
thousands  of  3'cars  been  debated  by  thinkcr.s,  whether  the  popular 
mind  can  partake  of  liberty  without  degenerating  into  license. 
The  time-honored  boundaries  have  not  been  crossed,  the  tics  which 
held  society  together  have  not  been  severed,  the  sacrament  of  mar- 
riage, the  observanc  s  of  religion,  the  solemn  obligations  to  educate 
the  young,  have  not  lost  their  hold  ujion  the  human  mind.     All 
these,  and  more  than  these,  have  become  greater  and  stronger  in 
their  grasp,  as  every  individual  mind  has  risen  to  an  appreciation 
of  the  duties  which  social  life  imposes,  and  the  advantages  which 
it  is  cajiacitated  to  confer.     Government  is  not  in  one  sense  so 
strong  in  this  nation  as  we  may  see  it  exemplified  in  liussia,  in 
which  it  is  said  to  consi.st  of  "  tyranny  tempered  by  assa.s.si nation  ;  " 
but  for  all  good  purposes  the  government  of  the  pcoj)le,  by  the 
people,  and  for  the  people,  is  as  strong  as  the  commonwealth  by 
which  the  power  is  exerted,  and  in  which  every  man  is  a  sovereign 
in  his  own  right. 


Tin:  Cm: AT  Ch:.\Ti:s\\Lir  KxrosiTiox. 


045 


hi.s  (Ml- 
■ato  llio 
Is  ill  the 
y,  inas- 
t;  sc'opo 
rlhwcst 
ilatioiis 
lit,  and 
liiillions, 
ii^li  the 
nth  can- 
I  .shoiihl 
liajipily 
at  thoro 
of  life  ; 
in   this 
■y  cstab- 
no  auto- 
forms  of 
iting  the 
has  been 
has  for 
popular 
license. 
-\s  which 
t  of  mar- 
educate 
d.     All 
>ngcr  in 
eciatiou 
s  which 
ense  so 
issia,  in 
ation  ; " 
by  the 
alth  by 
vcreigii 


The  handsome  buildings  which  have  been  raised  by  personal 
muiiificcuce  and  by  public  funds  to  meet  the  several  demands  of 
justice,  charity  and  culture  within  the  century  which  has  now 
nearly  elapsed  since  the  issuing  of  our  famous  declaration,  can 
only  be  represented  in  our  Centennial  Exposition  by  paintings, 
photography  and  books  of  engravings ;  but  the  advances  which 
have  been  made  in  that  respect  would  write  the  history  of  our 
era  if  there  were  no  story  to  be  told  beyond  the  representation  of 
the  homes  in  which  the  heroes  of  '7(J  were  born,  the  nieotiii"- 
houses  in  which  they  assembled,  the  schools  in  which  they  were 
taught,  the  books  and  maps  by  aid  of  which  they  were  instructed, 
and  the  furniture  by  which  they  were  surrounded  all  their  lives. 
Beyond  all  mere  display,  there  is  a  suggestive  inllucncc  exerted 
u[)on  every  mind  by  the  stifY  and  cumbrous  furniture  which  in 
some  homes  cramp  the  body,  varying,  in  anything  but  a  bcnclieial 
sense,  from  that  which  arises  from  elegant  and  convenient  appli- 
ances such  as  are  common  lu  the  homes  of  the  comparatively 
poor  ill  our  community.  It  would  be  well,  in  some  respects,  to 
show  in  a  few  nooks  and  corners  of  the  exposition  the  angular 
inconveniences  ,vhich  were  used  as  furniture,  one  hundred  years 
ago,  in  the  hamlet.s  scattered  along  the  coast  from  Maine  to 
Georgia,  in  order  that  the  contrast  might  the  more  readily  be 
made  between  the  ]ioint  from  which  we  started  and  that  at  which 
we  have  arrived  in  that  particular  regard;  but,  for  our  buildings, 
(.)f  eour.'^c  the  pencil  of  the  artist  must  be  our  only  resource. 

The  union  is  especially  the  home  of  collegiate  in.stitution3  and 
universities.  AVc  do  not  pretend  that  our  colleges  are  generally 
of  such  a  character  as  will  compare  with  those  at  Cambridge  and 
at  Oxford  in  Great  Britain,  but  on  the  other  hand  we  may  ehal- 
lentrc  the  world  to  show  us  an  institution  elsewhere  than  in  the 
L^nited  States,  which  will  take  rank  with  Vassar  College,  in 
making  provision  for  the  education  of  woman  —  a  branch  of 
training  especially  important  —  and  the  number  of  collegiate 
establishments  and  universities  which  may  be  found  dotting  our 
prairies  and  our  cities,  providing  for  the  education  of  both  sexes, 
in  greater  or  less  proportion,  number  over  three  hundred  and 
thirty,  without  reckoning  the  large  contingent  of  such  institu- 
tions, seventy  in  number,  which  is  being  administered  by  the 


■ 

1  ■■ 

■J 

:; 

'  "I 
J 1 

C40 


TuTTLh''s  Ckstesnial  Nohtuwest. 


Id'''' V 


'  -i      '    ,i 

:^ 

■   ,    I  ' 

:  «'H 


■« 


K  .  ,'#■       111  '  ■  1! 


Roman  Catholic  cliurch.  Tlicre  is  no  country  tluit  can  show  so 
(.Ictcnniiu'd  an  efTort  to  siijiply  oducjitional  facilitios  for  all 
classes,  as  wo  lind  evideiiofd  in  that  one  fact,  and  if  we  lack 
some  of  the  recherche  features  tlwt  make  the  old  world  universi- 
ties completer  than  our  own,  it  remains  to  be  said  that  our  founts 
of  learning  are  not  rigidly  protected  for  the  use  of  the  wealthy 
and  titled  few;  they  have  been  built  and  endowed  for  the  mil- 
lion, and  will  go  on  improving  their  every  feature  until  there 
shall  be  no  particular  save  the  rime  of  hoar  antiquity  in  whiili 
tliey  will  fall  behind  their  predecessors  in  Kurope.  It  will  not 
be  easy  to  make  this  department  of  our  growth  apparent  to  our 
European  visitors,  except  in  so  far  as  the  press  and  the  camera 
may  assist  us  ;  and  jiossibly  also  in  some  measure  the  illustration 
of  our  advantage  will  bo  found  in  the  cultured  maimeis  of  our 
men  and  women  trained  in  such  establishments.  Two  centuries 
and  four  years  have  passed  since  Governor  Berkeley  boasted  in 
Virginia  that  the  colony  had  neither  '•  printing  presses,  colleges 
nor  schools,"  but  that  gentleman,  could  he  rise  from  his  last  rest- 
ing place  during  our  centennial,  would  Hud  that  his  nn'splaccd 
congratulation  had  been  long  since  out  of  date,  and  jierhaps 
would  reasonably  assume  that  the  departure  from  the  rule  of 
ignorancii  .vhich  he  upheld,  had  been  one  of  the  main  causes 
why  tho  tuithority  of  Great  Britain  had  been  successfully  re- 
sisted. Tl^e  eloquence  of  the  revolutionary  period,  which  still 
lives  in  the  language  of  John  Adams  and  Patrick  Henry,  might 
never  have  been  heard  had  tlie  press  remained  as  idle  as  Berkeley 
desired  that  it  should  be;  and  could  the  schools  and  colleges 
have  continued  under  "taboo,"  it  is  clear  that  there  would  have 
been  none  to  write  our  Declaration  of  Independence,  nor  an}'  to 
comprehend  the  unmaidiness  of  submitting  to  foreign  oi)i)re.ssion. 
Mementoes  of  our  struggle  will  be  many  and  varied  in  the  Great 
Temple  devoted  to  art  and  industry,  but  it  would  be  a  work  of 
supererogation  to  attempt  to  name  them  here.  Other  nations  have 
been  despoiled  of  their  heroes  by  the  .sharp  investigations  of  in- 
quiring minds.  William  Tell  has  taken  his  place  with  many  others 
among  myths  and  fables,  but  no  caustic  search  can  rob  this  nation 
and  the  world  of  the  glorious  examples  of  patriotism  which  live 
now  anil  will  endure  forever  in  the  history  of  the  union. 


Tin:  (jShkat  Cesteksial  KxposirioN.  647 

Witliin  our  century  of  development  wo  have  created  an  nrmy 
and  a  navy,  commencing  our  race  in  those  directions  with,  for 
our  army,  the  minute  men  tliat  disputed  tlie  niarcli  to  Jjcxington, 
and  the  •'eml)attled  farmers '' who  fought  on  ]Uiid<er  Hill ;  and 
for  our  navy,  little  more  than  the  Flag  Shi[)  Alfred,  in  which 
John  Paul  Jones  was  second  in  command.     Our  arsenals  and  our 
navy  to-day  will  bear  comparison  with   that  of  any  European 
power,  and  if  our  army  is  not  large,  it  is  because  we  know  that  in 
the  experience  of  our  forefathers,  a  standing  army  has  always 
been  found  operating  as  a  menace  to  freedom ;  because  every  citi- 
zen upon  this  continent,  being  entitled  to  bear  arms,  is,  in  himself, 
a  portion  of  the  only  armament  ihat  can  suflice  to  defend  this  soil 
from  the  desecration  of  the  invader ;  and  because  it  is  hoped  and 
believed  that  the  spirit  which  inspired  our  forefathers,  wiien  a 
little  hiindful  of  men  dared  the  strength  of  the  niigiiliest  nation, 
^vill  not  fail  us  iu  any  conflict  which  may  arise  with  our  contem- 
poraries, not  one  of  whom  can  claim  to  be  superior  to  ourselves. 
Our  cities  which  numbered  their  population  by  hundreds,  slowly 
mountiuL!;  towards  thousands,  now  tc^m  with  hundreds  of  thous- 
ands,  rapidly  ncaring  millions,  and  should  the  step  of  an  armed 
enemy  disturb  the  repose  of  our  shore  line,  a  whole  nation  in 
arms  could  be  concentrated  on  that  spot  by  the  iron  road  and  the 
locomotive,  before  the  intruder  would  have  time  to  reflect  upon 
liis  audacity.     When  our  heroes  of  76  were  contending  for  the 
liberties  which  we  have  only  to  defend,  the  soldier  was  compelled 
to  march  with  much  toil,  from  one  scene  of  peril  to  another,  find- 
ing more  weariness  in  his  long  journies  than  in  his  battles ;  his 
successor,  should  the  .sad  necessity  ever  arise,  will  land  upon  the 
battle  field,  \nthout  the  needless  tension  of  one  muscle,  in-eparcd 
to  find  his  work  in  the  combat  for  liberty ;  in  which  it  would  be 
madness  to  doubt  that  he,  giving  battle  for  all  that  is  dearest, 
loveliest  and  best,  must  remain  upon  the  field  a  victor.     The  New 
York  city  of  one  hundred  years  ago  had  only  a  population  of 
about  twenty   thousand  souls,  and  the  people  of  Philadelphia 
were  about  as  numerous,  while  Boston  lingered  at  least  two  thous- 
and behind  the  other  cities  mentioned;  and  communication  with 
New  York  from  Boston  was  a  long  week's  journey  by  stage-coach. 
The  wonder  is  that  with  such  paucity  of  contact  there  had  not 


I     i«'  -■;^ 


'tT- 


■  ■■  ■■   ■.  .  ■«■■■■■; 


1 


4.^- 


648 


Tvttle's  Centennial  Northwest. 


grown  up  a  sentiment  of  isolation  with  all  the  jealousies  which 
belong  to  that  narrow  feeling. 

The  steps  of  progress  by  which  we  utilized  the  railroad  were 
slow  enough.  The  steam  engine  was  not  used  in  that  connection 
until  two  years  after  the  first  railway  locomotive  was  employed 
to  convey  passengers  in  England  ;  but  using  the  means  of  trac- 
tion now  employed  on  street  railroads,  we  ran  our  horse  cars  by 
rail  from  Milton  to  Quincy  in  1S2G.  Tlie  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
line  began  its  passenger  operations  in  1830,  and  in  the  following 
3'ear  the  locomotive  came  into  action  on  that  road.  Albany  and 
Schenectady  were  next  joined  together  by  the  iron  ribbon  of  com- 
merce, and  the  steam  horse  came  speedily  there  to  relieve  its  quad- 
rupedal predecessors  from  the  work  of  traction.  So  we  have  con- 
tinued our  advances  until  it  has  been  claimed  that  a  speed  of 
almost  eighty  miles  per  hour  has  been  reached  with  safety.  Trav- 
eling at  half  that  speed,  with  the  arms  of  precision  now  at  our 
command,  and  with  the  ability  to  mass  our  artillery  at  v.'hatever 
point  may  ue  threatened,  as  soon  as  the  electric  signal  warns  us 
of  danger,  i*^  would  be  the  task  of  an  insane  host  merely  to  draw 
down  upon  itself  the  sv,-ift  destruction  which  could  not  fail  to  be 
hurled  against  foreign  aggression.  The. great  Earl  of  Chatham  de- 
clared once  in  the  English  house  of  lords  that  he  would  not  per- 
mit America  "  to  manufacture  as  much  as  a  horse  shoe  nail ;  "  but 
happily  the  colonists  took  the  decision  of  all  such  questions  into 
their  own  hands  one  hundred  j-ears  ago,  and  already  there  are 
nearly  three  million  persons  engaged  in  manufactures  in  this 
countrj',  more  than  five  millions  occupied  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits, and  above  one  million  employed  in  commerce.  With  such 
immense  armies  of  industry  daily  helping  in  the  production  and 
diffusion  of  weallh,  with  four  hundred  •colleges  and  unnumbered 
schools  laboring  in  the  work  of  tuition,  with  six  tiiousand  news- 
papers and  periodicals  stimulating  adult  intellect  to  more  effective 
labor,  with  lecturers  simplifying  the  road  to  knowledge  in  a  thou- 
sand ways,  and  the  churches  ever  becoming  more  ciheient  in  the 
duty  of  awakening  the  consciei>ce  of  the  race,  our  first  centennial 
jubilee  may  well  be  recognized  as  one  of  the  c  as  in  histoiw  from 
which  new  reckonings  may  be  "nade  on  all  lines  that  can  be  indi- 
cated by  mechanical,  artistic,  scientific  and  national  progress. 


1  '„  C  ! 


which 


BioG  n.  1  riiicA  l  Hke  tcues. 


649 


:i  i 


id  were 
Incction 
|il)loyed 
l()[  trac- 
|crtrs  by 
lid  Ohio 
11  low  in  2: 


CHAPTER    L, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 


Hon.  Elijali  JI.  Haines  was  born  in 
llie  town  ol'  Duerliukl,  (Jnuidi  counly, 
New  Yoik,  and  was  the  roiiilli  ofa 
family  of  six  cliiiilrcn;  a  isist(.'r  and 
two  jrotlicrs  bting  older,  and  two  sis- 
ters yoMni,^cr  liian  liinisulf.  Jlis  fatiicr 
died  wli".  die  subject  of  tiiis  skctcli 
was  si- years  olil,  Iva'.ing  tlio  family 
no  nieans  of  support;  liciice,  llie  cliii- 
tlren  wore  sooii  sc'i)arated  and  piaeed 
in  ditfercnt,  families  w'lere  they  niiglit 
do  somciliing  in  tlie  way  of  earning  a 
subsistence.  ^Ir.  Haines  lived  witli  a 
farmer  and  labored  on  the  farm  the 
most  of  the  time  he  remained  in  liis 
naiive  stale,  and  had  no  home  that  he 
coukl  ca'I  iiis  own  until,  in  mature 
years,  lie  provided  one  for  himself 
in  the  sir.'ing  of  IBo"),  while  still  quite 
a  small  lioy,  he  and  his  broilu'r  sei 
out  foi  Chieago,  hoping  lo  lind  better 
advantages  for  themselves  than  in 
their  native  jilaee.  They  came  by 
canal  lo  JiulFalo,  thence  by  railroad  to 
JJelroit,  and  then  walked  across  the 
territcuy  of  Miiiiigan  lo  Cliicago.  At 
this  time  Chicago  was  supjxwed  to 
contain  about  six  or  eight  hundred  in- 
habitants and  as  many  or  more  Indi- 
ans might  bo  seen  on  the  streets  than 
white  men.  Elijah  soon  went  into  the 
country,  about  forty  miles  south  of 
Chicago,  worked  on  a  farm  in  sum- 
nu  r,  and  attended  school  tlut  next 
winter.  This  was  his  last  schooling. 
In  the  spring  of  If:  0,  he  went  north 
to  what  is  now  called  Lake  county, 
and  remained  theie  until  August, 
when  he  relurned  lo  Chicago,  and 
hired  out  as  clerk  in  a  store  until  the 
spring  of  18;j7.  Went  into  a  survey- 
ors (illico  for  tv  while,  and  then  re- 
turned  to  Lake  county  and  began  to 
make  a  farm  for  himself  on  land  as 
yet  unsurveyetl.  After  he  left  school, 
Jie  supplic'  liimself  with  liooks  to 
use  in  unocciii)ied  hours,  and  soon 
became  a  proticieiit  iu  the  cjuimou 


I  branches.  Taught  school,  at  the  age 
I  of  20,  in  Waukegan,  where  he  now  re- 
sides.  He  also  soon  'ic(|uiied  a  fair 
knowledge  of  the  Latin  and  German 
languages,  and  at  lenglh  studied  law, 
I  and,  inl^.Tl,  was  adiuitted  to  the  bar. 
i  He  residetl  on  his  farm  in  tho  '•  Mitrul 
j  part  of  Lake  counly  (now  the  \;i,''ige 
I  of  llainesvilh),  from  18;J7  to  1051, 
when  he  removed  to  W'aukegan,  iu 
the  .same  countj-.  Here,  in  Ibo."),  he 
compiled  the  laws  of  Illinois  which 
had  reference  to  town  organi/ation, 
adding  notes  and  forms,  making  a 
complete  book  of  iuslruclicuis  for 
t.Avn  ol'iicers,  which  became  very  pop. 
ular,  and  is  now  in  general  use.  In 
the  same  year  he  made  a  similar  work 
for  ^^'isconsin,  ^Minnesota,  Michigan 
and  ilissouri  —  the  i-rst  two  by  state 
authority.  He  also  jn-epared  a  treatise 
on  tlH;  Duties  of  Justices  of  the  Peace, 
which  is  still  the  slaiulard  authority 
on  the  subject  in  Illinois.  He  also 
wrote  a  Wi)rk  called  the  "Probate 
Manual."  He  early  took  a  le.uiing 
part  in  matters  of  "education  .irouud 
liim,  and  acted  as  school  committee 
and  superiiuendent  for  Lake  c<ninty. 
Por  tiftecn  jcars  he  has  published  a, 
monthly  paper  in  Chicago  c;d)ed  the 
Legal  Adviser.  In  1800,  he  opened  a 
law  otlice  iu  Cliicago,  to  which  ho 
goes  iu  the  morning,  returning  at 
night.  In  1858,  he  was  elected  repre- 
h  '  senlativo  in  the  legislature,  and  con- 
tinued thus,  by  rceleclions,  for  six 
years.  In  18(J'J,  he  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  c(uistitutioiial  convention 
to  revise  the  constitution  of  the  state, 
and,  in  1870,  was  again  elecicd  rei)re- 
sentalivc  and  continued  two  years. 
In  1874.  was  again  elected  rej)resenta- 
live,  made  speaker  ot  the  house,  an 
cilice  he  still  holds,  and,  by  the  laws 
of  Illinois,  in  case  of  the  death  of  the 
governor  and  lieutenant  governor,  the 
speaker  of  the  hous ;  jev^uU.es  govera- 


M 


t'  'f 


i  ': 


'r.  ' 


!mH; 


650 


TuTTLE's  CeXTEXNIAL  XoiiTfnVEST. 


or.  Til  oliiinirtLT  ho  is  uprisrltt,  and 
in  dispnsiiioii  plain  and  outspolvcn, 
dt'spisinu'  all  slianis  and  dccfpl'lons, 
and  i^i.kloni  uoiiiil  wiili  tiiu  current  in 
socictj'.  lias  never  Joined  an}- cliuicli, 
and  yet  lias  irreai  respect  for  tlie 
clnirclies  wiiicli  lii,>'e  i\'Iigi(>n  in  tlicni ; 
joineil  llie  Masonic  order  in  ISli);  lias 
•  been  blaster,  and  al'lerwaid  was  Junior 
Granil  A\'artlen  ol'  the  Grand  Lodifo 
of  the  slat'.'.  He  married  ^lisa  Jlelin- 
da  G.  Wri  ,dit,  a  relative  of  Gov.  Silas 
Wiiglit  o  New  i'ork.  ■  Tliuy  have 
two  children  —  a  .son  and  iidaairhter; 
liavu  a  licnililul  lionie,  sightly,  liuelv 
.surrounded  and  nicely  furnislied.  IL. 
lias  been  succe.<st'ul,  indeed,  in  liusi- 
ness,  and  has  given  tin;  children  large 
eduiMtional  advantages  which  have 
been  improved. 

lion.  Alexander  W.  Kandtill  was 

born  in  (^ooix'rstown.  New  York  state, 
about  the  year  181!).  After  passing 
thnnigli  liis  school  days,  he  read  law, 
Soon  alter  his  admission  to  the  bar, 
he  lemoved  to  Wisconsin  and  located 
at  I'rairicville,  now  'Waukesha.  He 
conuueiiced  the  ])iactice  of  his  i)ro- 
fession  wilh  a  fail  >how  ot  success; 
but  his  love  of  political  life  was  so 
great,  and  he  devoted  so  niucli  time  to 
that  Hubject  as  to  interfere  consider- 
ably M  itii  his  legal  practice.  In  jioli- 
tics  Gov.  Kandall  was  originally  a 
Democrat.  In  181(J,  iic  made  his  tirst 
appcaiance  at  the  cajiital,  as  .a  mem- 
ber of  the  Fir-t  ('(uistitutional  Con- 
vention, and  took  a  prominent  posi- 
tion in  that  body.  h\  ISIS,  (iov.  l{an- 
(lall  was  pro.iiinent  in  the  great  Free 
S(dl  Slate  Convention.  In  18.")-!,  tie 
was  electcMl  as  an  indeiiendent  Demo- 
crat, a  nieniiier  of  the  next  asseml)ly, 
and  was  ni.ide  chairman  of  the  Judi- 
ciary conunitlee;  and  as  the  Jouru^d 
of  that  session  will  .show,  he  was  a 
Very  laborious  and  able  meiiiber  In 
18")"l,  i\Ir.  Uandall  was  placed  upoii 
tile  Kejiublican  State  ticket  for  attor- 
ney general.  lie  m.ade  a  gallant  can- 
vass, but  was  defeated,  as  were  the 
others  upon  the  ticket,  with  tin;  ex- 
ception of  governor.  In  the  guberia- 
t.irial  contest  betwen  Ba-hlbr  >  ^  d 
Ihirstow,  Mr.  Uantlai;  ''I -play"- i 
m.arked  ability  as  a  lawr.  In  ly  <i. 
Gov.  Basliford  appointeil  Jlr.  Itajid;.;, 
judge  of  the  second  Judic'.d  circuit, 
composed  ot'  the  counties  of  Milwau- 
kee  and   \Vaukesha.      lie    disi)!ayed 


!  much  ability,  and  was  considered  nn 

[excellent  judge.      In    IS."""     ' 

iHUninated-  as  the   1{( 
j  ilate   for  governor, 
J  In   iSoS,  he  entered   upon   his  .lulies 
i  and  discharged   llicni  wilh  such  abil- 
I  ily  and  satisfaetioji  to  the  i)co])le  that 
j  lie  was  reelected  in  IS."))).     " 


r)7,    he    \sas 
])id)licaii  candi- 
and    was   elected. 


_  He  was  one 

of  the  vry  l)est  of  war  governors  in 
•  the  c(nintiy.  The  emrgy  and  ))old- 
.  ness  with  v,  ii(  i.  he  labored  gave  liim 

a  Natii  -'.'d  '•  .'*  ;tion  as  an  able  and 
'  patriot'.'  uan  .  •  1801,  Gov.  Randall 
■  was  a  (;■    ■'\^  ■:     ■  i'  Unit 

at  or.     The   re  .test  « 

and  after  several   tia 

in  tin 


ed  States  Sen- 
.  .  sharp  one, 
lots  wtre  taken 


rally  drifted  )nt' 
jiarty,   with    \\hi'''>    u 
acted  until  his  deal 
resilience  in  Ehuira,  I 
187:2. 

Hon.  .Tolin  Cofer,  smi  of  Win.  Cofer 
and  Sarah  \\'inii  (Jriltiu  Cofer.was  born 
near  Cain.'  Spring;-,  HuUett  Co.,  Ky., 
.luly  Otli,  1804.  And  on  the  1st  day  of 
December,  IS'J."),  he  married  JVIiss 
!Mary  Freiuior  Maegill,  who  was  the 
daughter  ol'  Robert  Macgill  and  Helen 
!■'  V  ''ett  .Macuill,  and  born  in  Aiinapo- 
■\.  ".,  Fcii.  7.  1807.  They  have 
o  of  which  died 
.'Uler  they  were 
ir,  n<;w  tlij'cesons 
1  tW'Miy-four 
grami  chihiren  aim  two  great  grand 
ehil.lren.  Col.  Gofer's  early  education 
was  limited;  but  his  Ihirsribr  kni>\vl- 
.«(ge  made  him  a  good  student,  and 
be  soon  became  a  profound  tliinker,  !i 
,  igical  reasoner,  and  a  ready  writer. 
As  a  whig,  he  represeiiled  Hardin 
county  in  the  lower  iiouse  ol'the  legis- 
lature of  Kentucky  in  1838,  183S),  1840 


1  . 

....>  ii  children 
in  infancy,  iun:  • 
grown  ui),  leaviu,. 
and  three  dau'diiv 


BioaiiA PiiicA L  Skk tches. 


651 


U 


idcrcd  nn 
lie    >\as( 

ill  candi- 
H  L'lcctod. 
Ills  .lutics 
muuIi  iibil- 

(■0])1C   lllllt 

I(!  was  1)110 

vcrnors  in 

ukI   ))!)ld- 

j;av('  liim 

n  able  and 

V.  IJandall 

Stall's  Scn- 

larp  one, 

v(  r(!  taken 

(!iiv.  IJan- 

)nlcst;  aim 

tlu'ir  votes 

iiDiiiinaled 

if  Ills  term 

iiu:i)ln    iip. 

liiiister    to 

apiioiiitc'd 

ral   of  tlic 

Hon.  Wil- 

\lio  was  at 

)(l)artniunt. 

.  Duiiiiison, 

K'lal,  which 

rnd  of  Mr. 

in;;  the  I'or- 

'.,  Randall 

'ocratic 

ii'-u    he 

■  '  at  his 

■y  2(3, 


'  Win.  Cofer 
t'ci'.was  lioi'u 
tt  Co.,  Ky., 
ic'  1st  day  of 
iiried  jMiss 
ho  was  tlie 
1  and  Helen 
in  AiuKipo- 
Tliey  iiave 
which  died 
V  tlii'v  were 
w  tlin/e  sons 
twi'Mty-four 
i^reat  Liand 
ly  cdiicatioii 
I  for  kiiowl- 
•tudeiit,  and 
d  tiiinker,  a 
cady  writer. 
HhT  Hardin 
of  the  lei'is- 

8,  i»3i),  la-io 


]V 


and  1841,  anu  Hardin,  ^Meadc  and 
Larne  comities  in  tiie  senate  of  that 
state  from  1^48  to  18.10.  Being  a 
fanner,  he  hecaiiie  the  champion  of 
tl.e  great  iiiteresis  of  labor  and  i)ro- 
duclion,  and  an  advocate  of  ecniioniv 
in  prdiiic  i  xpendilures.  He  also  ad- 
yncaled  asystt'ia  of  general  education, 
internal  inijiroveincnts,  and  of  eliaril- 
>.'>le  institutions.  As  a  ineinber  of  the 
('(Uii.iiittee  on  internal  iiiiprovcmenis, 
he  originated  and  aiiled  in  drafiing 
aii;i  piiosiiig  the  eliarler  of  the  J^ouis- 
ville  &  Nashville  Hailruad  (,'oni|)aiiy, 
now  the  most  iJi'osperou.s  and  usel'ul 
corporation  in  Kentucky.  Ih;  was 
also  llie  active,  elociuent  and  ellicieiit 
friend  of  the  other  ruilr(jad  interests 
of  that  state.  In  1834,  he  removed  to 
Hlinois;  was  postmaster  at  Rural 
Retreat;  was  elector  on  the  Filinore 
ticket  in  18.j0,  and  on  the  J}ell  and 
Everett  ticket  in  1800.  Since  then  he 
has  lieeii  independent  in  pol'tics, 
though  generally  acting  with  tin  dem- 
ocratic parly.  Devoteil  to  the  union 
of  the  slates,  he  ojiposed  witli  manly 
flrinness  nullilicalion,  secession  and 
i;manci|)aiioii  (unless  gradual  and  ac- 
companied by  colonization).  In  1871 
and  1872,  he  represented  Diniglas 
county  in  the  general  asseinbl3%  with 
Ills  accusl(.nied  zeal  and  al)ility. 
Through  strictly  tem]ierate  habits  and 
indomitable  energy,  he  has  been  suc- 
cessl'iil  in  biisin<'.vs.  and  after  provid- 
ing homes  for  all  his  children,  he  yet 
retains  a  coiniieteiicy  tor  himself  and 
wife  ill  their  old  age.  He  has  bei.-n  a 
consistent  member  of  the  Methodist 
church  for  more  llr.ii  tifiy  years,  and 
h.iS  die  proud  satis  action  now,  in  oKl 
age  (v  hilo  remen.bering  that  he  has 
been  tii^iarchiteccof  his  own  fortune), 
to  know  dr't  he  has  so  lived  as  not  on- 
ly to  win,  but  to  deserve  the  confidence 
ami  esteem  of  all  who  have  known 
him,  a  pleasant  instance  of  which 
was  seen  at  his  golden  weilding,  wliieli 
may  be  brietly  stated  as  follows:  On 
the  1st  day  of  December,  1875,  this 
loving,  aged  and  honored  eoniile,  with 
their  si.\  chililreii,  and  all  their  grand 
children,  and  a  large  number  of  neigh- 
bors and  friends,  eelelirated  tlieir  gold- 
en wedding,  at  the  (dd  homestead,  now 
the  hosiiiialile  mansion  of  Mr.  Thos. 
and  Mrs.  Henrietta  M.  Midwinter  (in 
the  home  of  one  of  the  daughters). 
The  day  \n  as  beautiful,  indeed,  betit- 
iug  the"  joy  of  the  oceasion,  the  pre- 


parations of  the  table  munificent,  lav- 
ish and  full,  the  pniMiits  rich,  ii.seful, 
and  eminently  appropriate,  and  the 
;  several  sjieeches  of  the  honored  pail 
1  were  loueliing  and  teiidiir  indeed.  Es- 
j  iieeially  intei-esting  :ind  thankful  were 
I  the  biii'f  reminiseenees  of  their  lives, 
!  such  as  the  simplicity  ami  scantiness 
I  of  tlieir  house  ami  oiitlit,  tlfty  years 
I  liefore;  their  pli.niing  corn  together 
I  while  the  first  born  lay  in  the  I'enee 
I  corner;  the  mine  of  gidd  the  loom 
j  and  wheel  had  been  to'tlie  household, 
I  and  what  a  chorus  of  industrious  mu- 
sic his  shoe  haiumei' and  her  spinning 
wlieid  had  made  during  the  wi'iter 
evenings  of  the  long  ago.  A'.i  e' 
which  was  told  in  that  loving  and  ai)- 
jirecialive  manner  well  becoming 
those  who  have  stood  nobly  sitle  by 
side  llirough  the  stiu'ins  and  cares  of 
half  a  century.  And  then  the  otlier 
duar  ones,  the  four  children  (goue  to 
the  mystic  shore),  were  referred  to  so 
tenderly,  through  a  beautiful  poem  re- 
peated "by  .Mr.  and  .Mrs.  Midwinter 
that  day  (Hdiich  reiu'esenled  lliein  as 
'' wit  there"  and  yet  as  'W/tcrc "),  that 
the  full  family  group  seemed  present, 
and  tl'.es  a  monuineiit  of  atl'eetionato 
memory,  richer  by  far  than  any  mere 
device  in  marble  could  possibly  be, 
v,as  reared  in  thought  over  the  de;ir 
and  departed  ones.  And  it  was  meet, 
iiuleed,  that  the  father  should  have  a 
gold  headed  cam;  from  the  ehiklien, 
and  a  gold  pencil,  glasses,  etc.,  from 
ditlerenl  y  .rlies,  and  a  tit  tribute  to 
gentle  and  self  forgetting  worth,  for 
the  father  to  ineseiit  to  the  honored 
mother  a  beautil'ul  gold  watch  and 
chain,  to  count  out  for  her  the  remain- 
ing liours  of  life,  and  also  that  a  pair 
of  gold  glasses,  a  pi'iicil,  etc.,  should 
be  hers  from  other  parties;  but  one  of 
the  richest  events  of  the  occasion  was 
a  warm  and  tender  enibraee  which  the 
mother  gave  ]Mrs.  ^Martin,  the  lady 
who  had  taken  and  tilled  so  happily 
iIk!  place  of  a  departed  daughter. 
l{icli  because  so  uncommon,  anil  then 
so  i)leasant  and  grateful  when  so  real- 
ly due.  Thus  under  a  canopy  of 
smiles  and  love,  the  liapjiy  group  re- 
viewed the  past,  and  in.  ho|)e,  Chris'ian 
hope,  glanced  onward  along  the  path 
of  coming  months  and  3'ears. 

Hon.  Junu's  T.  Lewis  was  boru  in 
Clarendon,  Orleans  county,  N.  Y., 
Oct.  30,  1819.    He  received  his  aca^ 


li 


?i 


Vv 


'it.  ■'(  i 

-1  .1  \ 

-V*  .    ^'- 


652 


TuTTLifs  Cestesxial  Northwest. 


■  i) 


i  PJ 


r: 


.  ■«>!■, 


i     I 


IB: 

i    !  i 

-  i       ; 

.'    !          -■ 

. 

; 

■    1  ! 

u 
'  t 

j 

i 

■';l 

I: 
J 

i  ■ 

►  .t. 

■_^ . 

Itik.- 

M 

i  ■ 

,i 

1 

i 

1 

jk. 

(loiiiicfil  cdncation  at  Chiiksnn  mikI 
Clinton,  N.  Y.,  iuul  ruiul  law  wiili 
Gov.  ScUlon.  at  the  I'ornu'f  place,  lie 
CMnie  to  Wisconsin  in- July,  18-15;  was 
udniittccl  to  the  bur  of  the  supreme 
fouil;  and  c(unnKnced  the  practice 
of  law  lit  C'i)lunibus,  where  he  has 
since  resided,  lie  has  held  eight 
diirercut  ulliccs  in  the  state,  com- 
meneiiig  with  that  of  district  atlor- 
iicy.auU  closing  with  that  of  governor. 
AViicn  elected  secretary  of  slate.  In 
received  every  vote  cast  in  his  own 
cit\ .  When  elected  go\  ,'ruor,  his  nia- 
jorily  was  nearly  twenty-five  thou- 
sand,—  a  very  large  majority  for  Wis- 
con.sin.  For  liis  record  as  governor 
of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  we  have 
only  to  refer  to  the  history  of  that 
stirring  period  of  sacrifice  and  blood, 
to  show  that,  preeminently,  he  was  a 
successful  war  governor;  and  not- 
■withslanding  the  fact  that  he  maile 
but  litlli;  diplaj-,  he  accomplished 
great  tilings  for  "the  state.  Ailhough 
he  has  retired  from  pulilic  life,  at  his 
beautiful  home  in  Columbus,  his 
unanimous  call  to  the  chairman>hiii 
of  the  lecent  Kei)ublican  Slal(!  Con- 
vention shows  that  his  great  p(>pul;!r- 
ily  is  still  alive.  Should  he  consent 
to  again  enter  public  life,  his  career 
would,  no  doubt,  be  marked  with  suc- 
cess, llii  is  weullhy,  and  enjoys  life 
as  only  a  man  with  a  clear  conscience 
can. 

David  Preston,  of  Detroit,  Mich., 
was  born  in  llarmonv,  Chautauc|na 
county,  N.  Y.,  .September  20,  1^20. 
He  receiveil  a  common  school  edu- 
cation in  the  schools  of  this  county, 
and  emigrated  to  Michigan  in  IS-tS, 
arriving  in  Detroit  on  the  4th  of  No- 
vembirof  ili.it  year.  Upcm  his  arri- 
val in  that  city  Mr.  Prcstcm  was  with- 
out money  and  friends-,  having  bor- 
rowcil  twelve  dollars  to  pay  his  fare. 
During  the  tirst  year  of  his  residence 
in  Detroit  he  received  a  salary,  of 
;?l."iO;  the  second  year  it  was  increased 
to  $'200,  and  the  third  found  him  get- 
ting sf^.")!),  while  the  fourlli  brought  a 
further  advance  t,o  !f;j50.  iMr.  Preston 
commenced  the  banking  business  in 
Detroit  in  May,  1853,  with  a  capital 
of  but  !f4r>0,  and  out  of  which  he  fur- 
nished his  house,  having  been  mar- 
ried but  a  short  time  previous.  In 
May,  IH,-)!,  through  induslry,  honesty 
iiud  btiict  atlcutiou  to  business,  w  itU  a 


few  fortunate  purchases,  ISlr.  Preston 
found  that  the  small  capital  with 
which  lie  Inul  commenced  banking 
two  years  previous  had  inrreased  to 
the  snug  little  sum  of  $5,001).  With 
this  amount  he  ojiened  another  bank- 
ing house  in  Cliicago,  and,  directly 
following  this  ailventure,  (Nime  the 
failure  of  A.  Klemm,  of  New  York, 
who  hail  !f(i,000  of  Ur.  Preston's 
money  in  his  jiossession.  Ailhough 
by  this  misfortune  he  lost  his  entire 
capital,  still  he  was  not  iliscouraged, 
and  going  to  work  with  reneweil 
vigor,  he  soon  placed  himself  on  a 
firmer  fouiulaiion  than  ever.  His 
baidcing  bouses  both  here  and  in  Chi- 
cago are  widely  known,  and  ha\e  en- 
joyed the  conlidence  of  the  moneyed 
men  of  the  country  for  a  long  term  of 
years.  During  tlnr  money  iianic,  of 
September,  1873,  the  banking  hou^e 
of  1).  Preston  it  ('().,  in  Detroit,  was 
obliged  to  suspend  for  a  few  days,  not 
becaUM'  they  had  sustaincil  an}'  loss, or 
of  the  defalcation  of  anv  person  con- 
nected with  the  firm,  but  entirely  on 
I  account  of  theii  not  being  alile  to  con- 
]  vert  theii'  securilies  into  currency  fast 
I  enough  to  supply  the  demand  of  their 
dejiositcH's.  This  suspension  was  only 
temp(trary,  and  within  a  very  short 
time  the  doors  were  thrown  oi)ea 
again  and  business  proceeded  with 
as  uspni.  The  Chicago  firm  of  Pres- 
tiMi,  Kean  6c  Co.,  of  which  3Ir. 
Preston  has  been  a  member  for  the 
past  ten  years,  were  able  to  pass 
thr>)Ugh  the  above  mentioned  finan- 
cial trouble  without  any  serious  difli- 
culty.  Mr.  Preston  is  best  known, 
however,  to  the  jieople  of  ^Michigan 
for  his  unliounded  generosil}-.  Iso 
object  of  a  charitable  nature  is  ever 
presented  to  him  for  his  aid,  with- 
out receiving  substantial  assistiuice. 
Within  the  last  ten  years  he  has  given 
away  over  $75,000  to  forward  various 
charitable  enterinisi  s,  and  has  thus 
engrafted  himse'*'  miIo  the  alfeclions 
of  the  people  of  ti.e  whole  northwest. 

John  H,  Sliaflor.  Tlir  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  in  Albany  coun- 
ty, N.  Y.,  March  17,  1829.  His  early 
advantages  for  education  wei'e  good; 
but  being  married  at  17,  his  school 
days  were  feiv,  and  the  books  were  re- 
linciiiished  and  the  implements  of 
hired  husbandry  taken  uj)  for  the  fam- 
ily  support   until  1S5G,  wlien   he  re- 


BiOGBAPmcAL  Sketches. 


653 


\\r.  Prcstdii 
tpitiil    with 
(1    baiikiii;; 
iiri'e;is('(l  to 
000.     Willi 
other  bimk- 
ul,  tlirt'cU}' 
ciiiiii'   the 
Xl'W    York. 
I'rcstoirs 
AlllioicHi 
t  Ills  cntiio 
iscoiinigctl, 

h      I'CllC'WL'cl 

msL'lf  on  ii 
ever.  His 
i  ixiul  ill  Chi- 
uid   liiivf  en- 

tho    llKHU'Vcd 

Idiil;  tcnn  oC 
icy    panic,  of 
iii'Linu'  hou^c 
Detroit,  was 
few  tlays,  not 
c<l  any  loss,  or 
icrMiii   con- 
il  entirely  on 
III  able  to  con- 
currency last 
niaiul  of  their 
isioii  was  only 
a  very   short 
thrown    o|k'ii 
oceciled  with 
tinn  of   Pres- 
wliicli     3Ir. 
•mber  for  the 
able    lo    pass 
itioned    fiiiaii- 
)■  serious  dilli- 
best    known, 
'  of  ^Michigan 
'iicrositj'.     No 
lature    is  ever 
Ills   aid,  with- 
al  assistance. 
s  he  has  iriven 
rward  various 
mid    has   ihus 
the  all'eclions 
ole  northwest. 

hr  subject  of 
Albany  coun- 
9.  Ills  early 
111  were  good ; 
IT,  his  school 
looks  were  rc- 
nplements  of 
up  for  the  fara- 
I  when  he  re- 


moved to  nroome  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  en- 
giigcd  in  luinbcriiig  as  well  as  fanning 
oil  his  own  account.  In  18(i3,  he  re- 
moved to  UooiK.  Co.,  111.,  and  bought 
a  farm,  which  he  added  to,  worked 
and  improved  until  1807,  when  lie  left 
the  farm  and  engaged  in  the  sale  of 
the  McC/orniick  P.eaper  and  Mower. 
In  this  business  he  was  so  successful 
that  he  ojienedun  agricultural  store  in 
the  cily  of  Kankakee,  111.,  in  1800,  and 
built  a  very  line  and  large  store  there 
for  his  traik  (in  all  kinds  of  farming 
impleineiits,  and  the  sale  of  field,  flow- 
er and  garden  seeds),  in  1872,  thus 
exhibiting  fine  business  tideiits  and  a 
conimendable  energy  in  whatever  he 
lia.-,  undertaken.  In  Ajiril,  1875,  he 
was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  <jf  Kan- 
kakee, being  also  one  of  the  largest 
shareholders  in  thers'orthwestern  j}ut- 
ton  Coiiipany,  which  has  a  paid  up 
capital  of  !i;lbO,000,  for  the  purjiose  of 
manufacturing  cloth  buttons  in  the 
cily  of  Kankakee;  the'  oiilj'  factory  of 
the  kiiul  west  of  the  Hudson  river.  In 
character  .Mr.  iSlialler  is  honest,  jiosi- 
tive  and  straight  forward;  in  disposi- 
tion, frank,  social  and  generous,  and 
ill  his  religious  preferences  an  old 
school  Calvanislic  Presbyterian.  He 
is  also  a  member  and  a  work'r  in  the 
mas<inic  lodge  of  his  cily.  lli.s  wifi''s 
niaiiii  11  name  was  Elizabeth  V.'iiine. 
They  have  a  neat  and  well  furnished 
dwelling,  finely  siluateil  and  outward- 
ly adorned,  ami  are  blessetl  with  one 
living  child,  one  having  gone  to  a  sol- 
dier's grave  in  our  late  uatii^ual  strug- 
gle. 

Hon.  James   McCov  was  bom  in 

Gambler  Co.,  Va  ,  Sepiember  2:3,  1817. 
Studied  law  with  Johnson  Keynolds, 
of  Lewisburg,  Va.,  for  some  time;  re- 
nioveil  to  Illinois  in  18;i!l,  and  was  ad- 
mitted lo  practice"  law  by  the  suiireme 
court  of  Illinois  in  18(3.  In  l8.")l  lie 
originated  the  idea  of  constructing  a 
railroad  from  Chicago  to  California, 
and  for  this  end  lobbied  the  legisla- 
ture of  Iowa  and  Illinois  in  Fe'ruary, 
1851,  and  procured  charters  for  lliat 
purpose  across  the  stale  of  Illinois  lo 
Fulton  City,  a:ul  from  liyons,  Iowa,  to 
Council  BhiHs.  The  first  charter  ob- 
ained  of  that  part  across  the  state  of 
Illinois  was  "Tiie  ^Mississippi  ■';  Kock 
River  .lunclion  Railroad  Company," 
and  of  that  company  he  was  president 
and  a  director  for  three  years.  As  pres- 


ident he  signed  the  first  fiiur  liundred 
thousand  bonds  and  the  coupons  that 
were  used  in  the  construction  of  the 
road.  II(.'  was  altorney  for  the  same 
company  under  its  iiresent  name  un- 
til January,  1874;  was  mayor  of  Pul- 
loii  Cily  four  years;  was  a  judge  two 
years,  and  master  in  eliaiicery  from 
1857  to  1874;  he  was  also  a  nuniiher 
of  the  conslilutional  committee  that 
formed  the  ))reseiil  constitution  of  the 
slate  of  Illinois;  he  was  delegate  to 
the  Baltimore  convention,  and  aided 
in  the  nomination  of  Lincoln;  was 
one  of  the  first  presidential  electors  of 
Grant  and  (.'olfa.K  for  president  and 
vice  president;  is  mnv  practicing  law 
and  stands  at  the  liead  of  his  profes- 
sion. He  has  been  a  mason  since 
1851;  is  rot  a  church  member,  yet  is 
a  believer  in  tlu^  truths  held  and 
liuight  by  the  orthoilox  elnirches;  is 
tei'i])erate  inileed,  but  does  not  belong 
to  any  lemiierance  order;  is  very  firm 
in  his  purjioses,  and  does  not  yield 
uniil  he  must;  never  holils  wliat  is 
called  a  griuige,  but  aims  to  cancel 
all  such  tidiigs  at  the  moment  and  on 
the  gvouiul.  He  has  an  active  and  en- 
terprising family  of  children,  one 
daughter  and  five  sons;  two  of  whom 
are  lawyers,  one  a  physician,  and  two 
still  at  home.  He  has  a  fine  jiroperty ; 
a  good  home,  with  ample  and  pleas- 
ant suri'jundings. 

Hon.  Jiimes  G.  Stroiify  was  born  at 
Jiibanon,  IJoone  county,  Indiana, 
!Marcli  4,  1880.  He  receive  '  n  goad 
common  school  ediicalioii,  and  after- 
ward attended  the  Iiuliana  University 
at  Hloomiiigton  in  that  slate  in  1857 
and  1858,  and  in  liie  spring  of  1850, 
at  the  Cincinnati  law  school.  Re- 
moved to  Dwiglil,  Slate  of  Illinois,  in 
the  month  of  Alay,  1850,  and  com- 
menced the  i/ractice  of  law.  He  also 
took  an  active  jiarl  in  the  jiolitical 
and  social  interesis  of  thecommunitj'. 
Was  school  treasurer,  school  director, 
town  clerk,  president  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  corporation,  and  town 
supervisor  at  various  times  while  he 
filled  some  of  these  positions  for  a 
long  lime.  In  1870  he  was  elected  to 
the"  slate  legislature,  which  place  lie 
filled  for  two  years.  In  1S7'2  he  was 
elected  to  the  state  senate  from  the 
counties  of  Ford  and  Livingston  for 
four  years,  and  was  engaged  in  the 
business  of  r^ul  estate,  banking,  law 


n 


H 


5!f 


i  ii 

\ 


05i 


TiTTLk's   C esters IAL  XoiiT/IU'EST. 


Va  ?■ 


ik.;!.,,;,!    ,! 


W: 


■Hitr*:---;* 


^..Ui 


and  griiii).  "Was  ai)point('(l  liy  the 
jrovuiiuiicii!  MS  11  (liicctor  of  tli(''  I'ly- 
inoiitli,  Kaiikaki'c  iV:  I'acilic  Railroad, 
which  place  he  held  for  s{;veral  years. 
He  is  very  luuuaiie,  social  and  benevo- 
lent, as  his  splendid  subscription  to 
the  new  M.  E.  Chinch  in  Dwight,  and 
liis  oi)('n  hand  in  all  needy  directions 
will  readily  show.  Was  an  «nt.s])oken 
abolitionist  in  his  school  days  when 
three  out  of  300  students  were  all  thai 
liis  side,  on  that  (piestion,  c(Uild  count ; 
and  when  the  toi'ch  ol'  civil  war  had 
be(Mi  lil  in  our  nation,  and  the  storm 
ot'strite  and  blood  luul  niaih,"  crippled 
soldiers  and  many  sad  willows  and 
oi'phans,  he  made  scores  of  a]>pli- 
cations  ("or  jjensions,  back  pay  and 
bounty  for  the^e  poor  ones  wiih  a 
ready  and  cheerful  liand,  chargin;;: 
them  not  a  dime.  lie  is  an  active 
member  of  the  ^lelhodist  Episcopal 
(.'hurch;  belongs  to  iv  lodge  of  Free 
Jlasons  ami  was  for  years  master  of 
his  lodge.  In  April,  185!),  he  w.is  mar- 
I'ied  to  Miss  Rebecca  iM.  AVitt,  who 
has  cheerfully  shiucd  with  him  the 
toils  of  his  active  life,  and  now  re- 
joices with  him  in  their  thier  child- 
ren which  bless  their  tasty  and  happy 
bome.  They  arc  not  W(  idthy  (as  one 
may  say)  but  successful  in  business  — 
"well  otV  —  and  so  benevolent  and 
ready  to  heljUhe  sad  and  the  sutlV  i  ing, 
that  want  and  care  go  smiling  from 
their  door. 

lion.  Tlios.  I{allen;;er  was  born  in 
Logan  county,  Ohio,  December  '31, 
]8i7.  His  i)arents  were  natives  of 
New  Jersey  —  were  Q'"''^''''^' "'i''  '"' 
attributes  his  first  inclinations  to  re- 
ligion to  the  candor  ami  consistency 
of  their  e.\em[ilaiy  lives.  His  early 
iidvanlages  lor  <!ilucation  were  few 
antl  meager  indeed,  anil  3ct  const ilnl- 
ed  an  imi)orlanl  factor  in  his  future 
asi)iralions  and  attainments.  His 
younger  years  were  maiidy  spent  in 
agriculluial  pur.^nits.  ami  the  most  of 
his  life  has  been  jiasscd  on  the  farm. 
In  Juni;,  18;iT,  he  married  -Miss  Mary 
Devora,  of  Champaiu.n  county,  Ohio; 
but  in  about  seven  yi'ars  Mnvy  died, 
leaving  him  two  ilaughlers,  Elizabeth 
and  Emma,  but  he  was  soon  left  alone 
with  Elizabeth,  for  Emma  went  away 
with  the  angel.s,  diicctly  after  her 
mother's  death.  In  Sei)tember,  1845, 
he  married  Mrs.  Lydia  A.  llildrelh,  ol 


until  1851).  when  they  removed  to  Os- 
kaloosa,  .Mahask;i  county,  Iowa.  For 
several  years  after  his  arrival  in  Iowa, 
he  was  constantly  engaged  as  a  Univer- 
salist  minister;  but  at.  length  he  moved 
onto  a  farm  and  pi-cacheil  a  part  of  the 
time.  He  was  elected  to  the  legisla- 
tuix  and  served  through  the  twelfth 
geiu-ral  assembly  as  inembi.'r  of  the 
house.  In  this  ;)osition  Ik;  was,  as 
usual,  indepenih  nt,  cons(.ienlio\is  anil 
(irompt.  In  disposition  he  is  ginier- 
ous,  social  and  iiiuiglit,  and  in  liusi- 
ness,  active  and  reliable.  'I'hey  now 
reside  on  their  farm  si.x  mih's  north  of 
Oskaloosa,  v»herc  they  buried  a  young, 
yet  active,  beloved  and  dutiful  son. 

lion,  .lohn  U.  Sanborn  wa.s  born  at 
Epsom,  ^lerrimack  county,  X.  II., 
Dec.  5,  \S'i(i.  His  early  days  wcro 
spent  on  a  farm  which  had  been  the 
homestead  of  his  aneistors  for  four 
geiieraliotis,  and  which  is  still  in  the 
family  name.  He  attended  the  com- 
mon school  and  also  the  iicademy  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  home  until  1850, 
when  he  entered  Dartmouth  College. 
In  1851.  he  commenced  the  study  of 
law  with  Hon.  Asa  Lawier,  of  Con- 
cord, N.  H.,  and  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  the  sujjreme  court  of  the 
state,  in  .luly,  185:].  In  December, 
185;J,  he  removed  to  St.  Paul,  Minn., 
where  he  has  since  resided.  Jlcw'as 
a  member  of  the  house  of  rcjiresenta- 
tives  in  18i)(),  and  of  the  senate  in 
1801.  Was  adjutant  geiu'ral  and  act- 
ing- iiuartermaster  treneral  of  the  state 
from  April  2:!,  18()1  to  .Ian.  1,  1802, 
ami  colonel  of  the  4tli  reginnnt  !Min- 
nesota  volunteer  infantry  thereafter 
until  Aug.  4,  18(i:j,  when  he  was  made 
brigadier  general  of  volmiteers,  ami 
conlinited  such  until  Feb.  It),  1805, 
when  he  was  made  brevet  major  gen- 
ei'al,  and  oeeuiiied  that  position  until 
-May  iil,  1800.  He  was  special  com- 
missioner to  Ilie  Indians  in  the  vieln- 
ilv  of  Philip  Kiarnev,  IVom  Feb.  II, 
18:i7  to  .luiy  20,  ISCt  and  by  act  of 
congress  he  was  app(dnti'd  (with  lien, 
Sherman  and  others)  geiu'r.il  commis- 
sioners in  the  state  from  .liilv  20,  18(i7 
lo  Oct.  U>,  1808.  Has  been  "the  attor- 
ney of  the  St.  Paul,  Slillw.ater  and 
Taylor's  Falls  Railway  Co.,  and  aided 
otherwise  in  the,  consli-uetion  of  tlnit 
road,  and  for  two  yr.irs  has  been  vice 
president  of  the  (ierman  Aniericau 
St    1^^' 


Kuox  cuuutv,  Ohio,  where  he  res.ided  i  IJank   at    St.  Paul.     Mr.   Sanboru   is 


h'd  to  Os- 

mv,i.    For 

III  in  lowu, 

11  Uiiivcr- 

lU'  llKlVt'd 

piirtoftlie 
jai-  lc!^isl;i- 
jlic  tn-cllili 
llicr  of  tho 

fH'    was,    IIH 

Milimid  iind 
is  t;(;ii('r- 
IkI  in  liusi- 
1  'l"h('\'  now 
Pes  uortli  of 
11  youujr, 
it  111  son. 

iviis  boi-ii  lit 

ily,   .\.    II., 

days    wcro 

1    l)t'('ll    till! 

I's   I'm-  four 
<tiil   ill  the 

1    tll(!    COIll- 

aciulciiiv  in 
iiMlil  KS.'iO, 
mil  College, 
lie  ^liidy  of 
ler,  of  ("oii- 
illed  to  pi'ilC- 
iMirt  of  the 
I  December, 
Paul,  Minn., 
ed.  lie  was 
r  re))re.senta- 
le  seiiiile  In 
•lid  and  act- 
I  of  the  state 
Jan.  1,  18(i2, 
i'iineat  ^Miii- 
y  tliereal'ier 
le  was  made 
unteers,  and 
■I).  10,  1805, 
t  major  gen- 
ositioii  until 
qieeial  com- 
in  llie  viciii- 
■oni  Feb.  1 1, 
d  by  act  of 
il  (with  (Jen. 
M'al  coniini.s- 
luly  UO,  isd? 
■11  the  attor- 
llwatcr  and 
).,  and  aided 
;'lion  of  that 
as  been  vice 
n  Aniericiiu 
iSauboru   is 


BloaVAVim 'AL  !^ KETCHES. 


635 


naturally  alTable  and  quiet,  and  so 
niucli  so  that  he  creates  the  inipi'es- 
sion  that  he  lacks  decision  and  tiiin- 
liess;  but  nolwilhsiandinu'  this,  he  is 
decidcu  and  firm  in  all  matters  of  im- 
porlanee,  as  well  as  energetic  and 
industrious.  He  is  inclined  to  the 
I'resbyterian  faith,  and  is  a  trustee  of 
the  Central  i'resliyterian  church,  St. 
Paul ;  is  not  a  meiiiber  of  the  church, 
and  yet  is  a  liberal  ami  active  member 
of  the  society.  Jle  has  no  communi- 
cation wiMi  any  secret  society.  His 
former  wife  (M"iss  Catharini!  Ilall,  of 
Newton,  Sus.se.\  county,  N.  J.),  died 
in  1800,  leaving  a  daughter,  nov  liv- 
ing with  lier  father.  The  present 
Avife  (formc'ily  Miss  Anna  E.  Xi:on, 
of  Xew  .lersey,  and  sister  of  the  V  8. 
Dist.  .Judge  of  the  Xew  Jer.sey  Dis*.), 
liimself  and  dii'igliter  make  ui)  lie 
family  group  and  enjoy  the  beaulilul 
home  and  (•oiiiforts  his  eminent  s'lc- 
ccss  in  business  has  furnished. 

Dr.  Joliii  J.  Lcsclier  was  born  in 
Berks  Co.,  Penn.,  .Niarch  14,  1S2I,  of 
Swiss  paremage,  and  llu^  fourth  of  a 
family  of  ten  eliildren.  five  sons  and 
live  daughters.  His  father  was  an 
eminent  physician  of  fifty  \cars  suc- 
cessful pi'iictice.  When  .tolin  was 
eleven,  the  family  reivioved  to  Dayton, 
Oliio,  making  tlii^  entire  journey  with 
teams,  bringing  with  them  a  large  and 
very  valualile  libraiy.  One  year  after- 
ward (lf<:ioi  the  family  removeil  to 
!Mt.  Carmel,  where  the  father  died  in 
18.")4,  being  71  years  old.  In  the  libra- 
ry, consisting  of  !)!l-t  \dlumes,  was  a 
'■  .Nrariiniere's  (leographisch  and  Crit- 
isch  Le.\icon,"  a  tierinau  work  con- 
sistiiig  of  lo  volumes,  folio,  (.'iich  con- 
taining 1,700  pages,  I'urnished  with 
brass  clasp>,  and  iirinlid  in  the  early 
j)art  of  the  I8ih  (!eniury  —  a  work  of 
great  value,  and  gotten  up  in  the  high- 
est style  of  the  art,  of  iirinting  and 
binding,  of  that  day.  Il  was  once 
the  property  of  the  monastery  of  St. 
3li<diael,  Switzerland,  but  by  some 
meiuis  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  rene 
gad(!  priest,  who  brought  it  to  Amer- 
ica and  sold  it  for  a  trifle  to  the  old  doc- 
U)r.  It  was  the  only  copy  in  the  coun- 
try, and  in  loOl,  at  the  earnest  rcfjuest 
of  llev.  .Mr.  Kverelt,  secretary  of  the 
"Chicago  Historical  SociiMy,"  the  sub- 
ject of  iliis  sketch  donated'  the  work 
to  the  Society ;  and  together  with  the 
40,000  volumes  of  the  juciety,  it  was 


swallowed  up  by  the  fire  of  1871. 
J5eing  (,ne  of  so  large  a  family,  and 
his  father  having  but  a  limited  amount 
of  means,  Dr.  Lescher  had  only  mod- 
erate school  advaiitaites,  yet  attended 
the  "High  School  "'and  the  "Aci.d- 
emy  "  of  liis  village,  and,  in  18;i8,  be- 
gan the  study  of  medicine,  and  in 
18;jll,  began  to  iiractice  as  a  partner. 
In  October,  184;],  lie  entered  the 
"  Ohio  Medical  College,"  and  returned 
to  his  jiractici-'  in  the  tbllowing  sprinsj. 
In  1847,  he  (djtained  his  degree  of  M. 
D.,  in  the  "  Washington  University," 
Haltimore,  Md.  During  the  winter  of 
18.")0  and  1851,  hea'.tendcd  a  full  course 
in  the  "Jetl'e-son  Medical  College," 
Philadelphia  and  also  obtaineu  a  cer- 
tificate of  iitlendance  upon  the  Clinics 
of  the  "  Pennsylvania"  and  "Wells" 
hospitals,  the  latter  devoted  to  diseases 
of  the  eyes  and  ears.  In  184U,  he  asso- 
ciatetl  Willi  him  liis  brother  in  prac- 
tice, and,  two  years  after,  his  brother 
ill  law.  Dr.  C.  J.  ..Miller.  Having  lor 
some  time  suH'ered  from  a  laryngeal 
diflleulty,  his  health  gradually  failed, 
until,  in  1855,  he  was  obliged,  for  live 
years,  to  turn  over  to  his  lauiners  the 
general  i)ractice,  and  to  attend  to  the 
ollice  calls,  and  to  consultations  in 
dillicult  cases.  During  these  years, 
he  used  vast  quantities  of  cod  liver 
oil,  the  laryngeid  trouble  having  e.\- 
tiiiuled  down  to  his  left  lung,  and 
formed  an  abscess  which  was  healed 
by  cicatri/ation.  The  cure  he  attrib- 
utes to  the  persistent  and  plentiful 
use  of  the  oil.  In  1840,  he  joined 
with  a  number  of  the  iihysicians  of 
the  neighboring  counties  in  organiz- 
ing the  "  Lawrenceville  .Medical  Soci 
ety,"  which  was  granted  a  charter, 
with  authority  through  its  "  Hoard  of 
Censors"  (of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber) to  issue  diphmias.  In  185o,  he 
was  elected  a  membi.'r  of  "  The  Illi- 
nois State  .^ledical  Society."  In  1800 
and  1801,  he  lost  lioth  his  partners  in 
liractice  In  death,  and  thereupon  re- 
sumed a  more  active  iinuiice,  which 
has  be(n  continued  until  now.  And 
his  age  and  experience  have  made  his 
.services  especially  valuable  in  con- 
sultations in  dillicult  cases.  During 
the  late  war  iic  was  ollered  several 
important  positions  as  surgeon,  but, 
on  account  of  health,  saw  best  to  de- 
cline. In  1804,  he  was  commissioned 
United  Stales  Pension  E.xainining  Sur- 
geon, iu  wliich  cainicity  he  still  acts. 


i  f 


»!' 


! 


m] 


I  •■'■■■ 


CoG 


TcTTLe's   CESTEli^ilAL  NoitTllWEST. 


Up  lias  an  OTiviaLlfi  rfjiutation  as  a 
pliysii'iaii,  iiiul  in  suruciy  liiis  slmwii 
iiiiiisi'll'  II  very  skillltil  woiknian,  iii- 
dccii,  liaviiii;'  pi'ifoiiiicil  varinuscTitical 
and  special  operations  willi  great  suc- 
cess, Probably  iinieli  of  liis  success 
lias  been  due  to  liis  liabits  ot"  ('on>tanf 
study  and  researt^li  into  tiie  nature  of 
•disease,  the  coiiil>inalion  of  remedies 
ami  the  jiossibilitiesjof  this  "  lieaveii 
descended  art,"  tli('  medical  practice. 
He  was  born  a  Jititlieran,  liut  lor  the 
last  twent}'  years  has  been  an  active 
and  eflicient  member  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian cliurch.  Hecamean  Odd  Fellow 
in  his  native  village,  and  in  lytO,  was 
one  of  tlie  charter  members  of  a  loduc 
of  Odd  Fellows  in  Mt.  Oarmel,  III. 
During  the  winter  of  184H  and  lt<-J!J, 
he  was  acting  (trand  Master  of  the 
state  of  llliiHiis  {the  (Jrand  Master 
being  absent),  and  he  having  accom- 
panied the  (iraiid  blaster  in  a  tour  of 
western  Illinois  in  the  interest  of  the 
order  during  the  summer  of  184!). 
This  same  year  he  was  elected  (Ji'and 
Warden  of  tlie  Grand  Lodge,  and  n\i. 
pointed  District  Deputy  Grand  ^Master 
over  several  subordinate  lodges.  He, 
aided  in  ortrani/ing  the  Grand  Kn- 
camiuiient  of  Illinois,  being  a  mem- 
ber of  a  subordinate  encampinent  in 
Mt.  Carmel.  He  also  united  with  the 
ortlcr  of  Free  ^lasons  y(!ar.s  since. 
Nov.  13,  IS,")!,  lie  was  married  to  ,^Iiss 
Eliza  E.  Siuilli,  of  Litchtield,  Conn. 
They  liavc  three  children  living,  two 
sons".  Lyell  .lacob  and  Jesse  Lee,  and 
one  daughter,  Ada.  They  have  also 
three  little  ones  which  one  after  an- 
other went  away  with  the  angels 
They  liave  a  bcailtiful  residence,  fin(i- 
ly  furnished,  where  mutual  love,  ac- 
tive benevolence  and  Christian  hope 
liave  each  a  happy  home. 

Eliza  Enu'Iiiu^  (Smifli)  Loschcr 
(eldest  born  of  Lvmaii  .1.  and  Julia  IJ. 
8milh\  was  born  Dec.  10,  1820,  at 
Litchtield,  Litchfield  county,  C(Win. 
Her  early  advantages  tor  education 
were  line  indeed,  ami  were  grandly 
improved.  In  18;J"),  with  licr  jiarenls, 
she  removed  to  Alabama,  where,  in 
the  crisis  of  18:57  and  18;i8,  her  faWier 
lost  heavily,  and,  in  18;J8,  he  and  his 
family  removed  to  Mount  Carmel, 
HI.,  where  they  remained  until  1.S40 
whence,  in  conse(|uence  of  the  failing 
health  of  her  mother,  they  all  retui-ned 
to  Lilchli<'ld,  Conn.  In  the  winter  of 
1850- '51,  through  what  would  seem  a 


!  very  trivial  and  yet  very  novel  and 
!h;»l)l)y  circiunstance,  connei'ted  with 
a  single  newspaper  sent   her   by  J)r. 
.John  .1.  Lesclier  (then  conncctetl  with 
the  Medical  Hospital  at  I'liiladelpliia, 
Peiin,),  till!  I'utUH'  fortunes  of  her  I'fe 
were    shaped.      The}'    were    married 
Nov.  I'J,  1851,  and  removed  to  31ount 
Carmel,   Wabash  county,    III.,   where 
he  was  then  engaged   in  the  praiitico 
of    medicine.       Alter    a    few    years, 
through    a    ptdmouary   all'ecttion,   his 
liealth  was  very  much   imiiaiied,  find 
so  much  so  that'he  feaieil  hemu^t(piit 
the  practice  of  meciciue.     She,  like  a 
nol)le   and   resolute  wife,  volunteered 
to  be  his  "Jehu"  or  carriage  servant; 
and,  for  five  long  years,  through   all 
weather.s,   ai:d   ai  all   hours   of   night 
and  day,  she  attended  faithfully  to  the 
ilutie.<  </f  the  position.     And  yet  she 
did  not   neglect   to    act   the   part  of 
mother  and  teacher  to  the   three  little 
ones  which  at  that  linu;   blessed  their 
home.     Her   lu-escnci;    in    those   long 
and  exiiosed  journeys  it  seems,  by  af- 
ter revealmeiits,  un  ,\  ittingly,  but  for- 
tunately, saved    liim    from    being   as- 
sassinated (because  of  his  advocacy  of 
anti-slavery    principles),   by  some   of 
the  pro-slavery  parly  in  southern  Hli- 
nois,  i.  e..  by  men  who  lav  in  wait  for 
his  life,  but  were  intimidated   by  her 
woinanhood,  which  was  a  credit  even 
to  bad  men.     Early  in  life  she  united 
with    Dr.    Lyman    15eecher's    church 
(Congregational),  and  has  been  an  ac- 
tive aiMl  an  e.xemiilary  member  of  that 
branch  of  the  Christian  C;hiir(di  until 
now.     JJ(.ing  genial  indisposition  aiul 
lender,  warm  ami    benevolent  in  her 
symiKithies,   she    has    ever    bein    the 
friend  of  the   poor,  the   outcasts   and 
the   suflering;   and  her  home  is   the 
common  resort   of  the  orphaned,  the 
distressed  and   the  homeless;  and  so 
much  so,  that  she  has  accpiired  among 
her  ac(;uaintances   the    blessed    and 
honored     title    of     "Tiie     (h-phan's 
Frieiul."     And  ti  well  earned  title  it 
really  is,  too.     She  wields  a  fine  pea 
in  prose,   and  before  me   lie   sevoral 
beautiful    siiecimeiis   of    her    ])oetry, 
which   would   grace   a    place   herein 
had  they  reached  us  before  our  space 
was  so  nearly  occuided.     She  has  a 
nice  home,  indeed,  and  her  ardent  and 
joyou,?  nature   makes  even  the  cloudy 
days  cheerful  and  pleasant  about  it  and 
sheds  coiUentmcnt  and    peace  along 
her  own  and  her  family's  pathway. 


.^mm^ 


lovcl  and 
■tcil  wiiU 
■!•  by  Dr. 
■cM-d  witli 
liidclphia, 
>t'  iRir  V<\\i 
miiniod 
Id  Mount 
11.,  wluTc 
u  practice 
liw  yt-ars, 
ctioii,  liin 
;iiifd,  and 
must  ((uit 
slio,  like  a 
jlunleereil 
e  servant; 
iroujiii  all 

of  niiilit 
'ully  to'tlie 
111  yet  she 
le  part  of 
hree  little 
essed  their 
lliose  long 
ems,  by  al'- 
ly,  but  I'or- 

beiug  as-_ 
dvocaey  of 
y  some  of 
itheru  Illi- 
in  wait  for 
led  by  her 
credit  even 
she  united 
r's  church 
been  an  ac- 
ib(!r  of  that 
hiireh  until 
losition  and 
lent  in  her 
,•  been  the 
iitcasts  and 
ome  is  the 
phaned,  the 
iss;  and  so 
ired  amon<? 
ilessed  and 
>  Orphan's 
ned  title  it 

!i  fine  pen 

lie  several 
her  poetry, 
ilacc  lierein 
re  our  space 

Slie  has  a 
r  ardent  and 
I  the  cloudy 
about  it  and 
peace  along 
pathway. 


